Fewer style points, but Wheeling wins again
It definitely wasn't pretty, but they'll take it.
Just three days after taking the air out of defending Class AA champion Fenwick, 69-67 at the Niles North tournament, the Wheeling Wildcats looked flat on Tuesday night at home against Fremd.
Despite 28 percent (15-of-52) shooting from the field and more sloppy play than they'd like to remember, the Wildcats improved their record to 6-1 with a 38-17 victory over the Vikings in a Mid-Suburban League crossover.
"We had a little letdown, but we got the win," said Wheeling's Ashley Wilson, who led all scorers with 16 points.
That letdown started at the opening tip, as it took the Wildcats nearly three minutes to break the scoreless tie.
A 3-pointer from senior Natasha Robinson was one of only 7 field goals they would convert in the opening 16 minutes.
"We looked really flat in the first half," said Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel. "We probably missed 7 or 8 layups in the first half and 6 or 7 in the second half. We have to be able to make those."
Fremd (2-3) was having its own struggles, converting only 3 field goals in the first half -- a 3-pointer from sophomore Taylor Glassman following Robinson's shot and back-to-back 3-pointers from the left wing from Tracey Nachtsheim (team-high 8 points) in the second quarter.
"We got pretty good looks," said Fremd coach David Yates. "We knew if we were going to beat them we had to knock down shots."
Janelle Cannon (11 points) scored 5 and sparked a 9-0 Wheeling run to end the first half, and Wilson extended the Wildcats' lead to 25-11 with their first 6 points of the second half.
After missing four months over the summer with a stress fracture in her right tibia, Wilson looked solid in her first start of the season.
The 6-foot junior blocked 3 shots, had 4 steals and grabbed 5 rebounds.
"I'm just trying to get back into the flow of things," she said.
Fremd made only 14 percent (7 of 47) from the field, and didn't convert its first 2-point field goal until Nachtsheim nailed an 18-footer from the left elbow with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
Yates was proud of how his squad performed against the Wildcats.
"Holding them under 40 (points) was huge," he said. "(Wheeling) had 40 points at halftime against Fenwick. I was very proud of our defensive effort and how we scrapped."
Fenwick 65, St. Viator 35: Sophomore Kaitlyn Payne (17 points), sophomore Tricia Liston (11) and junior Colleen Forklin (10) led the state's No. 5 ranked Friars (5-1) past the visiting Lions (1-4) in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.