November 18, 2018 at 4:40 a.m.
Jay falls to top-ranked Winchester
JCHS girls basketball
Jay falls to top-ranked Winchester
Copyright 2018, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
The Patriots got the solid start the needed after an abysmal beginning a night earlier.
With a quicker starting lineup against a state runner-up team from last year, they made sure nothing came easy for the Golden Falcons.
But once the shots started to fall for the top-ranked team in Class 2A, the Patriots were behind and had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team kept the Winchester Golden Falcons without a point for nearly four minutes to start the game on Saturday but fell behind in a matter of minutes and wasn’t able to re-take the lead in a 51-40 defeat.
“I thought we came out and got a good start,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team was behind 18-2 and 25-4 to Bellmont on Friday night before running out of time late. “I was happy with the girls, the way they played. I thought they played hard. They never quit.”
Rather than starting five seniors, which Comer did through the first three games of the year, he opted to have two players make their first career start; sophomore Aubrie Schwieterman and freshman Madison Dirksen.
Winchester (5-0), after all, returned all but one player from a team that lost in the state title game a year ago.
Comer’s thought was to keep Schwieterman on Winchester guard Maddie Lawrence, the Golden Falcons’ leading scorer.
Lawrence, who played in the state final with a torn ACL, had nothing easy. She was whistled for a 5-second violation on the game’s first possession and missed the first five shots she took. Jay County — it has lost three straight games — jumped out to a 6-0 start and led 7-2 midway through the opening quarter.
Lawrence’s teammates made up for it, as they scored 10 straight points, including consecutive 3-pointers from Becca Chamberlain, to lead 12-7 with a minute to play.
Hanna Dillon and Kendra Muhlenkamp scored on consecutive possessions as Jay County (1-3) tied the score at 12-all before Lawrence made her first basket of the night.
“I thought we executed the game plan perfectly as far as making her work for 32 minutes,” Comer said. Lawrence led all players with 19 points. “She is just a really good player and a smart player. You’re not going to stop a player like that and I thought the girls that guarded her did a good job.”
Winchester opened the second quarter on a 15-3 run, during which Lawrence had seven points and Hannah Graft hit a pair of shots from long range.
At the other end, Jay County was at times rushed offensively, and lacked aggressiveness in getting to the hoop with Kira Robinson, who stands 6 feet, 3 inches, and Shelby Miller (6 feet) in the paint.
“We were afraid to attack the basket,” Comer said. “A lot of these girls played last year and the year before against Winchester. When you go in there, Robinson is a real good shot blocker and I think they were intimidated to take it in there because of that.”
Consequently, Jay County was 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) from the field before intermission. It made seven 3-pointers on 16 attempts in the first half.
Hannah Phillips, who had six points, and Shelby Caldwell (16 points) drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the second to make it 29-21 with fewer than three minutes before halftime.
The Golden Falcons led 45-31, tying its biggest advantage of the game, early in the fourth quarter and the Patriots cut it in half but wasn’t able to get any closer.
Despite three consecutive losses, two against state-ranked teams, Comer says his team is getting better. And with a Friday matchup against Woodlan to open Allen County Athletic Conference play, Jay County’s schedule doesn’t get any easier. It hosts Class 4A No. 2 Homestead on Nov. 27 and plays at New Castle two days later.
“That’s OK just as long as we can remember what the focus is and the big picture and continue to get better,” Comer said. “As long as we keep doing things to get better — obviously it would be nice if we do that and get a win — but as long as we’re getting better that’s the bigger picture.”
Junior varsity
Winchester’s dominant start was too much to overcome in a 53-27 win over Jay County.
The Golden Falcons were out front 14-6 after the first quarter and went into intermission on top 33-10. Jay County held a 10-9 advantage in the third quarter before the Winchester pulled away in the final seven minutes.
Grace Saxman’s 12 points led Jay County (1-3), which has lost three in a row. Pacie Denney finished with nine points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Maddy Wenk contributed three points. Jayden Claytor and Macey Weitzel scored two and one point respectively.
