Wheeling's ready for starring role

For the first time in 33 years of girls basketball state finals theater, Wheeling's Wildcats will be on the big stage.

When the curtain raises on the Class 4A finals today at 6:30 p.m., state-ranked Wheeling (32-1) will have its most productive cast in school history on the floor at Illinois State's Redbird Arena to face Bolingbrook (23-4) in the first semifinal.

The state-ranked Raiders are in Normal for a fifth straight appearance under eighth-year coach Anthony Smith (216-25).

In the Class AA tourney from 2006 to 2008, they were fourth, first and second, respectively.

Last year, they were runners-up to Whitney Young in the first Class 4A tourney.

Bolingbrook's leading scorer wasn't even in high school for any of those past successes.

Freshman forward Morgan Tuck (6-foot-2) averages 18.8 points and leads the Raiders with 271 rebounds. Sophomore Ariel Massengale (6-foot) is next with 13.7 points a game.

Senior Satavia Taylor (6-foot) has pulled down 124 rebounds while junior Nicossia Henry (5-11) has collected 112.

Bolingbrook is averaging 67 points, so the Wildcats, who average 62 points, know defense will be of utmost importance.

"We've got to play good defense," said Wildcats junior standout Janelle Cannon, who averages team-highs of 3.9 steals and 4.2 assists. "And we've got to put points on the board."

Cannon also knows how to put points on the board, averaging 16 points, second on the team only to Purdue-bound Ashley Wilson (18.4).

Cannon's classmate Bianca Szafarowicz, also a Division I recruit, averages 13.9.

Cannon leads the team with 41 3-pointers while Szafarowicz has fired home 28 from long range and Wilson 5.

"Ashley (Wilson) and I went and watched the state finals last year," Cannon said. "But we have never played here (Redbird Arena) so this is really exciting."

Bolingbrook lost to Whitney Young 54-45 in last year's championship game.

"We know they have the experience from being here before," said fifth-year coach Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel (136-22). "But we also know there is a reason we are here and that's from playing our game."

The Wildcats' game also includes tough defense, which gets stellar play from Bridgette Gray, a 5-foot-6 senior guard who has been able to hold down top scorers during the state tourney.

Junior Stephanie Kuzmanic complements the offense well and enjoyed a 12-point effort against Lake Zurich in the sectional final.

The Wildcats' only loss is to the No. 1 ranked Class 4A team, Whitney Young, 75-53 in the McDonald's Classic at Willowbrook High School on Jan. 15.

Bolingbrook's four losses are to out-of-state teams - Ben Davis of Indianapolis, Cardinal O'Hare of Pennsylvania, St. Michael of New York and Washington of Indiana.

"We have to handle their (Bolingbrook's) full-court pressure and trapping," Wiegel said. "They're an athletic team."

The Raiders put 98 points on the board when they opened the season against Morgan Park with a 98-49 triumph. They have scored 80 or more points three times.

The Wildcats' high offensive game was an 82-72 victory over Fenwick in the championship of the Niles North Thanksgiving tournament.

"We know they (Bolingbrook) are a very solid team," Wiegel said. "And that they've had a good season. They have put themselves in a position to get where they're at."

Wheeling has put itself in this position for the first time in school history.

Let the show begin.