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A Kuzmanic clinic as Wheeling tops Grayslake Central

For nearly a decade a Kuzmanic has visited Warren to play basketball for Wheeling in the annual Blue Devil Classic.

That impressive run ends this weekend.

"Hopefully I'll come back and watch," said Deanna Kuzmanic, who next year will be playing for the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The sister of former Wheeling stars Stephanie and Kellie and the youngest child, Deanna put on a "Kuzmanic Classic," so to speak, in Tuesday's Classic contest against Grayslake Central.

Her 24 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots led Wheeling to a 61-38 victory, keeping the Wildcats' undefeated record in the tournament intact.

"She's a great team leader for us on the court," coach Matt Weber said. "She's communicating the offense, and she's working hard to generate her shot. But she knows when the defense looks at her, she's got teammates that are going to step up and help her out. And she makes that extra pass every single time."

Kuzmanic's effort lifted Wheeling (10-4, 3-0 tourney) into Friday's 3 p.m. game against Palatine in Gurnee. The Wildcats will play Warren for the championship at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

"You got to give the kid credit, and that's what I told the girls," Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn said of Kuzmanic. "I said, 'You can play good defense. You made her work for her points, and she got them.' ... She's got some nice players around her who finish, too. When we did leave to help, they finished."

Grayslake Central (4-10, 2-2 tourney) hung with Wheeling for more than a quarter, before Kuzmanic, who hit two 3-pointers in the game's first minute, took over again. She hit a baseline shot and short jumper early in the second, and the Wildcats ended up outscoring the Rams 10-2 to take a 25-13 lead into halftime. Kuzmanic had 16 points at the break.

"I think our energy really got us going, just fast-breaking," said Kuzmanic, who like her sisters started playing for Wheeling's varsity as a freshman. "I felt like everyone was scoring and contributing a lot."

Melissa Claver added 12 points and 5 rebounds for Wheeling, which also got 9 points apiece from Michaela Vasey (9 rebounds) and Hailey Dammeier.

"It was great team basketball," Weber said. "We started to share the basketball. We were looking for each other on offense, we were setting good screens, we were making the extra pass and, defensively, we were just communicating."

Grayslake Central was led by Lauren Spalding (10 points) and Kelly Moroney (9). The Rams were riding their first two-game winning streak of the season. They are 4-5 in their last nine games.

"From the beginning of the season to right now, I think we're leaps and bounds better," Ikenn said. "Our young players are playing with more confidence, and I think our chemistry is a little better. I see a lot of good things coming our way. We just got to stay the course and stick together."

Images: Grayslake Central vs. Wheeling, girls basketball

  Grayslake Central's Quin Garbett takes the rebound away from Wheeling forward Hailey Dammeier during tournament play Tuesday at Warren. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Wheeling forward Hailey Dammeier, right, grabs the rebound during tournament play Tuesday against Grayslake Central at Warren. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Wheeling guard Hannah Dobrowski goes up for a shot over Grayslake Central guard Kelly Moroney during tournament play Tuesday at Warren. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
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