Huntley High School’s east gym is brightly lit up as parents and fans start pouring into the court. The girls varsity basketball team walks out of the locker room doors and into the lively gym as Crystal Lake Central’s team follows shortly behind.
As they set down their gear, the players take their bright orange basketballs off the cart and start warming up with a shooting drill. Balls fly across the gym as the girls enter the logical game mindset.
With months of preparation by watching film and practicing in the early mornings, Huntley was well-trained for this game.
“We do a lot of film and scouting reports,” junior Anna Campanelli said. “We work really hard at practice, pushing to get better every day.”
As the players set up on the court, determined to win again, the whistle blows and Huntley takes the lead. The crowd cheers loudly, and ball after ball swishes in the net. Huntley starts racking up points as halftime approaches.
“We had our ups and downs, but we kept our energy up on the floor and bench and continued to play hard,” junior Isabella Boskey said.
Huntley held consistent energy and positivity throughout the game as they continued to dominate the court.
The halftime buzzer goes off and the score lights up on the scoreboard. Huntley leads 35-21. The teams head out of the gym to discuss game plans on how to one-up each other.
As they head back through the double doors into the still-wild crowd, the teams start dribbling and shooting basketballs to warm up again. After getting back into the game, Huntley continues to dominate.
“We worked really well together,” Campanelli said. “They played a zone so we passed the ball really well and got some open baskets.”
As the time continues to dwindle, Huntley is still on top of their game and dominating in every play. The game ends with Huntley taking the victory 57-47.
With Huntley’s season still in flourish, the girls varsity basketball team has some big goals moving forward.
“We’re gonna keep winning, keep our winning streak up,” senior Cassidy Serpe said. “We want to win regionals because last year didn’t go so well. But this year we’re going to win regionals.”
As the team heads out of the same double doors they walked into planning a win, they walk out winners yet again.
With Huntley’s big ambitions leading into regionals, the energy will only increase from here.
