It didn’t seem to matter that Lana Rukavina was in Croatia on Friday evening.
Her Wheeling teammates did just fine without the 6-foot-3-inch senior in the championship game of Warren’s holiday tournament.
The seventh-ranked Wildcats rallied from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the host Blue Devils 47-44, handing Warren its first loss of the season.
Ashley Wilson, Wheeling’s talented 6-foot junior forward, had 13 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and four steals to lift her team to its seventh consecutive victory, six of them without Rukavina.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game, with or without Lana,” Wilson said. “So we had to come out and play hard.”
Rukavina, who has signed with Illinois, had discussed her trip to see her relatives over the holidays with Shelly Wiegel and received her coach’s blessing. The senior knew such a trip would be unlikely during her college career with the Illini.
But Wheeling (17-2) managed to survive with an emotional victory over the defending tournament champion.
Warren’s 6-5 Sarah Boothe did manage 14 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks and four assists, and Shana Shepherd (18 points) knocked in six critical three-pointers. But their teammates provided only 12 points.
Wheeling allowed No. 5 Warren (16-1) only two second-quarter points and led 17-15 at halftime. The Blue Devils, on the strength of three three-pointers by Shepherd in the third quarter, took a 32-28 lead going into the fourth.
That’s when the Wildcats took over. Wilson’s two quick baskets put her team on a 14-2 run for a 42-34 lead. Two threes by Shepherd helped Warren get within a point at 45-44, but the Blue Devils never retook the lead.
“We came out confident and we never lost confidence, and that’s what helped us pull the win off,” said Wheeling’s Janell Cannon (11 points, seven steals).
Turnovers were telling. Warren had 20, Wheeling 10.
“I don’t think Lana being there or not made a difference,” Boothe said. “Everyone wanted this. It was a big game, a big test. We just did not execute.”
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asutton@tribune.com
