In this early portion of the season, Joliet West girls basketball coach Breanna Blackmon is more concerned with her young team showing improvement than focusing solely on wins and losses.

The Tigers continued to show improvement Tuesday night despite dropping a 59-46 nonconference decision to Chicago Butler Prep.

One of the things that Blackmon wants from her team is that they give their best effort regardless of the score. The Tigers did just that throughout the game, but nowhere was it more evident than the latter stages of the first quarter.

Butler Prep (6-4) led 14-7 with 2:30 left in the first, but West increased the defensive intensity and ended the period on an 8-0 run to take a 15-14 lead into the second. The Tigers got a basket each from Maya Zanzola and Natalie Clemente (10 points, game-high 12 rebounds) before Ande Carlson delivered a steal and layup and Jada Thompson was fouled while shooting as time expired and she made both free throws.

“We were able to come out and win the first quarter,” Blackmon said. “That is a little different than normal. Usually, we haven’t been playing with that intensity until the second half, but the girls came out like Tigers tonight.

“We just wanted to play hard and not play to our opponent. Give credit to Butler Prep. They are a well-oiled machine and they have both length and speed.”

The Lynx used both their length and speed in the second quarter to take control of the game. After Clemente scored on a a putback to open the quarter and give West a 17-14 lead, Butler Prep outscored West 16-4 to take a 30-21 lead into halftime. A 9-0 run, highlighted by seven points from Xyanna Walton (23 points, 8 rebounds), got the Lynx ahead 23-17 before Clemente scored for West. Walton scored again, ahead of a putback basket by West’s Temperance Jackson that made it 25-21. Butler Prep closed the half with a 3-pointer by Kennedy Benson and a steal and layup by Kerminicia Wellington made it 30-21 at halftime.

Butler outscored Joliet West 19-7 in the third quarter to take a 49-28 lead into the fourth, but West continued to battle. The Tigers opened the fourth quarter on an 11-1 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Zanzola and two baskets by Clemente. A basket by Thompson cut the Butler Prep lead to 50-39 and forced Butler Prep to return their starters to the court for the rest of the game.

Thompson led the Tigers with 11 points, followed by Clemente with 10 and Keniya Foster with eight. Nyionna Reddington scored six points for West, while Zanzola scored five. Jackson pulled in seven rebounds.

“There were a couple stretches after halftime where things got sketchy,” Blackmon said. “But, we did a great job in the fourth quarter, got it down to 11 points and made them put their starters back in. We want the girls to fight to the finish like they did tonight.

“Natalie Clemente had a nice game tonight. Her defensive rebounding was bananas and she hit some big shots. We have two sophomore guards [Foster and Reddington] that are still learning the varsity game with its speed and physicality. We moved the ball well at times, but we also had too many turnovers. This the type of team we are going to play in the postseason, so it’s good for us to see teams like this in the regular season. We’ll keep learning and getting better.”