All Rights Reserved
The Patriots got the solid start the needed after an abysmal beginning a night earlier.
With a quicker starting lineup against a state runner-up team from last year, they made sure nothing came easy for the Golden Falcons.
But once the shots started to fall for the top-ranked team in Class 2A, the Patriots were behind and had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team kept the Winchester Golden Falcons without a point for nearly four minutes to start the game on Saturday but fell behind in a matter of minutes and wasn’t able to re-take the lead in a 51-40 defeat.
“I thought we came out and got a good start,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team was behind 18-2 and 25-4 to Bellmont on Friday night before running out of time late. “I was happy with the girls, the way they played. I thought they played hard. They never quit.”
Rather than starting five seniors, which Comer did through the first three games of the year, he opted to have two players make their first career start; sophomore Aubrie Schwieterman and freshman Madison Dirksen.
Winchester (5-0), after all, returned all but one player from a team that lost in the state title game a year ago.
Comer’s thought was to keep Schwieterman on Winchester guard Maddie Lawrence, the Golden Falcons’ leading scorer.
Lawrence, who played in the state final with a torn ACL, had nothing easy. She was whistled for a 5-second violation on the game’s first possession and missed the first five shots she took. Jay County — it has lost three straight games — jumped out to a 6-0 start and led 7-2 midway through the opening quarter.
Lawrence’s teammates made up for it, as they scored 10 straight points, including consecutive 3-pointers from Becca Chamberlain, to lead 12-7 with a minute to play.
Hanna Dillon and Kendra Muhlenkamp scored on consecutive possessions as Jay County (1-3) tied the score at 12-all before Lawrence made her first basket of the night.
“I thought we executed the game plan perfectly as far as making her work for 32 minutes,” Comer said. Lawrence led all players with 19 points. “She is just a really good player and a smart player. You’re not going to stop a player like that and I thought the girls that guarded her did a good job.”
Winchester opened the second quarter on a 15-3 run, during which Lawrence had seven points and Hannah Graft hit a pair of shots from long range.
At the other end, Jay County was at times rushed offensively, and lacked aggressiveness in getting to the hoop with Kira Robinson, who stands 6 feet, 3 inches, and Shelby Miller (6 feet) in the paint.
“We were afraid to attack the basket,” Comer said. “A lot of these girls played last year and the year before against Winchester. When you go in there, Robinson is a real good shot blocker and I think they were intimidated to take it in there because of that.”
Consequently, Jay County was 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) from the field before intermission. It made seven 3-pointers on 16 attempts in the first half.
Hannah Phillips, who had six points, and Shelby Caldwell (16 points) drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the second to make it 29-21 with fewer than three minutes before halftime.
The Golden Falcons led 45-31, tying its biggest advantage of the game, early in the fourth quarter and the Patriots cut it in half but wasn’t able to get any closer.
Despite three consecutive losses, two against state-ranked teams, Comer says his team is getting better. And with a Friday matchup against Woodlan to open Allen County Athletic Conference play, Jay County’s schedule doesn’t get any easier. It hosts Class 4A No. 2 Homestead on Nov. 27 and plays at New Castle two days later.
“That’s OK just as long as we can remember what the focus is and the big picture and continue to get better,” Comer said. “As long as we keep doing things to get better — obviously it would be nice if we do that and get a win — but as long as we’re getting better that’s the bigger picture.”
Junior varsity
Winchester’s dominant start was too much to overcome in a 53-27 win over Jay County.
The Golden Falcons were out front 14-6 after the first quarter and went into intermission on top 33-10. Jay County held a 10-9 advantage in the third quarter before the Winchester pulled away in the final seven minutes.
Grace Saxman’s 12 points led Jay County (1-3), which has lost three in a row. Pacie Denney finished with nine points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Maddy Wenk contributed three points. Jayden Claytor and Macey Weitzel scored two and one point respectively.
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
250 X 250 AD