There had been some confusion prior to Tuesday’s 4A Minooka Regional girls basketball semifinal between Minooka and Joliet West. A pair of regional semifinals initially set to be played Monday were switched to Tuesday due in part to Presidents Day.

There was little doubt early and no doubt by the end of the contest, however, who was advancing to Thursday.

Minooka raced out to a 16-point lead after one quarter, which grew to 27 at halftime. Not much changed in the second half as the Indians ultimately routed the Tigers 61-28.

“(Assistant coach Cathy) Boswell gave them a really good pregame talk about grit, energy and toughness,” Minooka coach John Placher said. “The atmosphere of the game before us was loud and state tournament-like.

“It just brings a different energy that we had to meet on our home court, and the girls did that really well.”

Minooka (23-8) was always going to be heavily favored given their season. They earned the No. 2 seed in the Peoria Richwoods Sectional and won eight consecutive games before closing the regular season with a loss to Bolingbrook. That was after beginning the year 12-1 with senior Madelyn Kiper, a Kent State commit, leading the way.

“Having Maddie Kiper has been amazing,” sophomore Sadie Webb said. “I’m so grateful that I get to be a part of this team with her. We’ve all just come together and been a great team. I’ve really enjoyed playing with these girls.”

While Kiper did her usual thing in scoring 19 points, the entire roster got involved Tuesday. Webb put up 14, and Jaelle Hamilton contributed eight.

“Sadie Webb was unbelievable off the bench today,” Placher said. “If we get her like that on Thursday, it’ll be huge. It’s going to be a tough game, because Moline is a good team. It should be a great regional championship game.”

As good as Minooka was in the regular season, the playoffs are a whole new beast. The first regional semifinal of the night between third-seeded Moline and sixth-seeded Normal Community was equally lopsided, with Moline winning 59-27, but Thursday’s regional final will be a much tougher contest for both advancers.

Placher said the biggest key to winning their home regional will be handling Moline’s press defense.

“They press the whole game, and they’re good at it,” he said. “We’ll have to beat that and will have to contain (Adalynn Voss, Aniya Dixon and VaDarricka Reaves), who are their best players. I think we’re as good as anybody right now, so we’ll see what happens.”

Webb believes it will be a matter of matching what Moline does while also staying true to their offensive and defensive game plan.

“I think that they play a really good defense,” she said. “We just have to reciprocate that and also play really good defense. We have to score the ball.”

As for Joliet West (3-26), it was going to be a difficult task to achieve the upset. The Tigers finished the season with a 16-game losing streak, but as coach Breanna Blackmon has said throughout the season, 2025-26 was never about wins and losses. It was about wisdoms and lessons.

“They got a lot of lessons, and they’re going to be full of wisdom,” Blackmon said. “(The seniors) haven’t reached the end, they’re just getting ready to begin again. The next chapter is about beginning again, and we’re going to stand behind them. As they leave, they pass the baton.

“Every wisdom and lesson you learned you pass along to those behind you, and we carry on. Tigers forever.”

Jada Thompson led the Tigers with 15 points.

The regional championship Thursday night will tip off at 6 p.m.