Ceiling high for Patriot girls

The Patriots took some lumps last season.

They started the year 1-5. They lost in the opening round of both the conference and sectional tournaments.

Between the struggles, though, they put together a seven-game winning streak as part of a 14-win regular season, with three underclassmen leading them in scoring.

With a full season together under their belts, the ceiling is a little bit higher this year.

“I’m excited,” said Jay County High School girls basketball coach Kirk Comer, whose team opens the season Friday night on the road at Union City before hosting Class 4A No. 2 North Central for a varsity-only contest at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

“I’m really expecting some big things,” Comer continued. “I’m already seeing a lot more maturity this year and experience. We’re shooting the ball better and I think we’re going to be better defensively.

“I just expect us to be a lot better team this year.”

Sophomore Renna Schwieterman, who has already had NCAA Division I scholarship offers rolling in, led the team in scoring during her freshman season with 15.9 points per game while her 7.4 rebounds per game were second. Madison Dirksen, now a junior, was second with 10.2 PPG as a sophomore and led the team with 8.0 RPG.

Those two, who both stand 6-feet tall, will be key to the team’s success this year.

“She’s understanding the game better,” Comer said of Schwieterman. “She’s going to make everybody else better. She understands now she doesn’t have to do it all herself. When other teams (double- or triple-teams) her she finds the open person … I think that’s the biggest difference from her is her decision making.”

And the one-two punch of Schwieterman and Dirksen can again be lethal.

“Excellent in my mind,” he said of how they complement each other. “With Madison’s height, you’d think she’d be a back-to-the-basket player, but she’s not. When Renna draws the double team, Madison is a lot of times the one that’s left open for the shot. If she opens and sets her feet, she doesn’t miss it.”

Dirksen added a 3-point shot to her game as a sophomore (she was 12-of-48 from beyond the arc) and with more practice in the offseason she is becoming more of a threat from long distance.

Jay County also has sharpshooter in junior Izzy Rodgers, who returns with 23 made threes. She was second in threes last season only to Pacie Denney, who chose not to play her senior season.

Rodgers missed all of her freshman campaign following knee surgery, and with a full season under her belt, Comer is expecting her to improve on her 6.3 PPG from a year ago.

“I think she’ll do a lot better,” Comer said. “As far as having that year of experience she’s excellent (at) decision making. She’s going to give us another 3-point threat so when Renna drives it they can’t just guard Madison.

“She’s another one that’s just so smart, it just makes her a great defensive player (with the) different decisions she makes.”

Speaking of defense, Aubrie Schwieterman, Renna’s senior sister, will have the task of guarding the opposing team’s best player. At 5-foot, 7-inches, the quick, shifty guard is reminiscent of past defensive stalwarts in Kendra and Briana Muhlenkamp. Her effort is constant, but the biggest challenge for her will being able to stay on the court. She was called for 74 fouls (3.2 per game), 11 more than anyone else on the team.

“Aubrie is very, very aggressive,” Comer said. “Defensively she’s our best player. We just have to keep her under control so we can have her out there on the floor.”

Sophomore Gabi Bilbrey, another one of the Patriots’ four 6-footers, will be a starter this year. She played in all but two games as a freshman, but had only eight points and 18 rebounds for the season as she focused mostly on wreaking havoc defensively.

“We have to have more of her offensively,” Comer said. “She’s our presence on the block. She’s much improved on the offensive. She still has a ways to go but we all do. I would not be surprised at all to see her average a double-double.”

Senior Grace Saxman is another player Comer said is good defensively, and the Patriots also have junior Jayden Claytor, sophomore Abbie Fields and freshman Sophie Saxman on the roster as bench players.

Jay County, coming off a 14-9 season, begins the year with five consecutive non-conference games, including the aforementioned North Central Panthers. The Patriots host Winchester, which knocked them out of the sectional tournament, on Nov. 21, before opening Allen County Athletic Conference play against defending champion Woodlan on Nov. 27.

The Patriots also play non-conference games against Northeastern (Dec. 1), which finished 12th in the most recent Class 2A poll, as well as Class 3A No. 4 Norwell (Jan. 19) and Class 3A No. 13 Concordia (Jan. 5).

But the first order of business is getting back atop the conference and winning the program’s fifth ACAC tournament title.

“We have to take it one day at a time and our goal again, obviously, is to win the conference and the conference tournament,” Comer said. “To do that we feel like we have to win them all.”

Jay County’s last sectional championship came in 2006, and Comer has a hunch this year has the makings to end the drought and claim the team’s 12th title overall.

“Going into this season I feel the best I’ve felt of any year going into the tournament since I’ve been back,” said Comer, who returned to JCHS in 2015 after five years coaching elsewhere. “I’m just looking forward to (the season). Each game we’re approaching as a blessing that we’re able to play. We’re going to make the most of it and give it our best every game.

“I just really love this team. They play so hard, work hard and they’re great kids and fun to be around.”