Patient Wheeling sinks Round Lake

For a team that believes that patience is a virtue, especially in the offensive half-court, Wheeling sure can put up points in a hurry.

With head coach Julissa Hernandez frequently reciting, “Patience, patience,” from the sideline, the 14th-seeded Wildcats worked the cover off the ball on some possessions Monday night in a Class 4A regional play-in game against No. 19 Round Lake at Libertyville.

Sometimes, the ball got passed around nearly a dozen times before a Wheeling player finally decided to take a shot. But when a shot went up, it often went in.

The methodical but uber-efficient Wildcats still managed to put up 50 points in a 50-14 victory over Round Lake.

Wheeling, which improves to 11-18, advances to play third-seeded Libertyville at 6 p.m. today. Round Lake wraps its season with a 5-23 record.

“We just knew we had to come out strong because it’s the first playoff game and we want to have a good run,” Wheeling senior forward Kellie Kuzmanic said. “We really try to look for the open shots and make sure that we make smart passes. We just like to work the offense.”

The Wildcats worked their offense to the tune of a commanding 20-4 lead after one quarter. Kuzmanic, who finished with a game-high 10 points, had 3 baskets in the opening period.

“Kelly has been our most consistent player this season,” Hernandez said. “I think a lot of other girls feed off of her intensity, offensively and especially defensively.”

The Wheeling defense kept its tight grip for the rest of the first half, allowing Round Lake just one field goal in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Wildcats outscored Round Lake by 12 points to take a comfy 34-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“Our girls came focused and goal-oriented,” Hernandez said. “We did what we had to do. Our goal was to hold them to 4 points or less each quarter and I think every quarter but the third quarter (5 points for Round Lake), we did that. Our defense was there.

“Offensively, one thing we practice is working the ball. If we don’t have a fast break, that’s fine. We can work the ball around. Sometimes, the girls get anxious when they get the ball. They want to score right away, as opposed to working the ball for a better shot. But we’ve gotten better at that. We were patient and passed the ball around.”

And it ended up in many different hands.

Wheeling showed its depth and versatility with 12 players scoring at least 2 points. Jessi Zuba and Brie Majkowski finished just behind Kuzmanic with 7 and 6 points, respectively.

Round Lake’s two top scorers (and only scorers) were Bianca Mahoney and Adrianna Pitts. They each scored 7 points. They each drained a 3-pointer as well.

Pitts is a senior on the team, and was emotional leaving the floor after what was a frustrating end to a frustrating season. The Panthers managed just 5 field goals against Wheeling.

“It was frustrating,” Pitts said. “We just didn’t work together. And (Wheeling’s) height was tough. We have no height at all. They were really big. They’ve got a good team.”

In fact, Round Lake coach Howard Conkling says Wheeling is the best team his team has faced, at least in one area…an area that, not surprisingly, has a lot to do with patience.

“They move the ball real well,” Conkling said. “That’s as good of ball movement as we’ve seen.”

Crystal Lake South 43, Grant 42: Grant fell on the wrong end of a nip-and-tuck regional quarterfinal game against Crystal Lake South at Prairie Ridge.

The Bulldogs, who hit just 28 percent of their field goals, got a game-high 19 points out of Morgan Jahnke, who was 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Teammate Kassie Stimpson added 10 points, including a 3-for-5 effort from 3-point range.

Crystal Lake South, which survived 30 turnovers, got 14 points from Sara Mickow.