Wrap: Wheeling solves Hersey; Grayslake N., Wauconda win

Wheeling, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A state poll, got two pretty good tests from Hersey in two Mid-Suburban East girls basketball games this season.

Wednesday's encounter was another good battle until the Wildcats hit stride in the final 14 minutes to pull away for a 54-28 triumph in the semifinals of the Class 4A Lake Zurich regional.

The No. 2 seeded Wildcats (26-3) will face No. 8 Lake Zurich for the championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Purdue recruit Ashley Wilson, a junior, led the MSL champs with a game-high 19 points and 7 rebounds while sophomore Bianca Szafarowicz added 15 points with 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Wildcats led 19-8 at the intermission.

"At half, coach (Shelly) Wiegel just said we had to get it done," Szafarowicz said. "We knew we didn't want to lose. Last year, we got upset in the regional final (by Lake Zurich) so I was really nervous at the start.

"We weren't doing that well at the start, but we picked it up in the second half."

Szafarowicz scored 8 of her points, including a 3-pointer, in the third quarter.

"Bianca did some good things attacking the basket," Wiegel said.

A fastbreak layup by Maggie Tunney brought the No. 18-seeded Huskies to within 29-19 late in the third period but Wheeling went on a 14-4 run to put the game out of reach.

Sophomore Janelle Cannon had all 6 of her points during the rally.

"Janelle didn't score as much as usual but she did a nice job distributing the ball and so did Ashley, too," Wiegel said.

Illinois-bound Lana Rukavina, who had been coming off the bench following a concussion, started her first game of 2008. She scored 2 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.

"We just said we were going to do whatever we could to double down on Rukavina and Wilson," said Huskies coach Mary Fendley. "And we would take our chances with their perimeter shooting. That worked in the first half."

Senior Natasha Robinson contributed 3 rebounds and a rebound bank shot that put Wheeling ahead 9-4 with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.

Sophomore Stephanie Kuzmanic's layup made it 11-4 after one period.

Hersey got to within 13-8 with a rebound bank shot by Sarah Stoltzner (7 points) and a free throw by Emma Kuhns, but Hersey closed the half on a 6-0 run with buckets from Jessie Smith, Szafarowicz and Wilson.

"In all three games, we were right there with them," Fendley added. "We were so good defensively in the first half holding them to 19 points. Then we couldn't hit shots. We knew we were going to have to play close to perfect to win."

Junior Kelly Rogowski and her freshman sister Megan return as starters along with seven other underclassmen.

"We have some good athletes back so that will help next season," said Megan Rogowski, who scored a team-high 15 points for Hersey (11-20). "Defense was our main goal against Wheeling. We just wanted to keep them out of the paint because they're big."

Fendley's first win next season with be her 200th in 11 seasons.

"I'm stuck on 199 right now," she said smiling. "And I'm a math teacher so I need to find round numbers."

Wheeling will find Lake Zurich waiting for the second straight year in the title game.

"Even though it's our 29th game, we know we still have things we can improve on," Wiegel said. "And we'll go into practice (today) looking to work on those things."

Grayslake N. 69, Amundsen 24: At Johnsburg, the seventh-seeded Knights won their first-ever state tournament game, cruising in the Class 3A regional semifinal, as three players scored in double figures.

Grayslake North (12-16) will play top-seeded Johnsburg, a 54-22 winner over No. 17 Richmond-Burton, at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the regional title.

Elizabeth Phillips led the Knights with a game-high 16 points. Natalie Barczyk added 11 points and 4 assists, while Ali Vlahos chipped in 10 points and 5 assists.

Playing her first game in more than two weeks, Lauren Erickson had 8 points for Grayslake North. Kiara Pearson contributed 6 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. Amanda Leon had 8 points in the win.

Wauconda 54, CL Central 37: On Tuesday night at Chicago Senn, the fifth-seeded Bulldogs won their Class 3A regional semifinal, as Kate Martino scored a game-high 16 points.

Wauconda (12-14) will play No. 13 North Chicago for the regional championship at 7:30 p.m. today.

Wauconda defeated North Chicago twice during the regular season -- 51-42 on Jan. 17 and 63-58 on Jan. 29.