Former OAC rivals edge Jay

Mariah Hornaday gave the Patriots the lead midway through the first quarter. They stayed ahead for the next 24 minutes, but struggled with the game on the line.
Jay County turned the ball over 21 times Saturday, including on a key position in the final 30 seconds, as it fell 34-31 to the visiting Connersville Spartans.
“I’m really disappointed in our effort late in the game,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg. “We just fell apart, we panicked. We just threw the ball away.”
After falling behind for the first time since early in the opening quarter, the Patriots (8-6) held Connersville (8-8) scoreless for nearly three minutes. They pulled even on a hoop by Mariah Hornaday, and took the lead when Kassi Hemmelgarn hit a pair of free throws with 44.6 seconds left.
But following a timeout, Connersville’s Tierra Huntsman dribbled right and then passed back to Caitlin DuVall at the top of the key. DuVall promptly buried her third 3-pointer of the game to put the Spartans back on top.
“That was actually the second option,” said Connersville coach Michael Thompson. “I wanted to clear it out for Huntsman to be able to take it to the basket … Huntsman looked for (the pass) straight off the bat, and Duvall stepped up and hit a big shot right there.”
Jay County turned the ball over on its next possession, and Mackenzie Rice hit a pair of free throws to extend the Spartans’ advantage to three points. The Patriots had a chance to tie the game, but Erin Hunt’s 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer  was no good.
This marks the first time JCHS has suffered back-to-back losses this season. It has not scored more than 32 points since Dec. 9 and is averaging just 27 over the last five games.
“They’re frustrated and I’m frustrated,” said Krieg. “If we’re taking good shots and missing and we lose, I don’t have a problem with that. ... My problem is with our turnovers. We average 19 a game. … You just can’t turn the ball over that much and expect to win.”
Huntsman paced Connersville with 10 points, hitting two 3-pointers and all of her four free-throw tries. DuVall added nine, all from long distance.
Hornaday led JCHS with 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks, and Maria Murphy added six points and five boards. Danielle Link, playing for the first time since suffering a broken arm and torn ACL in the season opener, grabbed a game-high six rebounds to go along with six points and two blocks.
“The positive today is having Danielle back,” said Krieg of the 6-foot-2-inch senior. “Her size is a huge factor for us.”

Junior varsity
The Patriots scored just two first-half points and their comeback attempt fell short in a 13-11 loss to Connersville.
Katlin Petro scored six points for Jay County, which led 2-0 after the first period before going scoreless in the second. Tiffany Huelskamp missed on the front end of a 1-and-1 with less than 10 seconds left as the Spartans held on.
Morgan King powered Connersville with five points.[[In-content Ad]]