Huntley sophomore Evie Freundt and her Red Raiders teammates are coached to keep active feet and look for the ball on defense.

Those tenets shined through Tuesday evening, when Huntley faced Burlington Central in a crucial FVC matchup between the first and second-ranked teams in the conference. Holding an eight-point lead at halftime, Huntley dominated the second half with stifling defense, generating deflections and forcing a myriad of turnovers.

Using active hands and aggressive man-to-man defense, Huntley dismantled the Burlington Central offense, holding standout guard Audrey LaFleur to three points in the first half and limiting the Rockets to just six third-quarter points in a 70-41 victory. The win keeps the Raiders (12-7, 7-1 FVC) atop the conference standings.

“We needed to stop the ball and we didn’t want any straight-line takes,” said Freundt, who scored 12 points in Tuesday’s win. “That’s how they get their opportunities and how they can shoot 3s or get into the lane. As a team, we plug the gaps up really well and we’re always talking to each other.”

Leading 29-21 at halftime, the Raiders pressed Burlington Central off the inbounds pass and created turnovers in the half-court area. On the rare occasion the Rockets (11-7, 5-2) found dribble penetration, Freundt, who had three blocks, rotated to swat shots away. With Huntley capitalizing in transition, the Raiders outscored Burlington Central 24-6 in the third quarter.

“We’re always ready,” Freundt said. “We’re told to bounce on our feet and we’re all aggressive. It definitely builds our energy and we want kills, which are three stops in a row. That definitely helps us on the offensive side and that helps us push the ball and get momentum. We definitely feel like this will put us in a good spot.”

While Huntley contained the Rockets with its defense, senior guard Aubrina Adamik took command of the Raiders offense. An Akron softball recruit, Adamik buried three 3s during the second half, finishing with a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds. A 3-pointer from Kara Giordano, who drilled two off the bench, and an Adamik layup followed a 9-2 Huntley run to start the third quarter.

“We wanted to go into the second half of the game ready,” Adamik said. “We wanted to keep the lead as high as we could, and I have to give props to my teammates for getting me the ball. I couldn’t have done it without their support. We made the right cuts and the right screens. We spaced out and we did well to get open looks.”

Burlington Central kept pace with the Raiders in the first half, where junior forward Julia Scheuer put home a trio of layups in transition and led the Rockets on the boards. Scheuer finished with a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds for Central, which trailed 15-12 after one quarter and saw LaFleur drain a 3-pointer from the corner, her first of the game, late in the second quarter.

“Huntley is a big obstacle in our conference,” Scheuer said. “One of our goals this season is to be conference champs and Huntley is at the top. Our energy was a big part of our start. In practice, we’ve been trying to get to a higher level on offense and defense. We’ve been trying to simulate that and bring that energy in a game.”

A 10-4 run, which featured a Giordano 3-pointer and a finger-roll layup from Freundt, enabled Huntley to approach a double-digit lead at the end of the first half. Nine different players scored for the Raiders, who received 11 points and four rebounds from senior guard Luca Garlin, 10 points from junior guard Alyssa Borzych and six points from both Giordano and Lana Hobday.

“We didn’t want to rest and we wanted to come out with the win,” Adamik said. “It’s a good feeling, but we’re not done yet. We have a whole nother level we can reach and we’re trying the best we can.”

LaFleur finished with 12 points for the Rockets, who will host an FVC game against Jacobs on Friday. Huntley will take on Carmel and Neuqua Valley during DeKalb’s MLK Tournament on Saturday.