Jay tops MC

MUNCIE — Jamie Drummer reached her milestone. But it was the Patriots who walked away from The Muncie Fieldhouse victorious.
Kassi Hemmelgarn and Maria Murphy led the Jay County High School girls basketball team Tuesday for a 42-34 victory over the Muncie Central Bearcats as it overcame Dummer’s 17-point second half in which she surpassed the 1,000-mark for her career.
Hemmelgarn and Muprhy dominated the first half, combining for 23 points as they led the Patriots to a 13-point lead.
“In the first half we played really well,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg after watching his team improve to 5-3. “We executed offensively and defensively.
“We always talk about a lot of inside-out. It’s going to open things up for somebody. Kassi knocked down the threes … in the second quarter, and then Murph finished around the basket.
“It’s a good win. We’ll take it.”
After scoring just four points in the first half, Drummer caught fire. She scored 10 points in the third quarter, hitting 1,000 as she buried a shot from just inside the 3-point line on the right wing despite getting fouled.
She was presented with a game ball by Central coach Kaye Harrell and former teammate Ashley Fouch, who broke the 1,000-point mark for the Bearcats last season.
“I’ve coached 25 years and probably only had three or four players do that,” said Harrell. “So, it’s a great accomplishment. …
“The thing about her is she’s really one of the most unselfish players who’s a good scorer that I’ve ever coached. She’d just as soon pass it as shoot it. … She’s really a great team player.
“I felt like in the first half she was pressing a little bit. When you know that milestone is there … and everyone is expecting it, you press a little bit. … I thought that she kind of settled in (during the second half).”
Both teams went without a field goal for the first four minutes of the final period before a three-point play from Drummer closed the gap to 34-30. But a layup from Erin Hunt off of a great pass by Cara Garringer pushed the lead back to six as JCHS went on to secure the win.
Although Drummer hit her milestone, the Patriots made it difficult on the Central senior. She shot just 8-of 23 (35 percent) from the field.
“Obviously the Dummer girl, she’s an athlete-and-a-half,” said Krieg. “She’s got skills. She comes from a basketball family. So she’s going to get her points, but she had to work hard for them.”
After falling behind 4-0, Murphy scored the Patriots’ first points on an assist from Mariah Hornaday to kick off a 10-0 run. Central pulled even again at 11, only to have JCHS finish the first half run. Hemmelgarn hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points during the stretch, and Murphy hit three hoops off assists from the junior point guard.
Hemmelgarn finished with 16 points while shooting an efficient 5-of-7 from the field, and Murphy had 11. Hornaday totaled six points and 12 rebounds as Jay County earned its eighth straight victory over the Bearcats.
Central made a defensive adjustment in the second half, trying to keep the ball away from Hemmelgarn and out of the paint. The Patriots turned the ball over nine times in the third quarter, but recovered late in the fourth to preserve the win.
“We made a little defensive adjustment that helped us,” said Harrell. “I give our kids credit. We aren’t scoring real well against the teams that play good defense, but I did think we gained our respectability back in the second half by just playing good, solid defense and really hustling.”
Jessica Rowe followed Drummer, who also had a team-high five rebounds, with six points before fouling out with 1:46 to play.

Junior varsity
The Patriots opened a lead in the second quarter and pulled away in the fourth for a 35-19 victory over Muncie Central.
Jay County (7-1) got seven points each from Megan Sawyer, Emily Devoe and Alex Loy in its seventh straight victory. Katie Aker added six points.
Dariana Carter’s seven points led the Bearcat squad. Ashlen Evans scored six points.[[In-content Ad]]