Minooka went 21-11, advanced to the regional championship and returned one of the best players in the area this season in Kent State commit Madelyn Kiper. Joliet Catholic went 7-26, including 0-12 in conference play, and have a first-time head coach at the helm.

With all of that in mind, one might expect how the Monday night WJOL Tournament matchup between to the two teams went. While one might get the result right, they’d be wrong about a lot more.

Joliet Catholic put on one heck of a display against one of the top teams in the area, nearly stealing a victory to open the season. Minooka did what great teams manage to do, though, and squeezed out a 64-61 win at Joliet Junior College.

The true winners were fans of basketball who showed up Monday night. The game was competitive throughout, and anytime Minooka looked like they’d pull away the Angels found an answer. It took a 27-point explosion by Kiper and some big late shots by Claire Obrien and Naya Carter to secure the win.

“It was a good first game,” coach John Placher said. “Kiper is Kiper and Naya Carter stepped up after a quarter or two. Defensively (JCA) kind of outworked us a bit. Anytime we’d get up they’d come back with a lot of offensive rebounds. We’ve got to tune that up this week, but this was a great first game and way to come out and play.”

JCA out-rebounded the Indians throughout the night, but the offensive output of Kiper in the third quarter especially kept Minooka ahead much of the evening. The senior scored 15 of Minooka’s 16 points in the penultimate period after putting up eight in the first half.

“It’s always good to start the year out on a high note,” the senior said. “Our teamwork held us together. I’ve got to give our bench kudos. They were cheering the entire time and keeping the energy up. I think our energy keeps us in games and that kept us going the entire time.”

Minooka led 17-10 after the first quarter thanks to an 11-2 run and held JCA scoreless for a four minute stretch between the two opening periods. Back-to-back layups by Emma Birsa and Makenzie Keltz followed by an Abigail Dulinsky finger roll shaved the deficit to 27-25.

Minooka led 31-27 at the midway point thanks to a driving layup at the buzzer by Cailyn Obrien.

The third quarter mostly belonged to Kiper as she scored the first 15 points of the period for Minooka, but the Angels seemed to answer her every time. Kiper’s 8-2 run to begin the period was answered by consecutive Keltz baskets. With 22 seconds left in the period, Dulinsky’s three-point-play tied the game at 46-46.

Kendall Thomas’ late free throw gave the Indians a one-point advantage.

Emma Napier gave the Angels their first lead since the opening minute of the contest with a pair of free throws early in the fourth, but it didn’t last long as the game turned to a basket exchange. Kiper and Napier traded layups to tie the game at 60 with 1:18 left, but Carter’s deep jumper gave the Indians a 62-60 edge.

Birsa made a free throw with 26.1 seconds to go, shrinking it to a one-point disadvantage. Kiper made a pair of foul shots and JCA was unable to answer.

But the Angels earned the respect of Minooka, and coach Matt Adler was pleased with the team’s performance.

“We’re very proud of the resilience and how we stuck with it,” Adler said. “(Minooka has) some upperclassmen with a lot of experience, and to be in the game that late was a goal from the beginning. We competed and gave ourselves a chance. We were on the losing end, but it was great to see some underclassmen not shutter in that moment.”

Carter finished with 12 points for Minooka while Claire O’Brien had 11. Napier led JCA with 16 while Keltz chipped in 11.

Minooka will host Joliet Central at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the next round while JCA will play Lincoln-Way Central at JJC at 7:30 p.m. the same night.

Earlier in the day, Joliet Central took on Lincoln-Way Central to start the tournament. The Steelmen hung tough, but the Knights ultimately won 54-48. The Knights were led by Gianna Young (16 points), Brooke Katzmann (12) and Katie Barrett (11).

Providence Catholic won the second game over Plainfield North 58-48.