Downed early

WINCHESTER — The Patriots have already taken on both of the 2019 Class 2A state finalists.

They dispatched of the defending state champions thanks to a strong finish.

The runners-up, well, they were a different story.

Jay County High School girls basketball team fell behind 7-0 early Saturday and trailed throughout in a 72-51 loss to Class 3A No. 9 Winchester.

(The Golden Falcons bumped up to Class 3A this season after making the state title game in Class 2A in each of the last two years. They and the Patriots are both in the Yorktown sectional this season.)

“They’re a really good team,” said JCHS Kirk Comer, whose squad knocked off 2019 Class 2A state champion Oak Hill 48-43 Tuesday. “They’ve got it all. They’re very athletic.

“You’ve got to give them all the credit. They’re an outstanding team.”

Winchester (5-0) opened the scoring on a 3-pointer by senior Becca Chamberlin, one of two returning starters from last season’s squad, and forced the Patriots to take a timeout just 1:16 into the game. The visitors got on the board on a pair of Renna Schwieterman free throws but struggled to keep up as they trailed 19-6 when Comer took a timeout four minutes later.

“We got off to a great start,” said Winchester coach Holly Gutierrez, referencing her team’s 3-point shooting. The Golden Falcons hit three triples in the first three minutes. “Offensively it got us fired up and got us going.”

But it wasn’t the long-distance shots that bothered Comer. It was the fast-break points.

The Golden Falcons were repeatedly able to run the floor off of turnovers — Jay County committed 12 in the first half — or defensive rebounds as they built their 19-point halftime lead.

“I’m disappointed in our transition defense,” said Comer. “They get out better than anybody we play against. We didn’t do a very good job of getting back.”

Winchester was efficient in the first half, shooting 17-of-28 (61 percent) from the field including 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

And the home team ended any hope of a Patriot rally when it put together a 12-0 run in the third quarter.

Maddie Lawrence, a senior who scored 20 points in last season’s state title game, racked up 24 against the Patriots. She was 7-for-7 on both two-point field goals and free throws.

Freshman Caitlyn Campbell (14), Chamberlain (11) and freshman Morgan Lawrence (10) joined her in double figures as Winchester finished at 52 percent from the field.

“We’ve struggled the last couple games, even though we’ve won them, to find our groove,” said Gutierrez, who also got six assists from freshman guard Maci Chamberlin. “I thought tonight was the best team ball we’ve played all year. We’ve tried to preach that, and I think our kids stepped up and were very unselfish with each other.”

Campbell added six rebounds and four assists.

Freshman Renna Schwieterman and sophomore Madison Dirksen paced Jay County in scoring for the third time in four games, finishing with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Dirksen added five rebounds.

The Patriots trailed by 31 three minutes into the final period before doing most of the scoring down the stretch to close the gap by 10.

“I was proud of our kids,” said Comer. “They kept working. I mean, with 13 seconds to go Renna’s diving on the floor after a ball.

“We didn’t quit. We’ve got outstanding kids.”



Junior varsity

Jay County struggled in the second quarter to fall behind by 14 at halftime and then faded in the final 10 minutes of a 57-32 defeat.

The Patriots kept their deficit in the 10-to-12-point range early in the second half, but then Winchester extended its advantage as hit a lay-up at the third-quarter buzzer to make it 46-26. The Golden Falcons outscored JCHS 11-6 in the final period.

Gabi Bilbrey and Abbie Fields shared the game high of 11 points for the Patriots. Andrea Jutte added six.

Lauren Stillwell and Mabrey McIntire each had 10 points for Winchester. Three Golden Falcons added seven points apiece.