Wheeling gets shot at No. 1 Whitney Young

Thanks to Jim O'Boye and his annual McDonald's Girls Basketball Classic held at Willowbrook High School, the state's first- and third-ranked Class 4A teams will face off in a month.

No. 3 Wheeling (11-0) will face No. 1 Whitney Young (9-1) at 7 p.m. on Jan. 19 in Villa Park.

"When the girls found out about it, they were really looking forward to the game," said Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel. "They just see it as another competitive game and chance to show who they are."

Also in the Classic, Buffalo Grove is slated to meet Sandburg at 11 a.m. on Jan. 17, and Maine West meets Indianapolis North Central at 11:30 a.m. on Jan 19.

In a zone: When Hersey sophomore guard Megan Rogowski hit five straight 3-pointers against Mother McAuley (15-0 run) two weeks ago, Huskies coach Mary Fendley said it was the most impressive shooting streak she's seen.

The amazing run led to Hersey's 67-58 victory over McAuley (now 7-2) in the fourth round of the Maine West Tip-Off Classic.

"It's rare for a team to go on a 15-0 run, let alone one player," Fendley said. "It was so fun to watch as a coach and I'm sure for the fans."

For the game, Rogowski (23 points) was 7-for-7 from 3-point land. Her seven 3s tied Jenny Dohnal (1998) for the school record.

Rogowski's 16 in the Tip-Off Classic were also a tourney record.

Family fun: This marks the ninth varsity season that one of Tom Blenner's daughters has been on the St. Viator varsity girls basketball team.

St. Viator senior guard Jamie Blenner, who scored 10 points in a dramatic 52-50 win over St. Joseph last Saturday, is the youngest of three sisters to play for the school.

Megan Blenner was a three-year varsity player while sister Kelly followed with four years of varsity action.

It started in 2000 when Megan was a sophomore on the 1998-99 team. She also played four years of prep soccer and was a four-year all-conference player at Carroll Universwity in Waukesha, Wi.

Kelly also played four years of varsity soccer at Viator and is currently a sophomore and leading scorer for Western Michigan's soccer team.

Jamie is the only sister to play three sports. Jamie also participates in soccer and cross country.

Her father, Tom, also played three sports at Marian Central High School in Woodstock where he is a member of that school's Hall of Fame for his service as the school's cross country coach.

Tom, who is the assistant to Lions varsity basketball coach Paul Bjerkness, is also a member of the Catholic Orders of Foresters Hall of Fame.

Tom was inducted in 1996. Al May, the father of former Daily Herald Athlete of the Year Molly May, is also a graduate of Marian Central and a member of the Foresters Hall of Fame.

Tom Blenner has coached girls basketball at Viator since 2000 when he was the freshman "A" assistant coach for Bill Probst.

Tom was the head sophomore coach from 2001-05 before joining Bjerkness on the varsity level in 2006.

In 2005, Jamie played on her father's sophomore team as a freshman.

Megan, Kelly and Jamie have all been captains for the Lions varsity basketball team.

"I remember trying to imitate their moves when I was little," Jamie said of her older sisters. "I was always trying to learn from them. The biggest thing I learned for them is how hard they always played. That was the most important thing."

Kelly and Megan both wore No. 24 in high school, the same number Tom wore at Marian Central.

"It's fun trying to fill their shoes and keeping the No. 24 alive," Jamie said.

Family fun II: All the starters for the Prospect girls basketball team have sisters on the team or in the program.

The group includes junior Rachel Hunt and sophomore Sarah Hunt (South Middle School), senior Alyssa Glennon and junior Lexi Glennon (South) and sophomore Sarah Winans and senior Kristina Winans (Lincoln Junior High).

Knights seniors Danielle Brucci and Katy Shaffer also have sisters in the program. Christina Brucci and Jess Shaffer play for the sophomore team.

Station to station: When Barrington took the floor Friday night against Hoffman Estates, all five Fillies starters were former players for Station Middle School in Barrington.

The lineup consisted of Jenny Schnack, Abby Kirchoff, Anna Kirchoff, Sarah Mass and Sarah Reindl.

It was Pack the Place Night, and Barrington officials welcomed all young athletes from the town's junior high school and grammar schools.

Alumni basketball: Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro will conduct the first Fillies Alumni basketball game Sunday at 4 p.m. in the main gymnasium.

Those interested should email Barreiro at bbarreiro@cusd220.org by Saturday.

Barreiro plans to make this an annual event during the Christmas break.