Second-half start sparks Minooka past Plainfield North

PLAINFIELD — In a basketball game featuring two evenly-matched teams, it is a general feeling that whichever team plays best in the first few minutes of the second half will be the one that wins.

That certainly held true Thursday night when Minooka and Plainfield North squared off with second place in the Southwest Prairie Conference on the line.

The Tigers (19-8, 9-5) were in control for the bulk of the first half, taking a 24-18 lead into halftime.

Minooka, though, regrouped at intermission and came out strong to start the third quarter. The Indians (19-10, 10-4) went to junior Madelyn Kiper, who was held to four points in the first half and had to sit the final two minutes with three fouls, early and often. Kiper scored six of her game-high 23 points in a 13-0 run that pushed Minooka ahead 31-24 en route to a 53-49 victory.

“The coaches just told us to keep our heads up,” Kiper said about the locker room halftime conversation. “We knew we hadn’t played very well, but we were still only down six. We just focused and ran our plays correctly.

“Everyone did their job and picked it up. I knew I had to keep my head up because the team looks to me, so even when I had to sit with the three fouls, I kept cheering and encouraging them from the bench. Plainfield North is a very good team, and to win at their place is big for us.”

Kiper, who also had seven rebounds and two blocked shots, added five more points in the third quarter as the Indians took a 40-37 edge into the fourth. Minooka also got a pair of 3-pointers from Kendall Thomas, who scored eight points, in the third.

Plainfield North kept it tight throughout the fourth, pulling to within 44-43 on a basket by Isabella Garcia before Minooka got back-to-back baskets by Kiper and McKenna Delaney (10 points) to move back to a 48-43 lead.

North’s Kaitlyn Sedillo converted a steal into a layup before Delaney hit a pair of free throws with 1:46 left. North’s Sydney Scott then drained a 3-pointer to make it 50-48 before making one of two free throws to make it 50-49 with 55.8 seconds to go.

Minooka iced the game with a pair of free throws by Kiper and one by Naya Carter in the final seconds.

“I wasn’t really nervous about the free throws at the end,” Kiper said. “We practice them all the time.”

Minooka coach John Placher was happy to see the team’s second-half turnaround.

“At halftime, I told them that we couldn’t have played any worse and we were still only down six,” he said. “I told them that we had to do the little things in the second half. Get after loose balls, crash the boards, not fall for shot fakes. Early in the third quarter, Naya Carter dove on a loose ball and I knew we would be OK.

“Madelyn Kiper is a special player. When she can go out and do what she does, we always have a chance. This whole team has gotten so much better as the year has gone on. We have come a long way from when we started 2-6.”

Plainfield North saw a nine-game winning streak snapped, but was in control of the game almost from the start. Minooka jumped to a 5-0 lead before the Tigers went on a 13-2 run to close the quarter. Taylor Henderson came off the bench to score four of her team-high 13 points in the quarter and added five more in the second as North held its lead into intermission.

Aniya Patterson had 11 points and five rebounds for the Tigers, while Sedillo scored seven and Scott had five points and 10 boards.

“We played well almost all game,” North coach Brittany McWaine said. “But giving up a 13-0 run to start the second half isn’t good.

“Both teams played well and both wanted this one. Taylor Henderson did a good job for us, gave us a spark off the bench. I am not worried about this team being down after this. They tend to bounce back well.”