Wheeling presses the issue against Grayslake Central

Like most basketball teams at this point in the season, the Wheeling girls are still carving out an identity.

Being a full-court pressing team could be it.

The Wildcats used full-court pressure to rally from a double-digit first-quarter deficit and post a 45-40 victory over Grayslake Central in the Blue Devil Classic at Warren High School.

Wheeling improves to 5-8 overall and 2-1 in the tournament.

"We're still in the process of finding out what makes us most successful," Wheeling coach Matt Weber said. "We felt like we needed to work harder after that first quarter and we wanted to work the full court, that's why we went to the full-court press.

"In the past, we haven't really pressed. We've kind of just gone game-to-game, match-up-to-match-up. But this could be part of our identity going forward."

Wheeling fell behind 19-6 through the first quarter as Grayslake Central got a fast start out of Amanda Larson and Lindsay Brust. They scored 12 and 7 points respectively in the first quarter.

But Wheeling cranked up a full-court press to start the second quarter and the Rams seemed caught off guard. Grayslake Central turned the ball over 10 times in the second quarter alone (20 times on the game).

"The press was effective because we changed the tempo of the game and forced them to adjust to us," Weber said. "That forced them into some mistakes. Credit Grayslake Central. In the first quarter, they came out with more focus and energy than us. But as soon as they had to adjust to us, we knew we had some good things coming."

Wheeling managed to cut its deficit to just 4 points (26-22) by halftime. By the end of the third quarter, Wheeling had a 33-31 lead.

"We knew that if we applied pressure, we could use our athleticism and talent and quickness," Wheeling forward Melissa Claver said. "The pressure would maybe make them a little frazzled and over time build up. I think that's what happened. It gave us opportunities."

Claver certainly took advantage of the opportunities that came her way. She finished with a game-high 26 points and often got to the basket easily.

"I was just playing my game, attacking the basket, going when I saw an opening," Claver said. "I was taking it for my team. I knew we had to make a change in how we were playing."

Sophomore guard Nansy Velev also finished in double-figures for Wheeling. She had 13 points, including a 5-for-6 effort at the free throw line in the fourth quarter. She hit all five of her free throws over the final two minutes to help Wheeling cement the victory.

Grayslake Central also had two players in double-figures.

Larson finished with 18 points, including a 5-for-6 performance at the line. Brust had 14 points and was 4-of-5 at the line.