Buffalo Grove stuns Wheeling
Buffalo Grove guard Heather Nisbet said that the Bison had been "waiting the entire season to play like we did tonight."
What a night it turned out to be for the senior and the rest of her Bison teammates.
Friday night against state-ranked and two-time defending Mid-Suburban League champion Wheeling, BG clawed its way back from a late 7-point deficit to defeat the Wildcats 49-47.
Two clutch free throws by Nisbet with nine seconds left gave the MSL East win to the home team.
"This is awesome," said Nisbet, who along with her teammates was mobbed by the home crowd that rushed the court after the win. "We really stepped up. Both teams played extremely hard tonight, and you have to give Wheeling a lot of credit."
Senior guard Janelle Cannon led Wheeling (18-3, 3-2) with a game-high 18 points but fouled out with less than a minute remaining in the contest.
"Unfortunately we missed a lot of free throws and that turned out to be the difference," said Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel after her team went 9-for-24.
The energetic Bison (7-12, 2-3) rode some hot shooing early to take a 9-point first-quarter lead, but then Cannon, Wheeling senior guard Bianca Szafarowicz and the Wildcat defense took control.
First Szafarowicz had a steal and layup, Cannon stole the ball and completed a 3-point play, and the Wheeling defense held BG scoreless for almost six minutes.
The Wildcats took a 24-21 halftime lead and extended it to 37-30 after three quarters, but BG wouldn't quit.
The Bison missed 15 of their first 17 3-point attempts, but two consecutive 3s from junior guard Andrea DiPrima (16 points) brought the Bison to a late tie at 39-39.
Wheeling led 45-44 with 42 seconds to go when Cannon fouled BG forward Bailey North, sending the freshman to the free-throw line and the senior to the bench with 5 fouls.
North calmly sank 2 free throws to give BG back the lead.
"In the back of my mind," North said, "I knew I could make them. But in the front of my mind I wasn't too stable."
The score was tied at 47-47 when Nisbet was fouled with nine ticks left, and the senior swished through the two foul shots.
"In the beginning of the season free throw shooting was our Achilles' heel," said a drained BG coach Pat Dudle. "But it's now turned into one of our strengths, and the girls stepped up in a pressure situation tonight."
Wheeling had one last chance but a 3-point attempt at the buzzer by senior Stephanie Kuzmanic (7 points) bounced twice on the rim and wouldn't go in.
The Wildcats missed all 14 of their 3-point attempts.
"We've been losing a lot of close games," Dudle said. "But tonight we were able to beat a great team in Wheeling."
Nisbet scored 9 points for the Bison while junior guard KC Dunne pitched in with 7 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior forward Stacey Lialios added 6 points for the winners.
"All season, our staff has been telling the kids that not only can they play with the best, they can beat the best," Dudle said. "They went out and proved it tonight."