Wheeling 45, Warren 38
Wheeling sophomore Stephanie Kuzmanic knew she had to be ready for the Wildcats' Class 4A Mundelein sectional semifinal against Warren, but she never dreamed that her number would get called as early as it was.
As one of the top reserves for the Wildcats, Kuzmanic spells sophomore Janelle Cannon often. When she does, Kuzmanic delivers.
So when Cannon fell to the floor and injured her right wrist in the first 44 seconds of play Tuesday night, Kuzmanic stepped right in.
She scored just 5 points, but came up with a huge play for the Wildcats.
With Wheeling up 39-35, Kuzmanic found Illinois-bound senior Lana Rukavina with a perfect backdoor pass to give the Wildcats a key bucket and send them into the sectional finals with a hard-fought, 45-38 win over the third-seeded Blue Devils.
Wheeling (28-3) will play in a sectional final for the first time ever, when it faces No. 1 seed and Mid Suburban East co-champion Buffalo Grove at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Warren closes out the careers of eight seniors with a record of 27-3.
"We chose to look at the positives tonight," said Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel. "We have been through a lot this season with injuries and illnesses. So when Janelle got hurt, we looked at it as an opportunity."
The opportunity was for Kuzmanic to come in and give the Wildcats good minutes, and she did.
"You never think about another player getting hurt," Kuzmanic said. "I knew I had to step in and pick it up and help the team win anyway I could."
Wheeling and Warren played the first two quarters like a pair of prize fighters looking for an edge, but there was no edge to be found as the teams battled to a 18-18 halftime tie.
Once the third quarter started, it was Wheeling that delivered the first punch when Kuzmanic found Natasha Robinson (6 points) for a layup and ensuing 3-point play to give the Wildcats the lead for good at 21-18.
The lead grew to 28-22 thanks to a 7-1 spurt midway through the third quarter. Rukavina brought the Wheeling fans to their feet with a long 3-pointer to give the Wildcats the cushion. Rukavina, who didn't play the first time the teams met in December, scored 12 of her 19 points in the second half to lead all scorers.
"In the second half it was a case of our shots not falling on one end, and the shots falling for (Wheeling) on the other end," Warren coach John Stanczykiewcz said. "In the third quarter in particular we settled for too many jump shots and they didn't go in for us. Wheeling also took a lot of jump shots, and they went in for them."
Warren survived the third quarter with Stanford-bound senior Sarah Boothe pulling the Devils within 28-26 with 1:47 to play. But that would be as close as Warren would get. Boothe closed out her brilliant career with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
But the Wildcat defense was brutally tough on Boothe, holding her scoreless in the fourth quarter. Boothe and fellow seniors Lori Shaw (10 points) and Shana Shepherd (7 points) combined to shoot just 12 of 46 from the field, including just 5 field goals in the second half.
"We just weren't able to execute in the second half," Boothe said. "The whole second half was just kind of a blur. It's hard to explain it."
Wheeling broke open the game to start the fourth quarter, building the lead to 37-28 while holding Warren scoreless for 4½ minutes.
"We wanted to leave everything on the floor in the fourth quarter," Wiegel said. "It was about taking care of the ball and making our free throws, and we did that."