Crenshaw's double-double carries Dundee-Crown past Huntley
It was gut check time for Dundee-Crown junior center Alyssa Crenshaw.
She passed with flying colors.
Crenshaw, who was playing with a case of the flu, scored 19 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Chargers to a hard-fought 41-36 win over Huntley in Fox Valley Conference action in Huntley Wednesday night.
"She MJ'd (Michael Jordan flu game) it," said D-C coach Sarah Miller. "She was really sick and was throwing up. She showed her toughness."
Crenshaw, who was 5-of-5 from the free throw, scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half. The Chargers (18-5, 10-0), mainly because of Crenshaw's gutsy effort, led 27-19 at intermission.
"I really felt horrible and was throwing up," said Crenshaw. "I wanted to play and the adrenaline got me through on the court. I am really tired. I was trying to stay hydrated with Gatorade during timeouts and at halftime. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in great position to score. Huntley is a very tough team. My mindset was to help the team win. We were able to match Huntley's physicality."
The Red Raiders (12-11, 6-4), utilizing a full-court trapping defense, scored the first 4 points of the second half. The two baskets came on a driving layup from Kamsi Nwogu and a 15-footer from the left side from Anna Seng to get within 27-23.
The Chargers, who committed 8 turnovers in the third quarter, scored their first and only basket on a putback by Crenshaw with 2:33 left to give D-C a 29-23 lead.
That was the score after 24 minutes.
Huntley knotted the score at 31 on a putback from Carley Faulkner with 5:48 left in the contest.
The Chargers regained the lead 39-36 with 35 seconds left on 2 free throws from Payton Schmidt.
Huntley coach Steve Raethz called timeout with 24.8 seconds left to set up a game-tying 3-point attempt. Raquel Radermacher's 3-pointer with 12.1 seconds left fell short.
The Chargers sealed the win on 2 free throws from Schmidt with 6.6 ticks remaining.
Nwogu, with 10 points in the first half, paced the Red Raiders with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Faulkner added 9 off the bench for Huntley.
"Our kids played so hard," said Raethz. "I am extremely proud of the effort we gave against a very good D-C team which is so well coached. "We had some opportunities to take the lead but the shots didn't fall. It was a fun game to coach. They found a away to win. I like our improvement as the season has gone on. We think we are getting ready for the second half of the conference season and the postseason."