JC speeds past 'Cats

The Bearcats tried to run.
They still couldn’t keep up with Jay County.
The host Patriots took advantage of a quick early pace to build and 11-3 lead and then used their inside strength to stay in control the rest of the way in a 47-27 victory Tuesday over Muncie Central.
“When we come against teams that we are superior in size, we’ve got to take that advantage and we’ve got to run with it,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, noting that his team outscored the Bearcats 37-10 in the paint. “You can always finish shots around the basket.”
Before turning the game over to their inside dominance, the Patriots used Central’s up-tempo style against it.
JCHS (6-2) trailed only briefly at 3-2 after an early Madelyn Beaver 3-pointer, but reclaimed the advantage on a couple of Kassi Hemmelgarn free throws just 1:12 into the game and never trailed again. While the Bearcats settled for quick shots, the home team got quality looks and took advantage of a couple of turnovers en route to an 11-3 lead.
“I told the girls, push, attack,” said Krieg. “I told them we’ve got to be in attack mode offensively and defensively. And we did a great job in the first quarter.”
The Patriots, who allowed just one first-half field goal, had a 10-point lead after the first period before going stale offensively in the second. But after halftime, post players Maria Murphy and Mariah Hornaday took over.
Hornaday scored Jay County’s first eight points of the second half on the way to her 10-point effort.
Murphy, the team’s lead performer even before tip-off as she sang the national anthem, then took over the game by scoring 10 of the Patriots’ next 12 points. She finished with a double-double, tallying game highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s a strength factor,” said Krieg. “What Maria has an advantage in over everybody out there is her strength. … That’s why she’s doing so well. Teams can’t guard her. … Maria is a power player.”
Hornaday added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Central (1-6), which earned its only win over Alexandria, never cut the gap to single digits in the second half.
Jessica Rowe, a sophomore, led the Bearcats as she hit all of her four free-throw attempts and finished with 14 points. She was also 5-of-8 from the field, but the rest of the Central squad went just 3-of-30 (10 percent).
“For the most part we did a great job of protecting the basket,” said Krieg, whose team will visit Frankton Thursday. “Our goal is if we’re going to lose, they’ve got to hit the outside shot and we’ve got to protect that basket.”
Catherine Dunn scored the final four Patriot points on drives to the basket, the second hoop coming after a steal, to reach double figures for the first time in her career. The freshman matched Hornaday with 10 points.
Senior Kassi Hemmelgarn added six assists.
“It’s tough for a freshman to step up from playing middle school basketball and then get thrown right to the wolves,” said Krieg of Dunn. “So I’m very proud of her for that effort. … Every game I see her doing more and more positives and less and less negatives. She’s done a great job …
“Kassi did a great job of improving that angle and pounding the ball inside. That’s what we’ve got to do. … She did a great job of delivering the ball to the open person.”

Junior varsity
The Patriots kept their undefeated record in tact, controlling the game from the start in a 30-13 victory over Muncie Central.
Katlin Petro racked up 14 points to lead Jay County, which had a 6-1 advantage after the opening period and racked up 21 points in the second half. Alex Loy and Bre McIntire added four points apiece.
LaNey Johnson finished with eight of the Bearcats’ 13 points.[[In-content Ad]]