Plainfield North overcomes 16-point halftime deficit to beat Lincoln-Way West, win WJOL title

JOLIET – The Plainfield North girls basketball team didn’t score for the first three and a half minutes of the WJOL Tournament championship game against Lincoln-Way West on Saturday.

From the three minute mark of the first quarter to the 1:19 mark of the second quarter, the Tigers didn’t score at all. Plainfield North didn’t make a single shot from the field in the second quarter and trailed by 16 at the half.

And yet Plainfield North won the game 49-42, is still undefeated on the season and is the WJOL Tournament champion.

The two teams appeared to completely flip positions in the third and fourth quarters after Plainfield North only scored two points in the second quarter on a pair of free throws. It was 26-10 at the midway point, and the Warriors appeared to be cruising to the title.

That halftime speech must have been epic.

“We just got to halftime and said, ‘Hey, calm down,’ ” coach Brittany McWaine said. “We have to stick together regardless of what the score says. We came out and we responded.”

Responded indeed. It was the second such response of the evening, too, after the Tigers initially fell behind 7-0 in the first three minutes. They didn’t score until 4:37 remained in the first quarter when Isabella Garcia hit a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 run and take the lead. A layup by Mackenzie Roesner with 2:19 left kickstarted an 8-0 run in response as the Warriors led 15-8 entering the second.

It was all Warriors in the second. While the Tiger defense held Lincoln-Way West to 11 points, the Tiger offense failed to make a single shot in the eight-minute period. The only points were a pair of free throws by Lucile Carlos with 1:19 left til the midway point. Caroline Smith and Molly Finn had the Warriors humming.

A layup by Isabella Gruber in the first minute of the second half finally ended a 12-minute stretch where the Tigers made no shots from the field. While Kaitlyn Weaver responded with a layup, the Tigers began chipping away at the Warrior lead, getting within 28-19 with 3:30 left on a three by Carlos.

Carlos cut the lead to 28-25 on a 3 with 1:55 left and a pair of free throws by Isabella Koldoff trimmed it to one point. Layups by Smith and Weaver kept the Warriors in front 32-27 entering the fourth quarter.

That fourth belonged to the Tigers. A layup by Carlos cut it back to one possession to start and a falling down 3-pointer by Koldoff tied the game with six minutes left. A 3 by Kaitlyn Sedillo with 5:30 left on the clock gave the Tigers their first lead since early in the first quarter. Three’s by Sedillo and Garcia later put Plainfield North up 43-32, a double-digit lead after trailing by 16 at half.

While Finn later hit a 3-pointer to cut it back to single digits, Sedillo’s steal and score returned it to double digits right after and the comeback was complete.

“We weren’t sticking together and playing as a team,” Carlos said. “We just brought up the energy and stuck together in the second half.”

Koldoff and Carlos each finished with 13 points to lead the Tigers. Finn (14 points) and Smith (nine points, nine boards) led the Warriors.

“We’re 3-1 and I would’ve taken that if you told me [that’s what our record would be],” Warriors coach Ryan White said. “The way the second half went stings a little, but overall I’m happy with how we played. Plainfield North is a very good team, so there’s no shame in losing to them. I think we learned a lot about ourself, which is what these preseason tournaments are about as we head into conference play.”

The 4-0 Tigers now prepare to host Glenbard East on Tuesday and keep this hot start going. After going just 13-13 last year and now playing under their third coach in three seasons, Plainfield North is excited to keep the good times rolling.

“This year our motto is “comeback season,” that’s what we plan to do,” Sedillo said. “This is just the first stop in our plan”