Four straight years of first-class rivalry

It has become the Mid-Suburban League's girls basketball rivalry of the mid-2000s.

For the fourth straight year, Buffalo Grove and Wheeling will square off in a battle of state powers.

With four Division I signees appearing for the fourth time, this one is special.

Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel calls this her best team in four years.

Buffalo Grove coach Tom Dineen says his team has accomplished more over the last two seasons than any he has directed in 27 seasons.

The Bison (8-0) enter the Mid-Suburban East game nationally-ranked by USA Today (16th) and No. 1 in the Class 4A state poll. Wheeling (9-1) is ranked No. 4.

Buffalo Grove's Maggie Mocchi (Northwestern recruit), Allison Mocchi (Northwestern) and Ellen Ayoub (Loyola) are four-year starters, as is Lana Rukavina (Illinois) for Wheeling.

Maggie Mocchi, Ayoub and Rukavina have all scored more than 1,000 points. Ayoub is averaging 16.3 points a game while Maggie Mocchi is at 12.3.

Wheeling junior Ashley Wilson is also expected to become a Division I signee, choosing between Marquette, Purdue and Michigan State.

"For me, it seems like Rukavina (15 ppg) and Wilson (10.8) have been there for five or six years," Dineen said. "I'm sure they feel the same way with Ellen and the Mocchis."

The Bison won two out of three meetings against Wheeling in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, then went 2-0 last season.

"This rivalry has been really good for girls basketball," Wiegel said. "Both teams have good fan bases with the students and communities getting involved."

With sophomore sharpshooter Heather Nisbet returning, the only new face in the Bison all-guard starting lineup is junior Kaitlin Hillner.

"She probably had her best performance in our last game (a 54-40 win over St. Vincent Milwaukee)," Dineen said. "She had a lot of deflections, got her hands on a lot of balls, got some rebounds and 10 points. She just had a solid all-around game."

Dineen also said Lauren Angotti could play an important role. The 5-foot-11 senior was a key bench performer on last year's 34-2 squad which advanced to the Elite Eight for the second straight year. Angotti started the season with an illness but is slowly seeing additional minutes.

"Lauren will be a huge part of what we accomplish this season," Dineen said. "Trust me, we have not forgotten about her. She will be getting a big bulk of playing time, probably starting today."

Rukavina, Wilson, Bianca Szafarowicz, Jessie Smith, Lindsey Mills, Stephanie Kuzmanic and Bridget Gray (sidelined with a concussion) all were pivotal members of last year's 23-7 team for Wheeling.

Wiegel has inserted Janelle Cannon (14.8 ppg) into the backcourt. The sophomore played for Evanston a year ago. Another transfer (Bartlett), senior Natasha Robinson, has also seen action in the backcourt.

"The addition of Cannon is a big factor," Dineen said. "She makes a big difference for them. Whereas sometimes in the past you could devote more attention to their big girls, now you've got to honor their guard play more."

Rukavina helped lead the Wildcats to a victory over state-ranked Fenwick 13 days ago, scoring 25 points and hitting the game-winning bucket with 8.5 seconds left.

In the Wildcats' only loss at Resurrection three weeks ago, Wilson played two minutes each quarter.

Wiegel has consistently said she will bring the junior standout along slowly, making sure she is at her best at the end of the season as she recovers from a stress fracture in her leg.

Wilson popped in 24 and 19 points in Wheeling's losses to Buffalo Grove (59-40 and 59-49) last season.

"Both teams have a lot of offensive weapons," Wilson said about today's battle. "And both teams are tough defensively. So something has to give.

"I think if you look at us so far, both teams have played some good games. There have been low-scoring games for both of us, and some games where we've been in the 60s. It depends on the flow of the game. I wouldn't be surprised either way, low-scoring or high-scoring.

"We keep reading a lot about Buffalo Grove. I think there is going to be a lot of hype for this game. The bottom line is that we have incredible talent. I told my kids no matter how much we read in the paper, I feel this is our best team and we have to play like it. We have to put it together and it should be a good game."

Perhaps a game to remember.

Not too often do you get the No. 1 and No. 4 team in the state's biggest class playing a conference game.

And featuring some of the finest players in the state.

"Our kids and theirs see each other a lot in summer basketball," Wiegel said. "It's going to be interesting with the Mocchi's going to Northwestern and Lana to Illinois. They'll continue their rivalry in the Big Ten."

"This has been a pretty big rivalry the last four years," said Dineen, a Hall of Fame coach who has won 652 games in 29 seasons and whose team has won 62 straight games on its home floor. "A great rivalry not only in the conference, but postseason as well."

The two teams will meet again Jan. 24 at Wheeling and they are slated to compete in the Mundelein sectional in February.