Wheeling keeps winning big
Going into its game at the Jean Walker Field House in Mount Prospect, Wheeling's girls basketball team had won 18 of its 20 games by 20 points or more.
The Wildcats didn't skip a beat Friday night, adding another 20-point plus tally against the Knights.
Breaking out of the gates with a 15-1 lead, the Wildcats cruised to a 56-35 triumph for their 21st win of the season without a loss.
Wheeling (21-0, 5-0) took over sole possession of first place in the Mid-Suburban East, one game ahead of Prospect (15-5, 4-1).
Next up for the Class 4A No. 2-ranked team is a date with No. 1 Whitney Young (18-1) Monday at 7 p.m. at Willowbrook High School in the final game of the three-day McDonald's Shootout.
The Wildcats are hoping to have high-scoring guard Bianca Szafarowicz (16 ppg) back for that contest. The 5-11 junior did not play Friday after rolling her ankle in practice Wednesday.
"She wanted to be subbed in a couple of times," said Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel. "But we felt it was better for the team if we waited until Monday."
The Wheeling fans didn't have to wait long for their team to take control.
Purdue-bound Ashley Wilson (24 points, 11 rebounds) hit 3 baskets and a free throw in the first four minutes and Janelle Cannon (15 points, 9 rebounds) added a 3-pointer and 12-foot runner for a 12-0 lead.
After Sarah Winans hit a free throw with 2:49 left to make it 12-1, Stephanie Kuzmanic (12 points, 8 rebounds) drilled a 3-pointer for a 15-1 advantage.
Marissa Pettenuzzo converted Prospect's first basket on a 14-footer with 51 seconds left in the period.
"We had a little bit of slow start as we got used to playing with 'B' (Szafarowicz)," Cannon said. "But Kellie Kuzmanic (freshman starting for Szafarowicz) came through big time. It's a big win. We knew they would be tough. We wanted to come out and take care of business."
Senior guard Bridgette Gray hit a 3-pointer from the baseline to make it 18-3 after eight minutes.
"It was nice to see three different girls hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter," Wiegel said, "I was really impressed with how Kellie (freshman) played in her first varsity start (for Szarafarowic) and Bridgette played awesome defense."
"I love playing defense," Gray said. "That's the best part of the game for me. It's exciting when you hold the person you're guarding to fewer points than her last game."
Winans (7 points), Lexi Glennon (6) and Danielle Brucci (6) led Prospect.
"They have a lot of good players, they've got good shooters and they push the ball up the floor real well," Glennon said.
"I thought we slowed them down in the half-court," said Knights coach Martha Kelly. "But we missed some layups and you can't do that against a good team.
"After the half, our goal was to hold them under 60. We talked about two things for this game. We had to limit our turnovers. We had five so we accomplished that. And we had to crash the defensive boards. We have to improve on that. Wilson and their other girls had some putbacks. I'm proud of the kids. Defensively, they did what they had to do."