Kuzmanic joins Wheeling’s 1,000 club

Back in 2008 and 2009, Deanna Kuzmanic remembers watching past Wheeling standouts Ashley Wilson, Jannelle Cannon and Bianca Szafarowicz reach the coveted 1,000-point milestone for their careers.

“I would see them play because my sisters (Stephanie and Kellie) were on those teams, too,” said Kuzmanic, an Alabama-Birmingham recruit who at the time was a promising guard in the Wildcats’ feeder program.

“I never really thought about scoring 1,000 points but I really thought it was cool seeing them do it and what a great accomplishment it was.”

Well, Deanna, put herself in that same company on Saturday night.

Her layup in the fourth quarter gave her 1,000 points and led to a game-high 19 as the host Wildcats topped visiting Elk Grove 40-35 in the Mid-Suburban East.

“That was the most important thing,” Deanna said of getting the win that evened the Wildcats record at 2-2 in the MSL East and 9-9 overall.

“Getting to 1,000 points is just kind an achievement for the whole team and for the girls I’ve played with the past three seasons. The older girls in the past gave me the confidence and the assists. The accomplishment is for the whole program and being a part of it for three years.”

Coincidentally, Kuzmanic was not the only player in the MSL East to reach 1,000 points on Saturday.

Prospect’s Taylor Will, also a junior, scored her 1,000 point, too.

Will and Kuzmanic have played against each other in feeder basketball since the fifth grade.

So what would be the odds they’d reach the milestone on the exact same day — perhaps a thousand to one?

Hannah Dobrowski added 13 points with three 3-pointers for the Wildcats.

Elk Grove (5-12, 0-4) was led by Amber Lindfors (14 points), Melissa Solorio (9) and Taylor Brown (9).

Hoffman Estates 54, Palatine 52: Senior Andrea Wolinski’s layup as time expired lifted the host Hawks (4-14, 1-3) to their first win in the MSL West.

After 2 free throws by Palatine’s Erin Mayer (12 points) tied the game at 52-52 with 4.6 seconds left, freshman Monraia Wilson received the inbounds pass.

She took two steps and hit Wolinski on the run near midcourt. Wolinski then race to the basket for the game-winner.

“It was a fun game to coach,” said Hawks coach Mike Nocella . “The kids executed and looked like a basketball team tonight. We are hoping it’s a sign of improvement.”

Mary Saitta (11 points, 7 rebounds), Wolinski (11 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists) and Erin Hanson (10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) led the Hawks (4-13, 1-3).

Maya Bowens added 8 points and 10 rebounds while Wilson finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Hannah Dusharm chipped in 7 points and 3 assists.

Sami Heuerst led Palatine (6-12, 0-4) with 15 points, including 9 free throws while Morgan Radtke added 13 points.

“Both teams played hard,” Nocella said. “We weathered everything Palatine threw at us.”

Hersey 52, Buffalo Grove 47: Senior Renee Poulos (12 points) and junior Annie Korff (8 points) hit clutch free throws down the stretch to help Hersey secure its ninth straight win and improve to 16-1 and 3-1 in the MSL East.

The Huskies also received 12 points from Morgan Harris while freshman Claire Gritt added 9.

Kelly Weyhrich, a 5-foot-2 guard, and Gritt shared team rebounding honors with 6 apiece.

“Morgan Harris and Maggie Berigan had terrific defensive games,” said Huskies coach Mary Fendley, whose team hosts state-ranked Rolling Meadows (16-2, 4-0) next Friday. “

Poulos was 4-of-4 and Korff 2-of-2 from the line in the final two minutes.

BG (8-11, 1-3), which was led by Maddy Callahan (game-high 21 points) and Maddie Welter (15), raced to an 18-6 lead after one quarter before Hersey outscored the Bison 22-4 in the second period.

“We weathered an early storm of great BG shooting,” Fendley said. “BG is a really tough team. We struggled in the first and third quarters but really had it together when it mattered most.”

Conant 53 Schaumburg 32: Lexi Zades (13 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds), Sarah Mazurek (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) and Nireet Dhillon (8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steal, 1 assist) were top scorers for the visiting Cougars (11-7, 3-1) in the first MSL West.

“It was nice to bounce back from Tuesday (65-39 loss to Hersey),” said Cougars coach Dan Travers.

Dee Dee Durr and Haley Anderson each grabbed 6 rebounds for the Cougars.

Brittany Reinhart (9 rebounds) and Tatiana Doroskin (8 rebounds) each scored 10 points for the Saxons (31-3, 1-3) while Laura O’Connell added 8.