C-G relies on late surge

Cary-Grove's Christina Bear (left) tries to steal the ball from Huntley's Meagan Flynn on Friday in Cary. C-G won, 50-38. (Joe Cyganowski - For the Northwest Herald)

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CARY – When it mattered Friday, Cary-Grove’s girls basketball team reached for its fortitude and bailed itself out of a potentially devastating situation.

The Trojans trailed most of the way against Huntley in a pivotal game that would determine whether the Trojans would share the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division title with Jacobs or settle for second place.

The game didn’t start well for the Trojans, but C-G ended it with a flourish.

The Trojans took their first lead of the game with 4 minutes remaining and never looked back in a 50-38 win against the Red Raiders that clinched a share of the division title.

Jacobs defeated Dundee-Crown on Friday, 61-24, to claim its share of the crown.

The night’s second story line, and the one C-G coach Rod Saffert did not reveal to anyone until the final buzzer sounded, was junior Claire Jakubicek’s milestone.

Jakubicek scored her 1,000th career point with 2:49 remaining in the second quarter on a low-post basket. She has 1,009 career points and is the sixth girls basketball player in C-G history to reach 1,000.

All in all, it was a good night for the Trojans (23-3 overall, 9-1 FVC Valley) at Elroy Fitzgerald Gymnasium.

“Huntley played its heart out, but I was so proud of my team because they played their hearts out, too,” said Jakubicek, clutching the game ball adorned with all her teammates’ signatures to commemorate the occasion. She finished Friday with a game-high 16 points.

“Winning or sharing the conference championship was our goal all year, and it means so much. We worked so hard.”

Scoring her 1,000th point, though, was a shock, Jakubicek said.

“I had no idea I was even close. It was something I hoped I would be able to do next year, but to do it already was amazing,” Jakubicek said. “Even my parents knew and didn’t tell me, so it was a huge surprise.”

The night might not have been as celebratory if the Raiders (12-13, 4-6) had maintained their momentum.

Huntley came out firing and led, 12-7 after the first quarter and 24-19 at halftime, thanks in part to three three-pointers from junior CeCe Tsevas, who had a team-high 14 points.

Huntley maintained its lead, 34-31, at the end of the third quarter before C-G surged.

Huntley built its lead to six, 37-31, with 5:08 remaining in the game when C-G called a timeout.

The Trojans came out of the break and nearly ran the table. Freshman forward Olivia Jakubicek (14 points) scored a putback with 4:22 left to play that tied the game at 37, and the Trojans took their first lead of the game, 40-37, when Olivia Jakubicek scored another putback, was fouled, and completed her three-point play.

The Trojans outscored the Raiders, 19-4, in the fourth quarter.

“This was not the same Huntley team that we faced earlier,” Saffert said. “They played an outstanding game tonight, and it’s been frustrating for us because we haven’t been playing at the level we want to play.

“ ... I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team with everything we’ve been through.”

The Raiders finished their FVC Valley season proud that they had given C-G the challenge they had hoped to present.

“We went toe-to-toe with them for three-and-a-half quarters,” Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. “Those last four minutes of the fourth we lacked the composure we had earlier. More than that, we have to credit Cary-Grove for amping up their intensity.

“Under the duress we were facing, we didn’t have the resilience, and that’s the difference between where they’re at and where we are. They know how to close out games, and we have to handle ourselves better down the stretch.”