Girls basketball: Freshman Nevaeh Wright’s late jumper boosts Joliet Central past Lockport

JOLIET — Nevaeh Wright is just a freshman, and she had a clear shot to give Joliet Central the lead late in the game Saturday against non-conference rival Lockport.

The Steelmen trailed the Porters by a point in the final minute. Senior Joyce Tua-Link drove to the basket and put up a shot. The shot missed, and Tua-Link got the rebound. Rather than go back up with her shot, she spotted Wright open near the free throw line and passed the ball out to her. Wright put up a smooth jumper that found nothing but net and gave Central a one-point lead with 46 seconds left.

Tua-Link then hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal a 39-35 win.

Was Wright nervous when the ball got to her?

“I was a little bit nervous,” she admitted. “But, I felt comfortable taking the shot. We did a good job of communicating and passing the ball today, and we played with a lot of energy.”

No one seemed to have more energy than Tua-Link, who prefers to answer to the nickname, “Chicky” rather than her given name. Chicky led the Steelmen (8-10) with 16 points and 10 rebounds and added a pair of blocked shots for good measure.

“We didn’t beat Lockport last year,” she said. “They were a much bigger team last year. But we came to win today. Everyone did their job and we worked well together.

“We have been working on team chemistry, and it’s nice to get to play together and build better chemistry. We feel like we are getting better every time out. We are working hard, learning more every game and making ourselves even better.”

The game was tight throughout. Joliet Central did not have a lead until a 3-pointer by Tua-Link at the buzzer gave them an 11-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Lockport’s Alaina Peetz, who led the Porters (13-9) with 16 points and six rebounds, scored six of her team’s nine points in the first quarter, while teammate Patricija Tamasauskas hit a 3-pointer.

Joliet Central rode the momentum of Tua-Link’s 3-pointer into the second quarter as Nyiah Davis (3 points, 6 rebounds) hit 1 of 2 free throws to open the quarter then scored on a putback for a 14-9 lead. Peetz followed with a putback of her own to pull Lockport to within 14-11 before Central caught fire and went on an 8-0 run to build a 22-11 lead.

Lockport, though, got a basket by Kaya Osinski and a 3-pointer by Brooke Sartin to cut the Central lead to 22-16 at halftime.

The run continued in the third quarter for the Porters as they scored the first nine points of the half to take a 22-22 lead.

Central scored its first point of the third quarter on a free throw by Alexis Bradley with 3:10 to play before Aubrey Weems hit a pair of free throws to tie it at 25 with 1:54 left and the game went to fourth tied at 29.

“Our girls didn’t give up,” Lockport coach Darien Jacobs said. “We were down 11 on the road and ended up taking the lead. That’s a small victory for us. I am pretty sure Joliet Central walked off the floor thinking, ‘That was a tough game.’ That’s what we want teams to think after we play them.

“We had trouble getting our shots to fall except for Alaina Peetz. Her shots were falling. We just need to get some more shots to fall. We also missed some box outs and gave up some rebounds that were big. But, the things we did wrong today are fixable, and we’ll get to work fixing them.”

Isabel Sanchez opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and Weems followed with a basket off an assist from Tua-Link to put the Steelmen ahead, 34-29.

Lockport countered with six straight points to take a 35-34 lead with 1:54 left, setting the stage for Wright’s game-winner.

“We played really well,” Joliet Central coach Laura Brumfiel said. “Nylah Davis did a great job and plays the middle so well. We were able to limit them to one shot on a lot of their possessions. Even our guards were boxing out well.

“We also did a good job of moving better on offense, and we were very unselfish. Joyce made a couple of really unselfish plays with passes to Aubrey and Nevaeh. She has a real good basketball IQ. We have been putting a focus on communicating every day, especially on defense, and that showed today.”