Huntley starts fast at Burlington Central, captures share of FVC crown
Motivated and ready well before opening tip, Huntley stormed out to a 14-0 lead against Fox Valley Conference rival Burlington Central and never looked back.
Led by a career night from junior guard Sammi Campanelli, the Red Raiders beat the Rockets, 48-35, to clinch at least a share of the FVC title with two games left. Huntley can win it outright with a win against Dundee-Crown on Wednesday.
The Raiders (19-6, 15-1 FVC) finished runner-up to Burlington last year with a loss to the Rockets in the FVC Tournament final, 52-46. Clinching a share of the FVC title on Burlington's home court was an added bonus.
Huntley last won the FVC title in 2017, as part of a four-way tie.
"We've been working for this the whole season," said Campanelli, who was on last year's FVC runner-up. "We were so close to getting the win last year, so it means a lot to get it on their home floor. Our coaches just told us before the game to play with confidence and have fun, and I think that just helped us ease into it.
"Last year was a big motivator for sure. I was confident with my shot tonight, and I trusted my teammates."
Campanelli had a career-high 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting, hitting three 3-pointers and sinking 7 of 9 free throws. She had seven of her team's first 11 points, while junior forward Mallory Winters nailed a 3 off the bench for a 14-0 lead with 1:05 left in the first quarter.
Campanelli had 13 points against the Rockets in their first meeting Jan. 29, a 52-49 win for the Raiders.
"Sammi Campanelli was just unbelievable tonight," Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. "She did a fantastic job defensively and had a phenomenal game. I'm just proud of our kids. They give such unbelievable effort, and they're a great group. They got off to a great start tonight and just created a lot of really solid runs in moments we needed it.
"I know their goals are set on winning the [conference] out right, and we have a couple of chances starting Wednesday on senior night."
Despite a 14-2 deficit after the first quarter, Burlington (19-9, 13-3) made a couple of big runs to get back in the game.
After Huntley took a 22-7 lead on Campanelli's second 3 with 3:15 left in the second quarter, the Rockets responded with an 8-2 run to end the half, trailing 24-15. Burlington forward and Princeton commit Taylor Charles assisted Rylie DuVal and Becca Carani for 3s, while Charles added a putback during the second-quarter run.
Burlington started the second half by scoring the first five points to get within 31-25 with three minutes remaining in the third. But the Raiders came back with a 7-0 run, getting five points from Winters and two free throws from Campanelli.
Winters scored eight points, twice hitting a clutch 3 off the bench. Her second 3 gave the Raiders a 34-25 lead after junior Morgan McCaughn whipped around the Rockets' defense and found Winters in the corner.
"For me, it was kind of a big deal because I'm usually not in during the whole game," Winters said. "I feel like it was a big moment for me and my team. That shot just really helped push us ahead. We definitely prepared well in advance.
"I felt like we were ready with what they were going to do. We knew what was coming."
Jessie Ozzauto added seven points and six rebounds for Huntley, and McCaughn had five points and two assists. Anna Campanelli added four points, two points and three assists.
Charles had 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Rockets, while Emma Payton and Rylie DuVal had six points apiece. Becca Carani added three.
The Rockets have two FVC games left this week before postseason play starts.
"Shots weren't falling, and once we got down big, we just got in our heads," DuVal said. "They're a talented team, and shots are going to fall for them. We kind of have to brush this one off. It's a real tough loss. They're probably going to end up winning [the FVC], but we just have to look past it and treat our next two games as getting ready for postseason."