Fenwick, Liston hold off Wheeling
It's been a terrific rivalry between the Wheeling and Fenwick girls basketball teams over the past four years in the Niles North "Somebody's Hero" Thanksgiving tournament.
The two powerhouses staged another thriller Saturday night in Skokie.
It included a great comeback by the Wildcats and a great performance by Fenwick star Tricia Liston (career-high 41 points).
Wheeling (5-1, 4-1) rallied from 10 points down at half and edged ahead three times midway through the final quarter before Fenwick (5-0) finally delivered the knockout punch for a 68-58 triumph over the defending tourney champion Wildcats.
"To battle back and take the lead, I thought our kids showed great resolve," said Wildcats coach Shelly Wiegel. "Take away a turnover here or there, or a missed layup, and it could have made a big difference. We had to foul at the end, so it went from a 1- or 2-point game to 7 or 8."
For Liston, it was a 41-point game coming on the heels of a 39-point performance one night earlier against Niles North.
A (River Forest) St. Luke alumnus headed to Duke, tourney MVP Liston surpassed 2,000 points and now has 2,005.
"Tricia is an awesome player," said Wheeling all-tourney selection Bianca Szafarowicz (14 points, 7 rebounds). "I was told to face guard her in the second half and she still scored. It was great to come back on them in the second half because they've won by 20 or 30 over other teams."
Stephanie Kuzmanic led the Wildcats with 24 points.
"Stephanie was either attacking the basket or making something happen on defense," Wiegel said. "She's a great coach on the floor. I'm very proud of the leadership she gave us."
Kuzmanic saved a ball from going out of bounds on the baseline and then flipped a perfect pass for a layup by Szafarowicz that gave Wheeling its first lead at 46-44.
"What a heartbreaker," said Kuzmanic. "We lost to a good team so hopefully we can use this to motivate us and learn from."
Two free throws by Kuzmanic gave Wheeling its last lead at 51-50 with 4:49 left. Her 2 free throws with 3:25 left brought the Wildcats to within 55-54 before Fenwick closed with a 13-4 run.
All-tourney selection Janelle Cannon added 16 points and 6 rebounds for the Wildcats while sophomore Kellie Kuzmanic hit a big 16-footer from the baseline which pulled Wheeling into its first tie at 44-44.
"Wheeling always gives us a good game (teams are 2-2 the last four years)," said Liston, who had 21 points in the final half, 12 in the fourth quarter.
"Our girls played great team basketball," said Fenwick coach Dave Power. "Obviously, in crunch time, we got the ball in the hands of a true All-American (Liston). But what I liked was how our other kids stepped up, too, in crunch time."