Runners-up at Hall

NEW CASTLE - All season only the elite from the state have been able to beat the Patriots.

Despite some difficult circumstances, that rule held true in Tuesday's Hall of Fame Classic.

Playing their first game without Katie Butcher because of a knee injury and then losing Pazia Speed to fouls early in the second overtime, Jay County still knocked off the Plainfield Quakers 35-33 in the semifinal round. In the finals, the Patriots ran into one of the elite and suffered a 48-35 loss to the Class 3A No. 2 Rushville Lions to end a seven-game winning streak.

Class 4A No. 2 Mooresville defeated Plainfield 51-46 in the consolation game.

"We showed that we can still play with this level of competition. We lost another starter last week," said JCHS coach Luke Cummings, who lost Katie Butcher to a knee injury suffered in practice. "I think it was big for our confidence going forward ...

"I think it was a good experience for us. We didn't want to lose this game. We wanted to compete better than we did, but we did hang in there ...

"Our effort this morning I don't think you can say enough about."

The Patriots (11-3), who lost Cara Garringer to a season-ending knee injury in the opening game of the year, found themselves on the ropes over and over again in the semifinal round against Plainfield (6-7).

They managed just four first-quarter points to fall behind, trailed by five late in regulation and were down by three in the second overtime when Speed, the team's lone senior and leading scorer, fouled out. But they just would not give up.

Junior Erin Hunt buried a 3-pointer to tie the game in the final minute, and the Quakers were called for traveling as they tried to set up the final shot. Plainfield immediately fouled JCHS sophomore Maria Murphy on the ensuing possession, and then called a timeout.

Murphy, who was shooting less than 50 percent for the year at the line, shrugged off the pressure and buried both free throws with 8.9 seconds on the clock. The Quakers' Jamie Lydick missed a potential game-tying shot, and Hunt grabbed the rebound and ran out the remainder of the clock.

"That was neat for her to do that," said Cummings of Murphy's winning foul shots. "They called a timeout to try to ice her ... That's the kind of kid she is, just happy-go-lucky and I'm going to step up and do my job ...

"You can't say enough about how well Erin Hunt has played. She kind of gets forgotten because she doesn't light up the box score. But she's handling the basketball, she's moving defensively, she never comes out of the game, she always does the right thing."

Cummings also complimented Hemmelgarn, who hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 42 seconds left in regulation to force the first overtime.

Mariah Hornaday, whose hoop with 52 seconds left pulled the Patriots to within three and set up Hemmelgarn's triple, led JCHS in the semifinal round with eight points and seven rebounds. Speed had seven points, six rebounds and five assists, and Danielle Link totaled seven points and six boards.

Jay County's only lead in the championship game was at 3-0 in the championship against Rushville, which defeated Class 4A No. 2 Mooresville (13-1) in the semifinal round. It stayed within striking distance, trailing just 33-27 after a 3-pointer by Hunt with one minute left in the third quarter.

However, the Lions scored the opening five points of the final period, and JCHS never pulled closer than eight the rest of the way.

"When I saw them in person I felt like they were the best team I've seen this year," said Cummings. "We've played Norwell, and I'd seen Mooresville at that point as well, and they showed (this afternoon) that the could beat Mooresville. They're one of the best team's in the state. They have a lot of weapons, and they showed that tonight."

Three players scored in double figures for Rushville, with Alexa Bess and tournament MVP Morgan Herbert each scoring 13 points. Herbert and Meagan Hittle each hit a pair of first-half 3-pointers to help keep the Lions in control, and Shelbie Justice went 6-of-7 from the foul line and hit all of her three field-goal tries to add 12 points.

Herbert added six rebounds, and Bess grabbed five boards. Justice and Kaliegh Andrews joined Herbert on the all-tournament team.

"We usually have four kids in double figures," said Rushville coach Melissa Marlow. "When you scout us, who are you going to take away? Morgan Herbert today came up huge. I thought they were backing off of her a little bit and she was willing to shoot it. I've never had a team so balanced."

Speed had team highs of 10 points and four assists to go along with six rebounds for the Patriots. She was the lone JCHS player named to the all-tournament team.

"Oh my gosh, she makes me nervous. ... Speed is the real deal," said Marlow. "We had our two best defenders on her and we still had a hard time. That's why we went to box-and-1, to try to keep the ball out of her hands."

Hunt scored nine points for JCHS, and Hannah Ainsworth added eight. Danielle Link grabbed nine rebounds.

The loss to Rushville ended a seven-game winning streak for the Patriots, who had not lost since Nov. 27. Their other two defeats came against Class 2A No. 2 Winchester (12-0) and Class 3A No. 1 Norwell (9-0).

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