The game was led by a heartfelt Senior Night for the seven senior players: Riyana Walker, Kendall Kirch, Kamsi Nwogu, Sara Rysavy, Raquel Radermacher, Ashley Guazzo, and Francesca Romano.

It was a strong defensive game; the first quarter ended 5-7, but the Raiders quickly took charge in the second quarter. Senior Kamsi Nwogu scored the first point on an impressive lay-up, and after that players like sophomore Sammi Campanelli and senior Ashley Guazzo continued to lead the relentless offense.

“We felt confident going into the game. We’ve only lost to Burlington Central, so we just wanted to end on a win, especially on Senior Night,” said sophomore Jessie Ozzauto. 

The Cary Grove Trojans came in feeling good. Prior to the game, they had been on a six-game winning streak and had tripled their conference wins from last year’s season.

The Trojans could not answer Huntley’s perseverance on the court, saying on social media that “Huntley girls basketball brought it defensively tonight.”

The second half kept fans jumping out of their seats. Coming in from half time, the Raiders led 16-11, but Cary Grove staged a steady comeback. By the end of the third quarter, Huntley was clinging to a 26-25 lead. With both teams dropping multiple free throws, it had quickly become a game of inches. 

While this game was high intensity all the way through, the Raiders were only without the lead for less than 1:30 in the second half of the game. With a final score of 39-37, the Raiders end their conference play with just one loss. On Monday, March 8, they will start the Fox Valley Conference tournament seeded second. 

While the Raiders will lose many key starters to graduation, underclassmen players including sophomores Carley Faulkner and Sammi Campanelli will carry on the winning tradition at Huntley.