Nothing better than this kind of rivalry battle

Playing in big-time events against big-name schools from different areas and states is nice.

But there is nothing better than two high-powered nearby rivals battling it out before a charged-up crowd nearly packed to the rafters.

"Nothing beats BG," said Wheeling senior Jessie Smith of the matchup of state-ranked girls basketball teams separated by less than 2 miles.

And for Wheeling, there was nothing better than the celebration on its home floor after finally beating Buffalo Grove for the first time in five tries 57-49 Thursday night.

The two schools vying for a Mid-Suburban East title -- and possibly a Mundelein Class 4A sectional title in about a month -- just took part in the annual McDonald's Shootout last weekend.

But this was something special the participants won't soon forget.

"The atmosphere is great and it's something we all look forward to," said Wheeling senior guard Natasha Robinson, who just joined the rivalry this year after transferring from Bartlett. "It's something you look forward to because every game is a challenge.

"This is one of those games you look forward to no matter what."

There was no doubt about that at school Thursday.

"The most popular question of the day was, 'Are you guys going to win,'" Smith said. "I said, 'I don't know, come watch.'"

Fans did in numbers nearly double of what were on hand at Willowbrook over the weekend. They certainly got their money's worth of thrills and drama.

Start with Wheeling 6-foot-4 senior and Illinois-bound Lana Rukavina not starting or playing as a result of a concussion.

That didn't matter. Beautiful work from Purdue-bound Ashley Wilson to Brittany Szafarowicz to Robinson for a layup finished a torrid 25-7 start.

BG was ice cold as it missed 15 of its first 17 shots. Wilson seemed to get every rebound on her way to 20 and sophomore Janelle Cannon was dazzling as Wheeling opened the lead to 22 points just before halftime.

And two minutes into the second half, BG stars Maggie Mocchi and Ellen Ayoub picked up their fourth fouls.

It was over, right? Not so fast, since BG came back from a 15-point deficit to win 43-34 in the first meeting.

And at the beginning of the month the Bison rallied from double digits in the fourth quarter to beat Fenwick.

Allison and Maggie Mocchi and Ayoub helped BG slowly climb back into the game. With 2½ minutes left Wheeling's lead had dwindled to a mere 5 points.

Then Wilson stepped up with a tough drive on the right side. And the Wildcats got tough defensively with a shutout the last 1:56 to get in position with tiebreakers to make their first MSL title game appearance.

"I'd rather beat BG than anybody else the entire season," Smith said. "It's the best feeling ever. Amazing."

An unrivaled rivalry feeling.