For most of the season, the Joliet Central girls basketball team has gotten balanced offensive performances, spreading shots and points around so that other teams can’t focus on containing just one or two players.

In addition to a balanced offense, the Steelmen also play a tough, physical brand of defense that can lead to points for the offense.

That formula was on display Monday night when Joliet Central picked up a 68-47 win over crosstown rival Joliet Catholic.

While Naveah Wright did the bulk of damage with a game-high 21 points, Joliet Central also got double-digit scoring from Eliana Fowler (12 points), Elena Moody (11 points) and Malasia Chandler (10 points), as well as seven points and five rebounds off the bench from Taneisha Robinson.

It added up to a resounding win over a youthful Angels lineup.

“The story of our season has been our balance,” Joliet Central coach Laura Brumfiel said. “We typically have had three or four girls in double figures almost every game. Another thing is that we are averaging about 16-17 assists per game, and that’s very important. The girls like to find open people, and they enjoy getting that assist for themselves.

“Also, all of these girls know that if you aren’t going to play defense, then you aren’t going to play for Joliet Central. We like our defense to lead to offense with transition points.”

The two teams were nearly even in the first quarter, with the Steelmen (9-8) taking a 13-12 lead after the first quarter.

Then, Wright took over.

The Steelmen guard scored her team’s first 11 points of the third quarter, draining three straight 3-pointers and adding a short jumper as Central built a 22-14 lead. JCA got a 3-pointer from Abby Dulinsky to close to within 22-17. Wright and JCA’s Emma Napier (9 points, 10 rebounds) traded baskets before Fowler hit a 3-pointer to give Central a 27-19 lead. The Angels pulled to within 29-25 on a pair of free throws by Emma Birsa (8 points), but Central outscored JCA 6-1 the rest of the quarter to take a 35-26 lead into halftime.

“It’s a lot of fun when I am hot like that,” Wright said. “I just wanted to get the ball back and shoot it again, but our team has a lot of balance, and pretty much everybody can score.

“It’s definitely a big game when we are playing another school with Joliet in their name. We like to compete and want to play against good competition. We have good chemistry both on and off the court, and that makes it easier to play together when everyone gets along so well.”

Central put the game away late in the third quarter. The Steelmen led 39-30 after a pair of Birsa free throws before going on a 10-0 run that included a basket and a 3-pointer by Robinson, a 3-pointer by Moody and a basket by Fowler for a 49-30 lead. They led 54-33 entering the fourth quarter. Freshman Makenzie Keltz scored eight of her team-high 12 points in the fourth for JCA (10-8).

“We turned the ball over too much,” JCA coach Matt Adler said. “Give credit to Joliet Central. They had great energy on defense, and then our mistakes started to snowball.

“This was a growing game for us. We are young and are learning from our experiences. We are still getting used to the speed and physicality at the varsity level. We hope that all these learning experiences we are having now will pay off in the postseason.”