Wheeling's 18-game MSL East streak on line vs. Elk Grove

Wheeling puts its 18-game Mid-Suburban League East Division winning streak on the line today at 7:30 p.m. when the Wildcats visit Elk Grove - which has also been among the top-ranked Chicago-area teams.

The Grenadiers feature a pair of Division I forwards in 5-foot-10 Ashley Capotosto (St. Bonaventure) and 6-4 Courtney Lindfors (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), who have helped lead the team to an 8-1 record.

Wheeling has not lost a conference match since its second game of 2007-08 season to Buffalo Grove.

With seniors Janelle Cannon (Minnesota recruit), Bianca Szafarowicz (Truman State recruit) and Stephanie Kuzmanic leading the way, the Wildcats are also 8-1, their loss coming against state power Fenwick in the championship game of the Niles North Thanksgiving tournament.

The Wildcats won their MSL East opener 51-17 over Rolling Meadows.

"We are looking forward to our second conference game, "said Wildcats coach Shelly Wiegel.

"Elk Grove has been playing well, and we know the key to the game will be our defense. We have to work hard, limit their second-chance points and make the most of our opportunities on offense."

The Grenadiers are looking to avenge a season-opening conference loss at Hersey 47-38 just three days ago.

Lindfors (16 points) and Capotosto (15) led the Grens in that loss despite each playing with 4 fouls in the final quarter.

"We know they have a nice 1-2 punch in the post," said Wiegel about Elk Grove. "And we will work hard to contain them as best we can. We will rely on the experience and leadership of our seniors."

The Wildcats return three starters from last year's 33-2 team.

"This is a solid group which has been playing well together,"said Wiegel, who guided the Wildcats to third place in the Class 2A state final in March. "We want to continue improving and developing our chemistry."

Szafarowicz has scored in double figures the last seven games, including a season-high 19 points against Johnsburg.

Cannon has been in double figures every game and has a season-high 31 against Johnsburg (69-67 win).

"They (Elk Grove) are probably the tallest team we'll see," Szafarowicz said. "We are really focusing on a lot of help defense. We've done a lot of box-out drills so we can try and keep Courtney and Ashley out of the paint."

The Wildcats are accustomed to playing in front of big crowds.

"Hopefully, we'll have our big crowd," Szafarowicz said. "A lot depends on which team comes out ready to play and we'll see who comes out ahead."

Grens coach Ryan Kirkorsky has his team coming off a 44-41 win at Lake Forest on Wednesday.

Capotosto did not play because of illness and sophomore guard Dani Goranson got her first start. She poured home a career-high 20 points with four 3-pointers.

"Wheeling hasn't really missed a beat since last year," Kirkorsky said. "The No. 1 thing is handling their pressure and No. 2 playing solid team defense.

"Our players knew this was going to be a tough week. I think they really want to see where they stand now and there's no better gauge than Wheeling."

The Wildcats are tied with Hersey and Prospect in the MSL East.

Coach Martha Kelly's Knights will try to retain their perfect record (8-0, 1-0) against visiting Todd Hatfield's Rolling Meadows Mustangs (4-3, 0-1), while Mary Fendley's Huskies (5-3, 1-0) will play host to Pat Dudle's Buffalo Grove Bison (3-4, 0-1).

"Buffalo Grove obviously has good guards who can shoot the ball," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley. "We have to make sure we have good perimeter pressure and we can't let them have second shots."

West side story: Over in the MSL West, Barrington, Fremd and Schaumburg are all 1-0.

Fremd (5-3), coming off two big fourth-quarter efforts to defeat Conant and Lake Zurich, will host the Fillies.

Coach Babbi Barreiro's Fillies (5-3, 1-0) have received double-figure scoring games from Abby Kirchoff, Sam Maasarani, Sarah Mass, Shelby Whigham and Emily Harris this season.

Kirchoff scored 24 points, including 12 of 12 free throws in the final quarter, in a 42-32 win over Hoffman a week ago tonight.

"I think the big key for us is containing Abby Kirchoff," said Fremd coach Dave Yates. "They obviously have a size advantage on us inside. Hopefully, we can combat that with our pressure."

Senior Taylor Glassmann poured in 18 points, 15 in the fourth quarter, in the 50-36 win over Lake Zurich on Monday, while classmate Gianna Abruzzo added 16 points.

"We're hoping that gave us some confidence," Yates added. "We've had back-to-back good fourth quarters now."

Coach Ashley Berggren's Saxons (2-6) will try to stay unbeaten in the West when they travel to Hoffman Estates to meet Dan Traver's Conant squad (2-6, 0-1).

Coach Mike Nocella's defending West champion Hoffman Estates Hawks (4-3, 0-1) will try to rebound from their loss to Barrington when they host Leslie Schock's Palatine Pirates (2-5. 0-1).

Quick turnaround: After playing at Wheeling on Friday, Dec. 18, in a 7:30 p.m. MSL East showdown, Hersey comes back for a 9 a.m. game Saturday against Elgin to start the Wheaton North tourney.

They Huskies are seeded third in the 16-team tourney, behind Hinsdale Central and Elk Grove, a team they defeated 48-37 one day before the seeding meeting.

That will give the Huskies some added incentive in a tourney in which they have always outplayed their seed.

"I don't understand why head-to-head competition or strength of schedule was not taken into consideration in the seeding process," said Huskies coach Mary Fendley, whose team was second in the competitive Maine West Tip-Off Classic six days ago.

The Huskies were third in the tourney last year, falling to champion Hinsdale Central in the title game.

They have won two titles at Wheaton North.

Completing the top eight seeds are Waubonsie Valley, Downers Grove North, Glenbrook South, Jacobs and Lyons Township.

Nice return: After helping St. Viator to its finest volleyball season in school history, senior Mary Calov was all set to make her impact with the basketball team when a shoulder injury sidelined her the first two weeks of the season.

But Calov has returned, and she played a key role in the Lions going 2-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference with a win over Nazareth Academy on Wednesday.

Although she was the team's leading rebounder last season, Calov showed she can also score points, delivering a team-high 14 with three straight 3-pointers in the second quarter of the 48-34 win.

In the Hunt: Prospect 6-2 junior Sarah Hunt had a much bigger impact than her 7 points showed in last Friday's 56-44 win over Buffalo Grove.

Hunt was a disruptive force inside with 6 blocked shots and 8 rebounds.

"She's matured a lot in the last year to year-and-a-half," said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. "She's really come on strong, not just on the offensive end but on the defensive end as well. For her height she has a lot of quickness most teams aren't ready for."

Which showed at the start against BG when Kelly matched Hunt defensively on Bison guard Andrea DiPrima.

"She does a lot of little things that make a difference in the game," Kelly said.

"I'm very proud of the way she's been playing lately."