Patriots blast Bluffton

Luke Cummings wanted defense to be his team's calling card.

It definitely was Tuesday.

The Jay County High School girls basketball team allowed the Bluffton Tigers only one field goal in each of the first three quarters.

It limited the them to just 30 percent shooting.

And it forced more than twice as many turnovers as the Tigers scored points.

The dominant defense combined with efficient offense to give the Patriots a 60-17 victory over Bluffton.

"I thought we did it while staying disciplined," said Cummings, whose team created 35 turnovers. "We didn't try to make too many plays or get out of position. Sometimes in a game like this you try to do too much and go for too many steals. We kept them in front of us and made them make a mistake rather than try to gamble."

Jay County (5-2) limited Bluffton to 3-of-16 shooting (19 percent) in the first three quarters.

The defensive effort was strong from the start as JCHS forced turnovers on five of the Tigers' first seven possessions and held them without a field goal of the first 6:50 of the game. Pazia Speed closed the first quarter with a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer off a Kassi Hemmelgarn assist to give the Patriots a 17-4 lead.

Maria Murphy scored seven points in the first quarter on the way to a 14-point, six-rebound effort.

"It was a big game for her," said Cummings of the sophomore, whose varsity effort came after leading the junior varsity team in scoring. "I think she's starting to learn our system and what we want to do. Now she's going out and being able to execute it. ...

"I thought Kassi did the same thing tonight. When she went in and we sent her to the point right away, she just played as a leader."

Hemmelgarn finished with four points and three assists.

Several players joined Murphy in coming off the bench to give solid contributions. Mollie May had four points and three rebounds, and Hannah Ainsworth scored five points.

"It was a good game for that," Cummings said. "We've known ... that we've got to find some depth. We're still trying to figure out who we are as a team without Cara (Garringer) being in there because of her injury. ...

"Our expectations are still the same. We're just going to have to do it a different way. That's why we play 20 games, to develop. I really like where we are right now as a team."

Speed led the Patriots with 17 points, catching fire after missing her first two shots of the game.

She went 5-of-8 from the field and was perfect from both 3-point range (3-for-3) and the free-throw line (4-for-4).

Jay County finished at 53 percent from the field overall, with Murphy going 6-of-9 and Danielle Link (eight points) 4-of-6.

Speed and Katie Butcher each had four assists, and Mariah Hornday grabbed four rebounds.

Kara Fiechter's six points paced Bluffton (2-4), and Gina Eisenhut had five points and four rebounds.

The Patriots play their third straight home game Thursday when they host Harding (2-3).

"We're going to have to take care of the basketball," said Cummings of the key to victory against the Hawks. "They're going to play pressure defense. They're going to press on every possession. They're similar to Fort Wayne South in how they play."

Junior varsity

The Patriots controlled Bluffton throughout the game to improve to 6-1 with a 38-18 victory.

Maria Murphy scored 10 points to lead Jay County, who had a 20-11 advantage at halftime and outscored the Tigers 8-1 in the third quarter. Gabie Cross added six points, and Tiffany Huelskamp scored five.

Connelly Mettler scored five points to pace Bluffton. Leslee Peeper added four points.[[In-content Ad]]