High school girls basketball insider: Huntley strives for more success as postseason nears

Huntley's 29-20 Fox Valley Conference win over Crystal Lake South on Saturday wasn't one of the more aesthetically pleasing games of the season for the Red Raiders.

But Huntley certainly has earned respect, no matter the margin of victory, throughout the 10-team conference. With four straight wins, the Raiders have climbed into third place in the FVC with a 10-4 record and games left against Crystal Lake Central, Prairie Ridge, Hampshire and Burlington Central.

Huntley coach Steve Raethz is encouraged by his team's play going into the last four games of the conference season and postseason. Huntley (16-11) last won a regional in the in 2015-16 season, the last of four straight postseason titles from 2013 to 2016.

The Raiders also collected three sectional titles during that span, along with a fourth-place finish at the Class 4A state tournament in 2013. Those teams were led by 2016 graduate Ali Andrews, McHenry County's all-time leading scorer (girls or boys) with 2,548 points.

"That's something that we want to strive to get back to," Raethz said. "The last few years, we haven't really been in contention for a conference title or a regional. I know that's something that our current players really want to get back to, and they're working really hard to put themselves back in those positions."

Huntley tied for fifth in the FVC last season and took eighth two seasons ago. Junior Kamsi Nwogu (12.8 ppg), freshman Carley Faulkner (8.8) and junior Raquel Radermacher (7.5) have provided the bulk of the scoring for Huntley, which has won four straight.

But defense always has been a staple of Raethz-led teams.

"No matter what their personnel is every year, you always go into it knowing they're going to play you tough," Dundee-Crown coach Sarah Miller said. "They're going to be aggressive and play good D and give everything they have out there. You can tell he takes pride in his team's defense."

"He's created a real physical and defensive mindset," McHenry coach Rob Niemic said. "I've never been to one of his practices, but I can imagine that they're not easy. Coaches talk about it all the time, 'You've got to be tough.' His kids go out and do it."

Class 1A/2A postseason announced: The Class 1A and 2A seedings and pairings were released last week, with Marengo getting a top seed in the Class 2A Mendota Sectional. The Indians will play in the Wheaton Academy Regional, along with No. 4-seeded Marian Central.

Marengo will go for its third straight regional championship, with the previous two in Class 3A. Marian last won a regional in 2013.

Elsewhere in 2A, No. 3-seeded Johnsburg and 11th-seeded Richmond-Burton will play in the Genoa-Kingston Regional. Rockford Lutheran, a No. 2 seed, is the lowest seed in that regional. Johnsburg has won three regional titles in four years, including last season. R-B has not won a regional title since 1994, when the Rockets qualified for the Class A state tournament.

In Class 1A, Alden-Hebron is a No. 7 seed in the Pecatonica Sectional. The Giants open against ninth-seeded Milledgeville in the Eastland Regional. A-H won its second regional two seasons ago. Regional games for Class 1A and 2A begin Monday.

The Class 3A and 4A seedings will be released at IHSA.org on Thursday. Pairings will be posted Friday.

Nice shooting: Marengo's Jennifer Heinberg continued her strong junior season last week and became the eighth local girls player to surpass 1,000 career points this season in a 57-53 win over Richmond-Burton. In the same game, Heinberg broke the team record for 3s in a season.

Entering the week, the guard has 97 3s in 27 games and is averaging 17.5 points a game.

Marissa Knobloch, a 2019 graduate, held the previous record for 3s in a season with 88. Heinberg has 206 3s in her career and is 38 behind Knobloch (244) for Marengo's all-time record.

Reaching 20: McHenry reached 20 wins for the third straight season with a 56-43 win over Prairie Ridge on Saturday. The Warriors are 69-21 (76.7 winning percentage) since the start of the 2017-18 season with a Class 4A regional title and FVC championship (both in 2018).

Dundee-Crown also reached 20 victories on Saturday with a 60-42 win over Cary-Grove. The Chargers finished 23-9 last season and had 19 wins the previous two seasons. Since the start of the 2016-17 season, D-C is 82-32 (71.9 winning percentage) with an FVC and 4A regional title (both in 2017).

WHAT TO WATCH

Hampshire at Burlington Central, 7 p.m. Wednesday: The Whips almost beat the Rockets in their first FVC meeting, a 51-49 win for Burlington on Jan. 8. Burlington needs to keep winning to stay in the hunt for a conference championship.

Woodstock at Woodstock North, 6:30 p.m. Friday: The Blue Streaks and Thunder close out the Kishwaukee River Conference season in a crosstown rivalry.