CARPENTERSVILLE – No matter what St. Viator tried, the Lions (0-2) just couldn’t stop Huntley’s top scorers from doing what they do best.
The Red Raiders (2-1) found themselves in an early 7-2 hole Friday, but they were able to climb right out as they poured in 25 points before the first quarter buzzer sounded. Center Ali Andrews and her sister, guard Sam Andrews, accounted for 20 of those, scoring 12 and eight points, respectively, en route to a 48-33 win at the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving Tournament.
After the two combined for 20 in the first, the combo took turns taking over the game. Sam Andrews scored all six Huntley points in the third quarter as Ali Andrews sat on the bench after she picked up her third foul early in the quarter. The six-point third came after the Red Raiders scored six points in the second as Ali Andrews again found herself in early foul trouble.
“I just have to work a bit on staying in the game and out of foul trouble early,” Ali Andrews said.
Whenever the agile center was on the court however, Huntley seemed to have all aspects of its game going. The guards were sinking three-pointers when the Lions’ defense drew in to guard the Red Raiders’ inside force. She was able to come off of high screens and drive the lane for seemingly easy baskets. A few times she was able to create her own shot using a spin move, and her talent was on display in the fourth.
After not playing much in the middle quarters, the freshman scored six points to cap her game-high 20 points. Sam Andrews added five in the final stretch to total 19 for the night.
“Offensively, I though Ali got into a nice rhythm,” Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. “We did a nice job of getting her the basketball inside, and we just found our rhythm a little bit. She had a nice game for us tonight, and she did a nice job finishing.
“She had a nice first half, and then Sam picked it up and carried us especially in that second half after Ali picked up her third foul.”
The defense also deserves credit. Huntley swarmed the ball and forced the Lions into a lot of bad passes and turnovers, and after giving up 12 points in the first quarter, Huntley didn’t allow more than 10 points in a quarter the rest of the way.
“I thought we got out to a slow start when Viator jumped out to an early lead, but we settled down quickly,” Raethz said. “And from then on out we hunkered down defensively which was a real positive for us moving forward.”
“We were trying to jump start ourselves to get into a flow,” Raethz said of the full court press defense he opened the game with. “Then we backed off and stressed our half court defense and I thought our kids did a really god job of playing that type of defense the rest of the night.”
CL South 42, Streamwood 49: The Gators gave up 21 points in the first quarter and never recovered, even after playing solid defense the rest of the way. South had a chance in the final quarter, pulling the game within one with 3:39 to play but couldn’t close it out.
“We just turned the ball over too much tonight,” Gators coach Kyle McCaughn said. “We just couldn’t seem to put anything together all night, and all of those things pile up and you just can’t overcome those kind of mistakes. Add that to our first quarter where we came out and allowed 21 points, we just weren’t ready to play and you just can’t expect to win.”
Sara Mickow scored 17 points for the Gators (1-2) to lead all scorers. She also tallied 11 rebounds. Rachel Rasmussen and Carly Nolan each added eight points.
Dundee-Crown 30, Palatine 40: Both teams had trouble scoring throughout the game especially the Chargers who scored more than 10 points in a quarter once with 11 in the third. They were just four points away from tying the game late in the fourth but weren’t able to convert on their chances and ended up making two baskets in the quarter.
“We just couldn’t quite close it out,” Chargers coach Michelle Russell said. “I am happy with how my girls handled themselves and were really composed out there. I’m happy with how we played. This is a tough tournament and seeing these teams will be a good experience for this young team.”
The Chargers (0-2) were led by Juillian Weichmann with eight points. Frankie Cavallaro and Lauren Lococo both knocked down a three. Lococo scored points.
