Rodgers reigns

NEW CASTLE — The Patriots' best scorer was sitting on the bench in foul trouble.

With her team down by five, Izzy Rodgers put the team on her back in the second quarter.

Then she carried the Patriots into the sectional final.

Rodgers poured in a career-high 28 points, including five 3-pointers, in leading the Jay County High School girls basketball team to a 65-55 victory over the Yorktown Tigers in the Class 3A Sectional 24 tournament semifinal Friday at New Castle Fieldhouse.

“She showed great toughness,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose Patriots moved to 19-3. “She knew that we needed her. She's kind of played in the background all year. She's had the capabilities and she just at times put us on her back.

“What a performance.”

Jay County, which finished 11th in the final Class 3A poll of the season, advances to the sectional championship at 7:30 p.m. tonight against seventh-ranked Hamilton Heights (17-1). The Huskies dismantled New Castle 73-24 in the other semifinal later Friday night. It'll be the first time the Patriots have played for a sectional championship since 2015.

Renna Schwieterman, the team's leading scorer at more than 18 points per game, was called for two offensive fouls in the first quarter and had to sit on the bench for the entire second.

Rodgers sandwiched a layup and a 3-pointer around a Liz Reeze triple and then made three the hard way to tie the score at 19. After Yorktown went back out front 26-22, Rodgers helped the Patriots end the half on a 7-2 run to go into the break ahead by one, 29-28.

“The plan was me and Madison (Dirksen) had to get together and do it,” Rodgers said of playing with Schwieterman on the bench. “We knew (Schwieterman) was going to come back after halftime but we had to take control from there.”

Rodgers on the difficulty of the situation: “Tough offensively, but if we didn't do it then it wasn't going to get done. That's what we had to do.”

Even though Schwieterman returned to the floor in the third quarter, Rodgers continued her onslaught. She made consecutive 3-pointers as part of an 8-2 Jay County stretch to start the second half.

The Tigers fired back, rifling off nine straight points to retake a 40-37 lead and were up by one with a quarter to go.

Yorktown's Carley Culberson, who had to wear a mask, did not start and had her playing time limited, made a pair of free throws with 5:38 remaining to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. That gave Yorktown a 48-45 lead before Jay County started to take over.

Schwieterman and Rodgers combined for eight straight points, then Dirksen scored 10 straight points for the Patriots, who outscored the Tigers 20-7 after Culberson's milestone.

“Just shows what kind of kids they are,” Comer said of having to fight with the Tigers yet again.

When the teams met Dec. 29 in Yorktown, Jay County overcame a 13-point second-quarter deficit to win 54-44.

“They never quit,” Comer continued. “We beat a really good team tonight. They played without their leading scorer and was able to fight back from seven points down to get the lead at halftime.

“That just shows you what type of team we have.”

Dirksen put in 20 points, a dozen in the second half, to complement Rodgers' effort. Dirksen also pulled down a game-best eight rebounds.

Jay County, which has now won eight in a row, will have its hands full today against a Hamilton Heights team that beat New Castle with an up-tempo offense. The Huskies have a 6-foot, 3-inch junior forward in MyKayla Moran as well as a trio of fast, aggressive guards who can drive to the basket as well as shoot from the perimeter.

“We're playing for a sectional championship,” Comer said. The Patriots will be eyeing their first sectional crown since 2006. “I don't know how we'll play but whether shots go in or whether they won't I can tell you this, they'll play hard.”

Rodgers said she's embracing the challenge.

“It's awesome being a junior and getting to (play for a title),” she said. “I didn't have the chance freshman year [she tore her ACL] and last year wasn't our year. But this year I think we got it.”