Bearcats buried

During a 1-5 start, there wasn’t much opportunity for the Patriots to show killer instinct.

In recent wins, they saw double-digit leads slip away.

But in the third quarter Tuesday, they made sure Muncie Central would have no opportunity to rally.

Jay County High School’s girls basketball team scored the first eight points of the second half and then closed the third quarter on a 12-0 run as they buried the visiting Bearcats 57-35 for their third straight victory.

“We talked about picking up intensity and not letting down,” said JCHS sophomore Madison Dirksen of the halftime talk. “Just play hard defense and the shots will come.”

“We got several stops in a row,” added Patriot coach Kirk Comer. “And we were able to score off those stops. That allowed us to gain some confidence.”

The Patriots (4-5) were in control with an eight-point lead at halftime, but it wasn’t where they hoped to be after a dominant opening period that led to a 17-3 advantage. To start the third quarter, a couple of upperclassmen took the lead role.

Hallie Fields, a senior, drove the lane for a bucket on the opening possession of the second half, assisted a hoop by junior Aubrie Schwieterman and then scored again after a JCHS steal. Schwieterman added another basket after a Muncie Central timeout to put the Patriots up 29-13.

The Bearcats (3-5) closed back to within 10 before Jay County finished the third quarter with 12 consecutive points that included four points from Dirksen and 3-pointers from Pacie Denney and Schwieterman.

“(The Patriots) just stepped up,” said Muncie Central coach Ron Howell of the Patriots. “They played really well. They played together. They looked for each other.”

His Bearcats used sharp passes to get open looks in the first quarter but struggled to convert as they shot 1-of-16 from the field in the first eight minutes. They hit for 42 percent over the final three quarters, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with Jay County.

“They didn’t fall,” said Howell. “We were just talking about how slow we are starting in some games. If you hit a few shots early in the game, it kind of energizes you.”

While Patriot leading scorer Renna Schwieterman had an off night from the field — she shot 3-of-14 and totaled nine points, but also contributed seven rebounds and five assists — her teammates were able to spread out the scoring load. Dirksen led that effort by finished 7-of-10 for a game-best 14 points while also grabbing nine rebounds.

“I thought she had a really good game,” said Comer. “She shot the ball really well. She’s a really good shooter when you leave her open. Any time she can set her feet and have space to shoot, we want her to shoot.”

Senior Pacie Denney matched Renna Schwieterman with nine points, and Aubrie Schwieterman added seven points. Fields made all of her shots — two field goals and two free throws — to chip in six points.

Comer complimented the contributions from players who came off the bench along with Denney. That included four points apiece from Grace Saxman and Gabi Bilbrey.

After a 1-5 start to the season, the Patriots have now won three games in six days. They beat New Castle 64-54 Thursday and Fort Recovery 45-40 Saturday.

“It feels really good,” said Dirksen. “We’ve really come together as a team and started to play as one.”



Junior varsity

Jay County opened its lead in the second quarter on the way to a 39-27 win over the Bearcats.

The game was tied 7-7 after the opening period. The Patriots then outscored Muncie Central 17-5 in the second quarter to take control.

Jayden Claytor scored 15 points to lead JCHS. Andrea Jutte joined her in double figures with 10 points and Abbie Fields followed with nine.

The Bearcats got 12 points from MaKaiya Lowe. Shekinah McNeill added four points.