January 8, 2020 at 6:03 p.m.
Just enough
Jay County hits a dozen free throws in fourth to overcome 27 turnovers in win over Concordia
Just enough
It wasn’t pretty.
The 27 turnovers prove that.
But the Patriots were able to do enough, just enough, to get a W.
Jay County scored all of its fourth-quarter points from the foul line Tuesday as it survived a late surge by the visiting Concordia Cadets for a 42-40 victory.
“We didn’t play very well tonight,” said JCHS girls basketball coach Kirk Comer. “It was a very physical game. And we struggled with that early. But we adjusted and down the stretch … we stepped up and hit free throws. We did just enough to get out of here with a win.”
The Patriots’ lead, once in double digits, was down to two after CC Calloway hit a 3-pointer from the right side with 20.2 seconds left. Concordia (8-6) then sent Jay County’s Izzy Rodgers to the line.
Having split a pair of free throws just 29 seconds earlier, Rodgers calmly drained both to make it a two-possession game again.
The Cadets missed a 3-point try but got the ball back, ultimately scoring on an inbound play. But by then, there was only 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
Rodgers made the inbound pass to Hallie Fields, the ball tipping off her fingers to allow the final tenths of a second to disappear.
“We were trying to throw it long,” said JCHS junior Pacie Denney. “That didn’t work. So we just had to get it in to touch the ball.”
Concordia coach Dave Miller and his staff expressed frustration in the closing moments, indicating that he felt time should have been added back onto the clock on a couple of occasions. But postgame, he addressed his team’s effort.
“We didn’t play good early,” said Miller, whose leading scorers were Elle Fritcha, Chanteese Craig and Calloway with eight points apiece. “It’s real simple. We don’t play with a sense of urgency until we have to.”
The Cadets led 17-15 thanks to a 3-pointer from Fritcha in the closing moments of the second quarter, but Jay County opened the second half on a 9-2 run and never trailed again. The home team pushed its advantage to 10 with 4:51 to play before Concordia made a late rally starting with LonDynn Betts’ 3-pointer with about 3:30 remaining.
Foul shooting was key to fending off the comeback attempt, as Rodgers scored five points from the line in the final period, Fields totaled four, Renna Schwieterman notched two before fouling out with 48.5 seconds to play and Denney added one. In all, JCHS outscored the Cadets 17-4 at the line.
Denney was key to building the lead as well as she scored seven of her game-high 11 points in the third quarter.
“I think those little moments gave us all the confidence that we needed,” referencing her own scoring spurt of five points midway through the third quarter and the free throws from Fields and Rodgers in the fourth.
The free throws and the strong third quarter were key to the Patriots (9-6) being able to salvage a win in a game in which they had as many turnovers as field goal attempts.
Their leading scorers — Madison Dirksen and Schwieterman, whose playing time was severely limited because of foul trouble — were also limited to a combined 11 points. They averaged 28.9 heading into Tuesday’s game.
“I thought the bench came in tonight and probably played their best game,” said Comer, who got six points and five rebounds from Grace Saxman off the bench in addition to Denney’s team-best scoring effort. “They have to be leaving here with more confidence.”
The win pushed the Patriots’ home record to 7-1 after they suffered their first loss at JCHS last week against Yorktown.
Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the first three quarters as it improved to 9-5 with a 40-21 victory over the Union City.
The Patriots put up 13 points in each of the first two quarters for a 14-points halftime lead. They then outscored the Indians 12-2 in the third quarter.
Abbie Fields and Gabi Bilbrey totaled 10 points apiece to pace JCHS. Andrea Jutte added eight points.
Union City got eight points apiece from Emma Davis and Andrea Sanders.
The 27 turnovers prove that.
But the Patriots were able to do enough, just enough, to get a W.
Jay County scored all of its fourth-quarter points from the foul line Tuesday as it survived a late surge by the visiting Concordia Cadets for a 42-40 victory.
“We didn’t play very well tonight,” said JCHS girls basketball coach Kirk Comer. “It was a very physical game. And we struggled with that early. But we adjusted and down the stretch … we stepped up and hit free throws. We did just enough to get out of here with a win.”
The Patriots’ lead, once in double digits, was down to two after CC Calloway hit a 3-pointer from the right side with 20.2 seconds left. Concordia (8-6) then sent Jay County’s Izzy Rodgers to the line.
Having split a pair of free throws just 29 seconds earlier, Rodgers calmly drained both to make it a two-possession game again.
The Cadets missed a 3-point try but got the ball back, ultimately scoring on an inbound play. But by then, there was only 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
Rodgers made the inbound pass to Hallie Fields, the ball tipping off her fingers to allow the final tenths of a second to disappear.
“We were trying to throw it long,” said JCHS junior Pacie Denney. “That didn’t work. So we just had to get it in to touch the ball.”
Concordia coach Dave Miller and his staff expressed frustration in the closing moments, indicating that he felt time should have been added back onto the clock on a couple of occasions. But postgame, he addressed his team’s effort.
“We didn’t play good early,” said Miller, whose leading scorers were Elle Fritcha, Chanteese Craig and Calloway with eight points apiece. “It’s real simple. We don’t play with a sense of urgency until we have to.”
The Cadets led 17-15 thanks to a 3-pointer from Fritcha in the closing moments of the second quarter, but Jay County opened the second half on a 9-2 run and never trailed again. The home team pushed its advantage to 10 with 4:51 to play before Concordia made a late rally starting with LonDynn Betts’ 3-pointer with about 3:30 remaining.
Foul shooting was key to fending off the comeback attempt, as Rodgers scored five points from the line in the final period, Fields totaled four, Renna Schwieterman notched two before fouling out with 48.5 seconds to play and Denney added one. In all, JCHS outscored the Cadets 17-4 at the line.
Denney was key to building the lead as well as she scored seven of her game-high 11 points in the third quarter.
“I think those little moments gave us all the confidence that we needed,” referencing her own scoring spurt of five points midway through the third quarter and the free throws from Fields and Rodgers in the fourth.
The free throws and the strong third quarter were key to the Patriots (9-6) being able to salvage a win in a game in which they had as many turnovers as field goal attempts.
Their leading scorers — Madison Dirksen and Schwieterman, whose playing time was severely limited because of foul trouble — were also limited to a combined 11 points. They averaged 28.9 heading into Tuesday’s game.
“I thought the bench came in tonight and probably played their best game,” said Comer, who got six points and five rebounds from Grace Saxman off the bench in addition to Denney’s team-best scoring effort. “They have to be leaving here with more confidence.”
The win pushed the Patriots’ home record to 7-1 after they suffered their first loss at JCHS last week against Yorktown.
Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the first three quarters as it improved to 9-5 with a 40-21 victory over the Union City.
The Patriots put up 13 points in each of the first two quarters for a 14-points halftime lead. They then outscored the Indians 12-2 in the third quarter.
Abbie Fields and Gabi Bilbrey totaled 10 points apiece to pace JCHS. Andrea Jutte added eight points.
Union City got eight points apiece from Emma Davis and Andrea Sanders.
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