January 21, 2018 at 4:55 a.m.
Patriots secure conference crown
Jay County wins seventh ACAC title in four years
Patriots secure conference crown
Copyright 2018, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
Seven out of eight isn’t too bad.
When it comes to conference championships, winning one is admirable.
But seven? It’s enviable.
It’s precisely what the Patriot seniors have accomplished.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team secured the outright Allen County Athletic Conference regular-season championship Saturday with a 51-31 senior night victory over the visiting Southern Wells Raiders.
“It was for the conference championship,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team improves to 14-8 on the year, including a perfect 6-0 record against ACAC foes. “We came out and did what we had to do to get the win.”
For Jay County seniors Hanna Ault and Briana Muhlenkamp, it is the seventh of eight possible conference titles. The Patriots have won the regular-season crown in each of the last four years — three outright with a shared title last year with South Adams — and three tournament championships.
“It’s a good feeling,” said Ault, who had a game-high 17 points Saturday. Through four seasons she and her teammates are 34-2 in ACAC play. “It is definitely nice to know my senior year we could get it done.”
Just 11 days after beating Southern Wells (7-14, 1-5 ACAC) in the opening round of the conference tournament, Jay County once again got off to a hot start against the Raiders on its home floor.
Shelby Caldwell scored the first basket of the game as the Patriots got out to an 11-0 lead midway through the quarter. Ault had a triple from the right wing and put back her own miss, while Muhlenkamp scored all four of her points during the run. One basket was on a fast break and the other was on an assist from her sister Kendra.
“It was good to come out and get a good start,” said Comer, who felt his team relaxed a little too much after that. The Raiders sandwiched 3-pointers — one each from Georgia Hanauer and Jessica Yencer — around a pair of Hanna Dillon free throws to make it 13-6.
Southern Wells trimmed the deficit to five, 13-8, on a Hanauer bucket in the paint, but the Patriots took over again.
Caldwell kicked off a 13-0 JCHS run, during which Kendra Muhlenkamp had her only 3-point basket of the game and Ault tacked on four more points while Gwen Omstead and Caldwell also had buckets.
“I feel like the girls did what they had to do to win the game,” Comer said of the second-quarter run. “The league championship (was) on the line and they wanted to make sure they got that.”
Ault, who also had three rebounds, finished the first half with nine points as Jay County led 26-11. Caldwell ended nine points, and her eight rebounds tied Kendra Muhlenkamp for the game high.
“I knew we had to win so we definitely got the ball to where it needed to go and it definitely opened up a lot of opportunities for me to score,” Ault said, noting her growth as a player from a sophomore who was afraid to shoot to a senior who can drive the lane, pull up with a jumper or drain daggers from long distance.
Jay County had another 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter as it built its biggest lead of the game, 51-22. That’s when Comer started to empty his bench, taking out his starters and letting Briana Muhlenkamp and Ault exit the court to applause.
“They’re just outstanding kids,” Comer said. “They are great leaders. In all the years I’ve coached I can honestly say that not one time did I come to practice and felt like they didn’t give 100 percent effort.
“I can’t give them high enough compliments for what I think of those two.”
Junior varsity
Jay County kept Southern Wells off the scoreboard in both the first and third quarters in a 37-7 drubbing of the Raiders.
A 13-0 effort after the first quarter turned into a 20-2 lead at halftime for Jay County (14-5). The Patriots pitched another shutout in the third quarter as they were out front 30-2 heading into the final period.
Pacie Denney was 10-of-14 from the free-throw line on her way to a season and game-high 16 points. Mikele Suman was second on the team with six points as Grace Saxman, Kendal Garringer and Clare Dirksen both had four points for Jay County.
All Rights Reserved
Seven out of eight isn’t too bad.
When it comes to conference championships, winning one is admirable.
But seven? It’s enviable.
It’s precisely what the Patriot seniors have accomplished.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team secured the outright Allen County Athletic Conference regular-season championship Saturday with a 51-31 senior night victory over the visiting Southern Wells Raiders.
“It was for the conference championship,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team improves to 14-8 on the year, including a perfect 6-0 record against ACAC foes. “We came out and did what we had to do to get the win.”
For Jay County seniors Hanna Ault and Briana Muhlenkamp, it is the seventh of eight possible conference titles. The Patriots have won the regular-season crown in each of the last four years — three outright with a shared title last year with South Adams — and three tournament championships.
“It’s a good feeling,” said Ault, who had a game-high 17 points Saturday. Through four seasons she and her teammates are 34-2 in ACAC play. “It is definitely nice to know my senior year we could get it done.”
Just 11 days after beating Southern Wells (7-14, 1-5 ACAC) in the opening round of the conference tournament, Jay County once again got off to a hot start against the Raiders on its home floor.
Shelby Caldwell scored the first basket of the game as the Patriots got out to an 11-0 lead midway through the quarter. Ault had a triple from the right wing and put back her own miss, while Muhlenkamp scored all four of her points during the run. One basket was on a fast break and the other was on an assist from her sister Kendra.
“It was good to come out and get a good start,” said Comer, who felt his team relaxed a little too much after that. The Raiders sandwiched 3-pointers — one each from Georgia Hanauer and Jessica Yencer — around a pair of Hanna Dillon free throws to make it 13-6.
Southern Wells trimmed the deficit to five, 13-8, on a Hanauer bucket in the paint, but the Patriots took over again.
Caldwell kicked off a 13-0 JCHS run, during which Kendra Muhlenkamp had her only 3-point basket of the game and Ault tacked on four more points while Gwen Omstead and Caldwell also had buckets.
“I feel like the girls did what they had to do to win the game,” Comer said of the second-quarter run. “The league championship (was) on the line and they wanted to make sure they got that.”
Ault, who also had three rebounds, finished the first half with nine points as Jay County led 26-11. Caldwell ended nine points, and her eight rebounds tied Kendra Muhlenkamp for the game high.
“I knew we had to win so we definitely got the ball to where it needed to go and it definitely opened up a lot of opportunities for me to score,” Ault said, noting her growth as a player from a sophomore who was afraid to shoot to a senior who can drive the lane, pull up with a jumper or drain daggers from long distance.
Jay County had another 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter as it built its biggest lead of the game, 51-22. That’s when Comer started to empty his bench, taking out his starters and letting Briana Muhlenkamp and Ault exit the court to applause.
“They’re just outstanding kids,” Comer said. “They are great leaders. In all the years I’ve coached I can honestly say that not one time did I come to practice and felt like they didn’t give 100 percent effort.
“I can’t give them high enough compliments for what I think of those two.”
Junior varsity
Jay County kept Southern Wells off the scoreboard in both the first and third quarters in a 37-7 drubbing of the Raiders.
A 13-0 effort after the first quarter turned into a 20-2 lead at halftime for Jay County (14-5). The Patriots pitched another shutout in the third quarter as they were out front 30-2 heading into the final period.
Pacie Denney was 10-of-14 from the free-throw line on her way to a season and game-high 16 points. Mikele Suman was second on the team with six points as Grace Saxman, Kendal Garringer and Clare Dirksen both had four points for Jay County.
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