By Randy Whalen

After a little lull, the Joliet Central girls basketball team is back.

The Steelmen didn't end the first half of the season the way they had hoped. But they looked rested and ready this week when they hosted neighboring Joliet Catholic Academy on Monday, January 6, in a nonconference clash. 

Joliet Central pulled away down the stretch and came away with a 59-46 victory.

"We had lost three in a row and went 1-3 at Hillcrest" Joliet Central coach Laura Brumfiel said of the Hillcrest Holiday Classic Tournament. "So to get this victory was huge."

Yes, it was and junior guard Nevaeh Wright made sure the Steelmen (9-10) got back in the win column by pouring in a game-high 25 points. 

“I feel like we played more as a team,” Wright said. “I feel like the last couple of games we weren’t really there. We came together and communicated like we needed to. We moved the ball and created shots."

The Steelmen did as they led nearly the whole game. JCA (6-14 through January 8) took its lone lead at 9-8 in the first quarter on a basket by sophomore forward Emma Birsa. But tied 10-10, Joliet Central scored the final five points of the first quarter to go ahead 15-10 and never trailed again.

It was 28-19 at halftime. A key point was when Wright hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the third quarter, giving the team a 43-34 lead after three. She then made a jumper to open the fourth quarter, giving the Steelmen an 11-point lead. The Angels cut the deficit to seven, but the Steelmen built it back up to 15 and coasted to the win.

Junior guard Alexis Bradley scored 13 points and junior center Taneisha Robinson added eight points for Joliet Central. 

"It's great to have other players contribute," Wright said. "It's great that this season we have gone out and played together.

It was a very big win and we can only go up from here."

The Angels were led by sophomore guard Abby Dulinsky with 19 points. Birsa banged in 11 points and junior guard Allie Lesters added 12 points for JCA.

Both teams are young. Joliet Central only has three seniors (Au’Tumn Brown, Keyareia Nobles, and Mikayla Pratt), while the Angels only have one (Madeline Moran). 

It was the second meeting of the season between the team teams. Back on Saturday, November 23, the Steelmen got their first win of the season by toppling JCA 63-57 in the final round of the WJOL Thanksgiving Tournament at Joliet Junior College. 

The win matches the total for the Steelmen from last season when they were 9-21. They had issues scoring last season as they were held held under 40 points eight times. While there are still some low-scoring games this season, that issue has got much better.

"We've played as a team," Brumfiel said. "This season we go out and give full effort. Last season we'd play hard but we didn't have the confidence. There were 50/50 balls and even though we had the effort we didn't make the plays. But we weathered that storm.

"The difference is that it's fun out there this year."