Joliet West’s season comes to an end with regional semifinal loss to Homewood-Flossmoor

JOLIET – Joliet West knew it was going to be a challenge to make it out of the Class 4A Joliet West Regional semifinal.

The fact that Homewood-Flossmoor entered the game as the No. 4 seed in the Rich Township Sectional, while the Tigers were the No. 16 seed says a lot about their chances.

Yet in their 58-31 loss to the Vikings on Tuesday, the Tigers did something some may not have expected – they competed.

Yes, the Tigers' season is over and the final score would imply they didn’t come close to pulling off the upset. That final score wouldn’t be entirely accurate, however.

In the first half, Joliet West competed as well as any team could have against a team that just won a sectional on Joliet West’s home floor last season.

The Vikings are coached by Anthony Smith, who won four state championships with Bolingbrook in eight years from 2003-11. Even he had to give the Tigers credit for their effort in the first half.

“Joliet West is a tough team,” Smith said. “We knew they were going to come out, play hard and not quit. Coach [Breanna Blackmon] does a great job with them, and that first half was a battle. We just came out in the second half and did a better job with it.”

The Joliet West defense held strong to start with neither team scoring for the first three minutes of the game. The Vikings did take a 14-2 edge before the period was over, but Gabrielle Gavin nailed a 3 with 17 seconds to go, cutting the deficit to nine on the Tigers' first field goal of the contest.

The Tiger defense remained strong in the second quarter and the offense began to pick up the pace. Joliet West opened the second on a 7-2 run to trim its deficit to 16-12 midway through the period.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Laila Williams and Zoey Ratliff put the Vikings back in control, but a 3 by Gavin later made the halftime deficit 25-17.

However, Joliet West’s Mikayla Chism entered the second half with four fouls and Khiana Tyler equaled that number early in the third. Couple that with 26 turnovers and H-F playing up to its potential in the second half, and it helps explain the final score.

The Vikings opened the second half with a 9-0 run in the opening 90 seconds. That run grew to 19-2 as they took a 48-24 edge into the fourth quarter.

The Tigers didn’t let the disadvantage grow to 30, which triggers a running clock, until 33 seconds remained.

“This team was tough as nails,” Blackmon said. “They were really gritty, and it was one of those things where the numbers didn’t reflect the quality of our play this season. To see these girls fight through so much adversity and still end fighting with a competitive team like Homewood-Flossmoor was very magical to see.”

Gavin led all scorers with 21 points. Williams led H-F with 12, and Jenesis Moore had 11. H-F will play Sandburg on Thursday for the regional championship.

Gavin will be a junior next season, while three seniors will depart, including Chism.

“It’s bittersweet,” Chism said. “I’ve been on varsity for four years. Being able to be a part of this moment, having my last game at home is very special. Playing with my favorite teammates one last time was very special.”