Wheeling tips Grant; Conant nets victory
The Class 4A No. 4-ranked Wheeling Wildcats got past host Grant 45-39 in a nonconference game Tuesday as senior Lana Rukavina (13 points), junior Ashley Wilson (13) and sophomore Janelle Cannon (12) led the way in Fox Lake.
Cannon had two 3-pointers for the winners while Bianca Szafarowicz had one.
Wheeling, which overcame a 1-point deficit with about two minutes remaining, snapped a five-game winning by Grant (6-2).
Coach Shelly Wiegel's Wildcats will take a 9-1 record into Friday's showdown at No. 1 Buffalo Grove (8-0).
Conant 38, Neuqua Valley 32: Conant improved to 7-1 as senior Michelle Rawleigh (10 points), senior Ariana Zades (9), senior Lisa Parisi (8) and junior Emma Loos (6) led the way for the host Cougars in the nonconference game.
Regina 42, Fremd 39: Fremd was led by sophomores Sam Thelin (9 points) and Gianna Abruzzo (8) in the nonconference game against Regina (4-4) in Wilmette. Taylor Glassman and Kaitlin Jones each added 6 points for the Vikings.
Mundelein 43, Palatine 41: The host Pirates (2-6) were led by senior Megan Boecher (14 points) and junior Lauren Orris (6) in the nonconference game.
Seniors Nikki Linares and Sarah Iuorio each had 3-pointers for the hosts.
BG nets top seed at D-C: Buffalo Grove, the No. 1 team in the Daily Herald's Top 20 girls basketball rankings, is the top seed for the 25th annual Charger Classic Christmas Tournament at Dundee-Crown.
The tournament is sponsored by the Daily Herald.
The Bison (8-0) have never won the D-C tournament. On its way to an Elite Eight berth, BG finished third at D-C last year, beating Resurrection in the third-place game after losing to New Trier in the semifinals.
Defending D-C and Class AA state champion Fenwick, with St. Edward transfer Katelyn Payne, is the No. 2 seed. The Friars are 6-2 this season, having lost to Wheeling and to Heritage Christian of Indiana. Fenwick has won the last three D-C titles.
Resurrection and New Trier are the other top seeds.
The tournament will kick off at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 26 with Buffalo Grove taking on Regina Dominican.
Two new teams enter the tournament this year -- St. Charles North and Mother McAuley. McAuley has been in the tournament previously but not for several years. St. Charles North features one of the top players in the Chicago area in 6-foot-3 Kelsey White. The North Stars will open the D-C tournament against Naperville Central.
Other first-round matchups of local interest include Maine West vs. Fremd, New Trier vs. Johnsburg, Fenwick vs. Bartlett and Dundee-Crown vs. Prospect.
Eight games will be played each day with the championship game scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29.
Five teams ranked in the Daily Herald Top 20 are in the field, including BG (1), Maine West (9), Prospect (10), Naperville Central (14) and St. Charles North (16).
-- John Radtke