Familiar voice helps Rukavina deposit winner
With the clock winding down, Ashley Wilson stood on the left wing and focused in on Lana Rukavina, who was maneuvering into position on the low post.
Wilson calmly flipped the pass inside to her senior center, who caught the ball and then heard a voice.
It was that of her father, Davor, a former professional basketball player in Europe.
"My dad's voice was going through my head," said the Illinois-bound three-time all-area selection. "Turn around, square up and shoot."
Presto. Rukavina's 14-foot shot banked off the glass and fell through the net to give the Wildcats a 69-67 lead with eight seconds left against defending Class AA state champion Fenwick in the final-round game of the Niles North tournament.
The Friars called time out to set up their final play that was spoiled by Bianca Szafarowicz (4 steals, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), who tugged the ball out of the hands of the Fenwick guard trying to get around a double team.
The clock expired and the state's No. 4 Class 4A team had defeated No. 5.
Wheeling (5-1), which led by as many as 23 points before Colleen Forklin hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, watched Fenwick stage a big second-half rally to tie the game at 63, 65 and 67 before the Wildcats' Rukavina notched the game winner.
The tourney MVP collected 25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, 2 steals and 1 assist.
Other double-figure scorers for Wheeling were sophomore guard Janelle Cannon (16 points, four 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists) and Ashley Wilson (11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocked shots).
Wheeling, Fenwick and Resurrection finished with 4-1 records in the tourney. Fenwick was declared the champion because its 87 percent free-throw percentage was the best in the tourney.
"Our goal was just to get a lot of good games here and ease Ashley (Wilson) back into the swing of things (from a stress fracture)," said Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel. "And I feel great about both. Ashley looks incredible.
"We've been working with doctor's order and as soon as she gets the all clear, she'll be starting. The rest of our new kids have all looked great."
Sophomore Tricia Liston scored 20 of her team-high 25 points for Fenwick in the second half. Forklin added 18 and sophomore Katlyn Payne scored 16.
"I would have loved to have won the last game (of the tourney)," said Fenwick coach Dave Power. "But I thought it was a great comeback. We were chasing so many points.
"Wheeling is so strong on the boards. They're so tall, we don't match up well with them. You're never happy with a loss. But I saw a lot of great things."