Wheeling knocks off Lake Zurich for first sectional title
When standout junior guard Janelle Cannon was on her back holding her knee with 1:13 left in the first quarter, Wheeling girls basketball fans couldn't help but think back one year.
Cannon suffered a broken wrist in the 2008 sectional semifinal at Mundelein, which kept her out of the championship game loss to Buffalo Grove.
Even worse, on the play Thursday night when Cannon injured her knee, Lake Zurich had just pulled into a 12-12 tie.
"Oh man, that was a flashback to last year," said Wheeling's Ashley Wilson (15 points, 14 rebounds). "I was just hoping she was OK and it was great relief when she came back (five minutes later)."
The state-ranked Wildcats (31-1) have faced adversity before during this record-setting season.
Despite Cannon's absence, they went on an 8-0 run and would never trail in a 57-39 victory over the Bears in the championship game of the Barrington Class 4A sectional.
It marked the Wildcats' first girls or basketball sectional title in school history as they advance into the Elite Eight and face Rockford Boylan (31-1) at 8 p.m. Monday at the Elgin Community College supersectional.
"The thing about our team is that we've had so many different times where we had to play without a starter," said Wildcats coach Shelly Wiegel.
"We've played without Bianca (Szafarowicz), without Stephanie (Kuzmanic) and without Bridgette (Gray) so the kids are comfortable with other no matter who comes in," the coach added. "Selma (Smajlovic) especially did a really nice job again when she came in."
Less than a minute upon returning to the floor, Cannon (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 2 steals) hit a scoop layup to give Wheeling a 26-16 lead with 5:01 left in the first half.
"Honestly I don't know what happened," Cannon said about the knee. " I just came down on it and it hurt."
"I was just hoping the injury wasn't like last year," said Szafarowicz (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists). "It gave our whole team a scare because she's such a key component for us."
Kuzmanic and Szafarowizc swished back-back 3-pointers following Cannon's departure.
"When we lost Janelle, we said we want to win this more than anything," Szafarowicz said.
The Bears (28-6) made a big 10-1 run to start the second half, pulling to within 36-34 on a short bank shot by junior Audrey Bauer (12 points).
But Wheeling quickly answered with an 11-0 run, getting 2 baskets and a free throw from Wilson and field goals from Kuzmanic, Cannon and Gray, who took a great pass from Szafarowicz.
"We knew they were on a run (to start the second half)," Szafarowicz said. "We had to try take momentum away with some sudden intensity, and that's what happened."
The Bears, led by Lydia Bauer (13 points), never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
"No doubt, Wheeling is a good team," said Bears coach Chris Bennett. "We had to take better care of the basketball in the fourth quarter (only 2 points until a 3-pointer at the buzzer).
"We talked about getting shots on every trip down the floor but we had too many empty possessions. We tried to guard Cannon and Wilson and see if their other kids could make shots, and they did."