Joliet Central girls pull away from Joliet Catholic to earn win in crosstown matchup

JOLIET – Joliet Central and Joliet Catholic aren’t even in the same classification, let alone the same conference. But when a pair of crosstown schools face off, things are always capable of getting interesting. That’s exactly what it was for most of the first half of the girls basketball game between the two programs Monday.

Around midway through the second quarter, Neveah Wright decided to spoil the fun. Bad for the Angels, excellent for the Steelmen.

Wright was on fire throughout the evening and finished with 25 points. Another 13 from Alexis Bradley and eight from Taneisha Robinson led to a 59-46 Joliet Central victory at Central.

The Steelmen (9-9) were coming off a loss to Mother McCauley two days prior but repented against the Angels in a game that was a seesaw battle early. The Steelmen managed to keep a steady distance from the second quarter on, led by double digits most of the fourth and were up by as many as 15, snapping a four-game losing streak.

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

It was a competitive first quarter as Melani Tua-Link got the Steelmen on the board first with a layup. Joliet Central remained in front by two for much of the first quarter until JCA’s Emma Birsa put the Angels in front 9-8. Taneisha Robinson’s layup put the Steelmen right back in front, but a free throw by Birsa tied the score at 10.

Tua-Link hit a layup with 1:37 to go and nailed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to put Joliet Central up 15-10 at the end of one.

Joliet Central continued to build on that lead, extending the advantage to 18-12 three minutes into the second quarter. The Angels got it back within 20-17 on a layup by Allison Lesters, but an 8-2 run by the Steelmen, including free throws by Callan Kinsella, made the halftime score 28-19.

The third quarter remained a battle with the Angels cutting the deficit to 32-26 midway through the period. Bradley hit a 3-pointer for the Steelmen, but Birsa answered right back with a 3 of her own to make it 35-29. Wright hit a 3 just moments later, and a layup by Robinson extended the lead to 40-30 with 1:54 left in the quarter.

Layups by Lesters and Abigail Dulinsky in the final minute cut the disadvantage to 40-34 for JCA, but Wright hit another 3 to extend it to 43-34 entering the final quarter.

A deep jumper by Wright to open the period moved the lead back to double digits at 45-34. The Angels cut the deficit to seven shortly after, but the Steelmen built it back up to 15 on solid free-throw shooting down the stretch before closing out the win.

Joliet Catholic (6-13) was led by Dulinsky with 19 points. Birsa (11 points) and Lesters (12 points) also had standout performances for the Angels.