Patriots outpaced

Winchester averages 72.3 points per game, fourth-highest in the state.
Its average margin of victory is nearly 29 points.
And it won the regular-season meeting by 21.
To counteract that, the Patriots wanted to slow down the pace in Friday’s sectional semifinal rematch. But turnovers and a 17-percent shooting effort in the first half made that strategy moot.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team hit just three first-half field goals and trailed by as many as 29 as its season came to an end with a 53-35 loss to the Golden Falcons in the Class 3A tournament at Yorktown.
“Too many turnovers and 3-of-18 in the first half from the field,” said Comer. “If we could just finish two or three of those and come in down nine instead of 13 …
“The bottom line came down to they’re a better team than we are. We had to limit possessions, and we had to take care of the basketball. And we had to shoot a better percentage.”
The Patriots (14-9) were deliberate at the start, holding the ball on the outside and then penetrating and kicking in their effort to slow the pace. But their first three possessions resulted in turnovers. By the time they took a timeout at the 2:49 mark of the first quarter, they had turned the ball over five times, missed their only two field-goal tries and were trailing 10-1.
That proved to be a deficit from which Jay County could never recover. It was down 14-3 at the quarter break and 27-8 after the Golden Falcons scored the first six points of the second half.
The closest the Patriots got after that was 15, and Winchester put the game away with a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter that gave it a 50-21 advantage.
“I thought we shared the ball really well,” said Winchester coach Holly Gutierrez. “(Comer) tried to pressure us. … I can’t think of another team all year that’s really tried to pressure us full court. … And I thought we handled the ball really well.”
Maddie Lawrence, the senior leader on a squad that starts two freshmen and a sophomore, set the tone for the Golden Falcons. She scored her team’s final six points of the first quarter and seven of its first nine in the second half.
She shot 7-of-12 from the field and hit each of her three free-throw tries for a game-high 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds and a pair of assists.
“That’s what makes them so good,” said Comer. “She’s just an outstanding young lady, outstanding player. Last year she was a junior all-star, and she’ll have a chance this year to be an all-star. She makes everybody on the team so much better.”
Winchester (22-3), which was 11th in the final Class 3A poll of the season, had plenty behind her, led by her sister Morgan’s eight points. Gena Moore and Caitlyn Campbell had seven points apiece, Taylor Hicks added six and senior Becca Chamberlain scored five for the Golden Falcons, who finished 18-of-42 (43 percent) from the field and hit 14 free throws.
Jay County missed 15 of its 18 first-half tries from the field and turned the ball over 10 times. Fourteen of the Patriots’ points came in the final 3:47 as they hit four 3-pointers in a desperate effort to come back.
Pacie Denney and Madison Dirksen shared the team-high of nine points for JCHS.
After a 1-5 start, the Patriots won 13 of their final 16 regular-season games. All but two graduating seniors — Hallie Fields and Macey Weitzel — and four of five starters will return next season.
“We’re young,” said Comer. “I think there’s a bright future for these girls if they’re willing to put in the time and the commitment.”