A Cierra Mist For JCA

JOLIET – The potential of the Joliet Catholic Academy girls basketball team was on full display during the second quarter Thursday night, especially in a sequence that resulted in a Miranda Morales 3-pointer.

Off a steal by Naperville native and freshman guard Cierra Stanciel, sophomore guard Naomi Mayes fed Morales, a junior guard. Then, senior center Shannon Butler scored on a lob from sophomore guard Christine Ekhomu.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

“We were up, we wanted to stay up and we didn’t want to take plays off,” said Butler, who scored 5 of her game-high 11 points in the second quarter. “We played well and we wanted to finish the game off.”

An off night Tuesday in a 58-45 loss to Plainfield Central played against Nazareth in the Student Activity Center as the Angels romped to a 56-35 win in both teams’ East Suburban Catholic Conference opener.

Besides the 6-foot Butler getting it done for JCA (2-5, 1-0) – yes, the Butler did it – the Angels snapped a five-game winning streak by beginning a 24-8 second quarter on a 16-0 surge that established the effort.

Along with Butler (6 rebounds, 2 steals) in double-figuring scoring, JCA received 10 points apiece from both Morales (4 steals) and Stanciel (8 rebounds, 4 steals). Mayes added 7 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.

“The energy was much better and it was a team effort,” JCA coach Ed Schodrof said. “We had numerous people diving on the floor. This effort and this energy is what we need for four quarters all the time.

“We knew we would have a size advantage on the interior, so we played man-to-man on defense and tried to utilize our quickness against their shooters. And Shannon did a good job in the middle for us.”

Elsewhere, Ekhomu contributed 5 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, senior forward Meagan Williams notched 6 points and 7 rebounds and junior forward TreVonya McClain marked 5 points and 2 assists.

“We have to play team ball,” Schodrof said. “We don’t have any superstars and we’re young, so we have to play that way. We have to play hard and keep learning. We know we have room for improvement.”

Across the board, the Angels were better than against Plainfield Central, shooting 51.6 percent (16-of-31) in the first half and 37.7 percent (23-of-61) overall. Nazareth (5-3, 0-1) ended up with only 35 shots.

The second half turned into a 16-16 slog, but the second quarter was all that mattered. Ekhomu and Morales hit threes, Mayes and Stanciel each scored 4 points and Butler’s scoring binge clinched.

“In practice, we always work on endurance and mental toughness,” Butler said. “We’re usually in better shape than the other team and we can beat them down the floor. We had a lot of frustration from our last game and we wanted to prove to people that, when we put it together, we really are a good team.”