Goals achieved on Pancratz' buzzer-beater

Schaumburg senior Drewann Pancratz said her team's goal was to be aggressive and play to the buzzer Tuesday night against state-ranked Wheeling.

Pancratz sure lived up to that motto.

Her off balance 14-foot buzzer-beater from the baseline off a rebound of her own 17-foot miss lifted the Saxons to a dramatic 54-52 Mid-Suburban League crossover win over the visiting Wildcats.

Actually, the entire Saxons team (17-1) and Wildcats played hard to the buzzer as Wheeling (17-3) rallied from a 6-point deficit in the final minutes to tie the game at 52-52, thanks to No. 52, Ashley Wilson.

Wilson (13 points) collected huge back-to-back steals and scored a layup following her first swipe to cut the deficit to 2 points with 1:25 left.

With 50 seconds left, the Purdue-bound Wilson pulled down a rebound from a missed free throw and sophomore Janelle Cannon (team-high 15 points) hit a 16-footer to tie the game with 37 seconds left.

Schaumburg's final possession ended with Pancratz' unloading her first shot with seven seconds.

"What impressed me most was that Drewann was smart enough to take that shot with seven seconds left to give us time to get a putback," said Saxons coach Bill Murmann. "I thought we were very unselfish all night and relied on a lot of different people at different times."

They relied on senior Kylie Castans for a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds while Gabrielle Blackwell added 10 with 12 rebounds.

"I saw Drewann lean back and toss it in," Castans said of the game-winner. "I had no idea if it would go in. I was getting ready for the box out."

Boxing out was Wheeling's main problem according to coach Shelly Wiegel.

"It was fitting it was a putback on that last missed shot," Wiegel said. "That's tough. That's what happens when you don't box out. We refused to rebound in the first half. I thought we were putting too much pressure on our posts."

Gryte Satas' layup off a nice pass from Taylor Kosla put Schaumburg ahead 52-46 with 2:24 left.

Illinois-bound Lana Rukavina (8 points), who did not start because she had been away in Croatia over the holidays, hit a bank shot on an assist from Wilson to spark the 6-0 run.

"It was a nice rally at the end," Wiegel added. "But it was unfortunate that we put ourselves in that position.

"I thought Lana had a pretty good game, considering she just got back into town on Sunday."

Satas (2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots) scored some big layups in the scored half, getting great passes from Castans, Blackwell and Kosla (5 assists).

"We were very much aware Wheeling is an outstanding team," said Murmann, whose team trailed 24-19 late in the first half. "I thought or the most part we executed well and moved the ball well, especially in the second half.

"Kylie had a great game. And what can you say about Drewann? You know, if the game is coming down to a last shot, I can not think of better people to take that last shot than Drewann, Kylie or Gabrielle."