Basketball Game Preview: Joliet Central Steelmen vs. Joliet West Tigers

Joliet Central is 1-9 against Joliet West since February of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Joliet Central Steelmen will head out to challenge the Joliet West Tigers at 5:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Joliet Central is headed into Thursday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Tuesday. They were beaten by Yorkville 57-29. While losing is never fun, the Steelmen can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 295th, while the Foxes are ranked 92nd).

Meanwhile, Joliet West came up short against Oswego East on Tuesday and fell 62-52.

Joliet Central will need focus on slowing down Khiana Tyler, one of several Joliet West players who made an impact when they last played. She posted 17 points. Those 17 points gave Tyler a new career-high. Makayla J Chism was another key player, putting up ten points.

Joliet Central's record is now 10-16. As for Joliet West, their record now sits at 4-18.

Joliet Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Joliet West when the teams last played back in December of 2024, sneaking past 54-51. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was J Chism, who put up 24 points. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Joliet Central still be able to contain J Chism? There's only one way to find out.