November 20, 2019 at 5:18 a.m.
Rodgers sparks Jay win
Sophomores scores 11 in second half to pace Patriots
Rodgers sparks Jay win
The Patriots were 0-of-10 from long distance in the first half before Izzy Rodgers scored their first points of the second on a 3-pointer.
When she hit her second, it put them in the lead for good.
Rodgers sparked a strong finish for the Jay County High School girls basketball team Tuesday, scoring 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half in a 48-43 win over the defending Class 2A state champion Oak Hill Golden Eagles.
The sophomore, who missed the entirety of last season with a knee injury, said she and her teammates fed off motivation from their coaches in the second half.
“We wanted to get out there and win this,” she said. “We knew we could do it and we put our minds to it.”
The Patriots (1-1), who opened their season with a loss Friday at Alexandria, and Oak Hill were tied at 31, 33 and 35 as they traded points late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. Then Rodgers buried her second 3-pointer of the game off an assist from junior Aubrie Schwieterman with 5:47 left and JCHS never trailed again.
Schwieterman scored off of a Hallie Fields assist on the next trip down the floor, and back-to-back Rodgers layups — one on a drive down the right side of the lane and the other on a fast break after a Renna Schwieterman steal — pushed the Patriots to a 44-36 advantage.
The Golden Eagles (1-3), who graduated four of their five starters from last year’s squad, never got closer than six points again until Abby Shaw hit a triple just before the buzzer for the final margin.
“They’re young like we are and both teams are trying to find a way,” said Oak Hill coach Todd Law. “I just felt like they obviously played a much better fourth quarter than we did.”
Rodgers led that effort with eight points in the final period. She was efficient in pacing the Patriots in scoring, going 5-of-6 from the field including 2-of-3 from long distance.
“I thought Izzy had a really good game,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer. “I thought she was aggressive. I thought she showed some explosion, which was good to see with her knee. She took the ball to the hole hard, hit some big shots going to the basket …”
While Jay County finally got some offense from outside of the paint — a Fields triple with 2:36 left in the third quarter gave the Patriots their first lead since the opening minutes of the game — that was never the case for the Golden Eagles.
Taylor Westgate, a 6-foot, 1-inch center and the lone returning starter from last season, carried Oak Hill by racking up 23 points. Kate Hornocker, who stands 5 feet, 11 inches and also plays in the post, added 10 points while the rest of the squad combined to go 2-for-16 from the field.
“Taylor’s a great player,” said Law of the senior who also hauled in 19 rebounds. “We’ve got to find some kids to come around and give her some help right now. We’re just not getting that.”
Jay County changed its defensive approach in the second half in an effort to slow down Westgate. With Aubrie Schwieterman trapping the ball, the goal was to disrupt the Golden Eagles before they could make a pass to their most experienced player.
“We had to keep the ball out of Westgate’s hands,” said Comer. “That was the goal at halftime.
“I thought we did a good job down the stretch when we need to on her.”
Madison Dirksen joined Rodgers in double figures for JCHS with 10 points while grabbing a team-high five rebounds. Renna Schwieterman totaled seven points, and Fields had five points and six assists.
And after struggling against pressure in their season-opening loss, the Patriots flipped the script in game two. They turned the ball over just 11 times compared to 27 for Oak Hill.
“I’m just really proud of them,” said Comer. “For a lot of them, this is their second game ever playing varsity basketball. I thought they showed great poise.
“This team is just going to get better and better as they get experience.”
Junior varsity
Jay County blanked the Golden Eagles in the first half as they cruised to a 28-15 victory.
The Patriots (2-0) scored six points in the opening quarter and seven in the second as they kept Oak Hill off the board. They were up 21-4 heading into the final seven minutes.
Andrea Jutte paced JCHS with nine points. Abbie Fields had five points, and Paige Mumbower, Jayden Claytor and Gabi Bilbrey each added four.
Audrey Leak’s five points were a team-high for the Golden Eagles. Holly Gillespie scored all of her four points in the third quarter.
When she hit her second, it put them in the lead for good.
Rodgers sparked a strong finish for the Jay County High School girls basketball team Tuesday, scoring 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half in a 48-43 win over the defending Class 2A state champion Oak Hill Golden Eagles.
The sophomore, who missed the entirety of last season with a knee injury, said she and her teammates fed off motivation from their coaches in the second half.
“We wanted to get out there and win this,” she said. “We knew we could do it and we put our minds to it.”
The Patriots (1-1), who opened their season with a loss Friday at Alexandria, and Oak Hill were tied at 31, 33 and 35 as they traded points late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. Then Rodgers buried her second 3-pointer of the game off an assist from junior Aubrie Schwieterman with 5:47 left and JCHS never trailed again.
Schwieterman scored off of a Hallie Fields assist on the next trip down the floor, and back-to-back Rodgers layups — one on a drive down the right side of the lane and the other on a fast break after a Renna Schwieterman steal — pushed the Patriots to a 44-36 advantage.
The Golden Eagles (1-3), who graduated four of their five starters from last year’s squad, never got closer than six points again until Abby Shaw hit a triple just before the buzzer for the final margin.
“They’re young like we are and both teams are trying to find a way,” said Oak Hill coach Todd Law. “I just felt like they obviously played a much better fourth quarter than we did.”
Rodgers led that effort with eight points in the final period. She was efficient in pacing the Patriots in scoring, going 5-of-6 from the field including 2-of-3 from long distance.
“I thought Izzy had a really good game,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer. “I thought she was aggressive. I thought she showed some explosion, which was good to see with her knee. She took the ball to the hole hard, hit some big shots going to the basket …”
While Jay County finally got some offense from outside of the paint — a Fields triple with 2:36 left in the third quarter gave the Patriots their first lead since the opening minutes of the game — that was never the case for the Golden Eagles.
Taylor Westgate, a 6-foot, 1-inch center and the lone returning starter from last season, carried Oak Hill by racking up 23 points. Kate Hornocker, who stands 5 feet, 11 inches and also plays in the post, added 10 points while the rest of the squad combined to go 2-for-16 from the field.
“Taylor’s a great player,” said Law of the senior who also hauled in 19 rebounds. “We’ve got to find some kids to come around and give her some help right now. We’re just not getting that.”
Jay County changed its defensive approach in the second half in an effort to slow down Westgate. With Aubrie Schwieterman trapping the ball, the goal was to disrupt the Golden Eagles before they could make a pass to their most experienced player.
“We had to keep the ball out of Westgate’s hands,” said Comer. “That was the goal at halftime.
“I thought we did a good job down the stretch when we need to on her.”
Madison Dirksen joined Rodgers in double figures for JCHS with 10 points while grabbing a team-high five rebounds. Renna Schwieterman totaled seven points, and Fields had five points and six assists.
And after struggling against pressure in their season-opening loss, the Patriots flipped the script in game two. They turned the ball over just 11 times compared to 27 for Oak Hill.
“I’m just really proud of them,” said Comer. “For a lot of them, this is their second game ever playing varsity basketball. I thought they showed great poise.
“This team is just going to get better and better as they get experience.”
Junior varsity
Jay County blanked the Golden Eagles in the first half as they cruised to a 28-15 victory.
The Patriots (2-0) scored six points in the opening quarter and seven in the second as they kept Oak Hill off the board. They were up 21-4 heading into the final seven minutes.
Andrea Jutte paced JCHS with nine points. Abbie Fields had five points, and Paige Mumbower, Jayden Claytor and Gabi Bilbrey each added four.
Audrey Leak’s five points were a team-high for the Golden Eagles. Holly Gillespie scored all of her four points in the third quarter.
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