On tribute night to Joliet East, Joliet Central rallies in fourth to top Plainfield Central

JOLIET – According to Joliet Central girls basketball coach Laura Brumfiel, what changed in the fourth quarter was pretty simple Friday night in a 47-32 Southwest Prairie Conference win over Plainfield Central.

“We played defense,” Brumfiel said. “We weren’t really focused on the defensive end until the fourth quarter. Then we started switching and rebounding. Rebounding is a big key for us. If we can get a defensive rebound, then we can get out and run the floor.”

That switching, helping defense helped the Steelmen (13-16, 6-4) erase a 30-28 deficit entering the quarter and paved the way to outscoring the Wildcats (4-21, 2-9) by 17 points in the final period.

Joliet Central, wearing the Green and Gold of the old Joliet East Kingsmen, didn’t trail long in the fourth, as Elena Moody (11 points) drained a 3-pointer to give them the lead. She then added a free throw before Navaeh Wright – who led all scorers with 19 points – snaked her way through the Plainfield Central defense for a layup and a 34-30 lead.

A timeout by Plainfield Central didn’t slow the Steelmen down, and this time it was Alexis Bradley’s turn. Bradley – who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds – scored on a jumper in the lane and followed that with a 3-pointer to boost her team to a 39-30 lead.

Mia White (seven points) made a pair of free throws for the Wildcats, but that was all they would score the rest of the night. Wright scored five points and Bradley three in the final three minutes.

“We came out a lot harder in the fourth quarter,” Bradley said. “It came down to who wanted it more. It feels amazing when the shots are falling. You trust your teammates, and they trust you to hit a shot when it counts.

“They were concentrating on Navaeh, and she did a good job of finding me when I was open. Defensively, we talked more and communicated, we switched when we needed to. When we’re playing good defense, we can get out and run.”

The run in the fourth quarter put a damper on a strong third quarter by Plainfield Central.

Joliet Central led 20-15 at halftime. Bradley scored the first basket of the second half to put the Steelmen up 22-15 before the Wildcats caught fire.

Jennifer Edozie (nine rebounds) scored on a putback before Maeve Carlton (team-high nine points) scored. A 3-pointer by DeAnna Cooley tied it at 22 before Na’Vayuh Junior hit a 3-pointer to put Plainfield Central ahead for the first time, 25-22.

Joliet Central went on a quick 6-0 run to retake the lead, 28-25. Carlton tied it on an old-fashioned three-point play before scoring with 20 seconds left in the quarter to send her team into the fourth with the lead.

“At halftime, we talked about not settling for shots if someone else has a better shot, to make one more pass. We did that in the third quarter, but they put more pressure on us in the fourth, and we didn’t handle it well,” Plainfield Central coach Timothy Torkelson said.

“They really killed us on the boards, too. Between that and the full-court pressure, we panicked a little bit and got outscored 19-2 in the fourth. We played the way we are capable of in the third quarter. Now we have to put four full quarters together.”

Brumfiel was happy with the play of her team down the stretch, especially the way the Steelmen shared the ball.

“Alexis Bradley hit some big shots for us,” she said, “and Navaeh did a good job of recognizing what was happening. She sees the floor very well and has a high basketball IQ, so she gets everyone involved.

“We’ve been doing this [uniform] tribute to Joliet East for the last four, five years. The kids really like to come out and wear the Green and Gold.”