November 16, 2019 at 6:12 a.m.
Too much tempo
Patriots struggled when the Tigers picked up the pace
Too much tempo
ALEXANDRIA — One team entered Friday evening with two games already under its belt.
The other was playing for the first time this year.
By the third quarter, it showed.
The Jay County High School girls basketball team struggled when the Alexandria Tigers put on the pressure after halftime, giving up 29 third-quarter points as it dropped the season opener 71-60.
“They pressed us and we didn’t handle the press,” said JCHS assistant coach Sherri McIntire, who filled in as head coach Kirk Comer was unavailable for the game. “We had some turnovers. …
“I felt like fatigue was a factor as well.
“They played a fast tempo game, and we got sucked into that.”
The Patriots (0-1) carried a seven-point lead into halftime thanks in part to Madison Dirksen scoring five points in the final 1:20 of the first half. But that advantage disappeared in a hurry.
Alexandria (3-0), which opened its season with wins over Muncie Burris and Delta, went to a full-court press. The result was nine JCHS turnovers in the period. Meanwhile, the home team shot 10-of-17 (58 percent) from the field — it had made just five of 25 in the first 16 minutes — and poured in 11 more points than it had in the entire first half.
Reece VanBlair, who finished with a game-high 31 points, and Reiley Hiser led the third-period onslaught. VanBlair racked up 13 points while Hiser added nine of her 17 after shooting 0-for-5 from the field in the first half.
The faster pace also helped the Tigers get to the foul line, where they outscored Jay County 19-6 after intermission.
“We were fouling a lot,” said McIntire. “And they were shooting a lot of free throws.
“They were being the aggressor, that’s for sure.”
Though their team came away on the short side of the score, youngsters Renna Schwieterman and Dirksen showed the ability to step in and fill the scoring void left by the program’s large 2019 graduating class.
Schwieterman, a freshman, scored Jay County’s first points of the season. From there, it was really only foul trouble that slowed her down. After picking up her third foul with 3:26 to play in the second quarter, she scored 17 of her team-high 23 points in the second half.
“She had 23 points and sat out a lot of the first half and didn’t play near to her potential. She definitely has a bright future,” said McIntire. “We’re going to look to her to help a lot, to carry a lot of our scoring.”
Dirksen, a sophomore, followed with 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. (The school record for rebounds in a game is 25 by 2003 graduate Kristina Link.) For much of the game she was the steadying force while the team struggled with foul issues. (Aubrie Schwieterman and Hallie Fields both fouled out.)
“She definitely showed a lot of leadership,” said McIntire. “She was talking a lot on the floor, played with a lot of intensity. Just much more aggressive than we would have seen her play a year ago.”
Fields also reached double figures with 10 points. Grace Saxman scored seven, and Izzy Rodgers added five.
Jay County will play its only home game of November on Tuesday when it hosts defending Class 2A state champion Oak Hill. Visits to Bellmont and Winchester follow on Friday and Saturday next week.
While the Patriots had some struggles in their first appearance this year, McIntire is optimistic about their ability to overcome them.
“I feel like things we didn’t do well tonight are all fixable. We’re going to get better,” she said. “Part of it is being young.
“We’re going to come back tomorrow and practice hard and work on those things that we need to get better at.
“We’ve got to move on. That’s what we told them in the locker room. We can’t dwell on this. We’ve got to learn from it.”
Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the third quarter to build a double-digit lead on the way to a 33-26 victory over the Tigers.
The Patriots (1-0) outscored Alexandria 12-2 in the third period and were up by 12 points with seven minutes to play. The home team closed the gap to five twice, but Abbie Fields connected on a field goal and a pair of free throws to help put the game away.
Fields, who scored all of her points in the second half, shared the team high of eight points with Gabi Bilbrey and Andrea Jutte. Jayden Claytor added seven points.
Faith Beeman and Cali Crum finished with seven points apiece for the Tigers. Bri Fakes scored five points.
The other was playing for the first time this year.
By the third quarter, it showed.
The Jay County High School girls basketball team struggled when the Alexandria Tigers put on the pressure after halftime, giving up 29 third-quarter points as it dropped the season opener 71-60.
“They pressed us and we didn’t handle the press,” said JCHS assistant coach Sherri McIntire, who filled in as head coach Kirk Comer was unavailable for the game. “We had some turnovers. …
“I felt like fatigue was a factor as well.
“They played a fast tempo game, and we got sucked into that.”
The Patriots (0-1) carried a seven-point lead into halftime thanks in part to Madison Dirksen scoring five points in the final 1:20 of the first half. But that advantage disappeared in a hurry.
Alexandria (3-0), which opened its season with wins over Muncie Burris and Delta, went to a full-court press. The result was nine JCHS turnovers in the period. Meanwhile, the home team shot 10-of-17 (58 percent) from the field — it had made just five of 25 in the first 16 minutes — and poured in 11 more points than it had in the entire first half.
Reece VanBlair, who finished with a game-high 31 points, and Reiley Hiser led the third-period onslaught. VanBlair racked up 13 points while Hiser added nine of her 17 after shooting 0-for-5 from the field in the first half.
The faster pace also helped the Tigers get to the foul line, where they outscored Jay County 19-6 after intermission.
“We were fouling a lot,” said McIntire. “And they were shooting a lot of free throws.
“They were being the aggressor, that’s for sure.”
Though their team came away on the short side of the score, youngsters Renna Schwieterman and Dirksen showed the ability to step in and fill the scoring void left by the program’s large 2019 graduating class.
Schwieterman, a freshman, scored Jay County’s first points of the season. From there, it was really only foul trouble that slowed her down. After picking up her third foul with 3:26 to play in the second quarter, she scored 17 of her team-high 23 points in the second half.
“She had 23 points and sat out a lot of the first half and didn’t play near to her potential. She definitely has a bright future,” said McIntire. “We’re going to look to her to help a lot, to carry a lot of our scoring.”
Dirksen, a sophomore, followed with 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. (The school record for rebounds in a game is 25 by 2003 graduate Kristina Link.) For much of the game she was the steadying force while the team struggled with foul issues. (Aubrie Schwieterman and Hallie Fields both fouled out.)
“She definitely showed a lot of leadership,” said McIntire. “She was talking a lot on the floor, played with a lot of intensity. Just much more aggressive than we would have seen her play a year ago.”
Fields also reached double figures with 10 points. Grace Saxman scored seven, and Izzy Rodgers added five.
Jay County will play its only home game of November on Tuesday when it hosts defending Class 2A state champion Oak Hill. Visits to Bellmont and Winchester follow on Friday and Saturday next week.
While the Patriots had some struggles in their first appearance this year, McIntire is optimistic about their ability to overcome them.
“I feel like things we didn’t do well tonight are all fixable. We’re going to get better,” she said. “Part of it is being young.
“We’re going to come back tomorrow and practice hard and work on those things that we need to get better at.
“We’ve got to move on. That’s what we told them in the locker room. We can’t dwell on this. We’ve got to learn from it.”
Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the third quarter to build a double-digit lead on the way to a 33-26 victory over the Tigers.
The Patriots (1-0) outscored Alexandria 12-2 in the third period and were up by 12 points with seven minutes to play. The home team closed the gap to five twice, but Abbie Fields connected on a field goal and a pair of free throws to help put the game away.
Fields, who scored all of her points in the second half, shared the team high of eight points with Gabi Bilbrey and Andrea Jutte. Jayden Claytor added seven points.
Faith Beeman and Cali Crum finished with seven points apiece for the Tigers. Bri Fakes scored five points.
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