Despite the blustery winds and slightly frigid temperatures outside, inside the East Gym of Huntley High School, things were getting heated during another varsity girls basketball game.

At 7 p.m. on Dec. 6, the varsity girls basketball team defeated Cary Grove. The final score was 59-46 with a Red Raider win.

“We got off to a good start in the first half,” girls basketball Coach Clayton Henricksen said.

The first and second points of the game were scored by senior Sammi Campanelli from a Cary Grove foul.

The team led a strong first quarter scoring 15-7 with the Cary Grove Trojans losing. 

“I really enjoyed seeing how we had a balanced attack,” Coach Henricksen said. “We had a number of players in the double digits [for scoring].”

Sophomore Anna Campanelli, sophomore Ava McFadden and senior Ashlyn Horton were among the few players who scored 3-pointers within the first half. Jessie Ozzauto was also a high scorer in the first half.

“Pushing the ball and getting rebounds was definitely a big thing that helped us get some runs in the first half,” senior point guard Jessie Ozzauto said.

As the game approached halftime, the score was 32-16 with the Raiders still up.

Anna and Sammi Campanelli helped the team offensively by scoring multiple 3-pointers in the third quarter. 

“Our solid screens and trusting each other to shoot was helpful [throughout the game],” senior shooting guard Sammi Campanelli said.

After the third quarter, the score was 49-27. Huntley began to slow down as the Raiders ended with a score of 59-46. Although it was their worst scoring quarter, they still claimed the win for Huntley.

“It was a good way to bounce back from Saturday’s loss, and I think we’re trying to really come together as a team,” Sammi Campanelli said.

And, this is not the last time that Huntley will take on the Trojans. The game allowed the girls to see what they will be up against later in the season too. 

“It’s good to learn your opponents,” Coach Henricksen said. “It’s always a good barometer to see where we’re at in terms of conference and how we’re going to match the second time around.”

Hopefully, the Raiders will take on another win next time that they compete against Cary Grove on Jan. 27. But if they keep it up offensively, another win against the Trojans is definitely in their future.

“We have a big game on Friday, so [we hope to] just keep getting better every day, accepting criticism from others, [and] taking what we need to work on and focusing on that at practice,” Ozzauto said.

Keep it up Raiders, and hopefully, there is another win on Friday against Hampshire.