Huntley slows down Hampshire

Veteran Huntley coach Steve Raethz realized it would take multiple schemes and several players to contain Hampshire junior standout Kelby Bannerman.

Bannerman scored 5 points in the first half, 7 in the third quarter and 2 during the final 8 minutes and ended with 14 points before fouling out with 20 seconds left. She connected on 4-of-14 from the field and 2-of-7 from 3-point range.

Huntley's defensive effort on Bannerman propelled the Red Raiders to a hard-fought 33-27 win over the visiting Whip-Purs in Fox Valley Conference action in Huntley Tuesday night.

"Kelby (Bannerman) is an outstanding player and we had to aware of where she was on the floor at all times," said Raethz. "She is so tough to guard. We did a great job of limiting her touches. It was a great defensive team effort on her."

Hampshire (10-10, 5-3) managed only 8 field goals in 42 attempts for 19 percent.

The Whip-Purs could only muster 3-of-15 from 3-point range.

"It was one of our best overall defensive efforts of the year," said Raethz. "We got the stops when we needed them. We were well disciplined with our defense. We held a very good Hampshire team to 27 points and 8 field goals."

Kamsi Nwogu, who was saddled with 4 fouls most of the fourth quarter, led the Red Raiders (10-8, 6-3) with 12 points, 11 in the first half. Nwogu grabbed 9 rebounds with 3 assists. Nwogu upped her career total to 966 points.

Raquel Radermacher, with 2 treys and 7 points in the fourth quarter, added 10.

"Our defense was outstanding against Bannerman," said Radermacher. "We were frustrating her. We had good possessions when we needed them. I struggled with my 3-pointers but I hit a couple when I had to. It was a great team win."

Huntley's biggest lead was 23-16 after a putback from Carley Faulkner with 2:22 left in the third quarter.

Bannerman scored all 5 points on a 3-pointer and a putback as the Whip-Purs scored the final 5 points of the quarter and sliced Huntley's lead to 23-21 after 24 minutes of play.

In the fourth, the Red Raiders sealed the win by making 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Radermacher made 4 and Faulkner 3.

The Whip-Purs got a solid effort off the bench from freshman Ceili Ramirez who scored 8 points with 2 assists and 2 steals.

"Give Steve (Raethz) credit," said Hampshire coach Eric Samuelson. "He has won 350 games and his teams always play great defense. We missed a ton of layups and had good shots."