Women's basketball muscles past Prairie State, 78-65

The Wolves overcame a slow start Thursday to defeat Prairie State, 78-65, at home on Faculty Night.

It is the first time since the beginning of the season that Joliet Junior College has earned consecutive victories after defeating Kennedy-King earlier in the week. With the win, the Wolves improve to .500, sitting at 5-5 on the year.

Aniela Machalski powered the Wolves with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double, along with three assists. She finished 7-of-15 from the field with a 4-of-9 mark from the 3-pointer. She converted her sole free throw shot.

"It feels really good," Machalski said of getting two wins this week. "I know this team during our losing streak, it was really hard to adjust because we came into the season winning games."

"In the beginning of the season, it was really hard for me to accept my role coming off the bench. I wasn't really use to that," Machalski said. "So I think the biggest thing for me this season so far is just sticking to me role, staying in the gym and trusting my coach's process.

Elsewhere, Destynia McGruder also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Three other Wolves contributed with double-digit scoring as Na'Vayuh Junior had 15 points, Makenna Boyle had 12 and Samaiyya Williams finished with 10.

The Wolves shot 37.3 percent from the field with a 6-of-26 mark from beyond the arc. 

"That last game, we came out hot shooting but I thought we came out cold today," said Wolves coach Shaun Sanderson. "Shots weren't falling for us and I even began seeing some heads drop a little bit. We tried to get the touches with (McGruder) but that wasn't working."

Sanderson said that despite being up by a point at the half, it felt like his team was down by 20.

The Wolves have three games left before the holiday break. Next, they travel to College of Lake County on Monday for a 5:15 p.m. tip.