Wait for it ...

BLUFFTON — Clinging to just a three-point lead with three starters in foul trouble, Patriot coach Kirk Comer made a gutsy call.

Needing to shorten the game, he instructed his team to stay back and not attack the rim.

More than three minutes ran off the clock before they got into their offense.

Then they ran past the Tigers the rest of the way.

Jay County High School's girls basketball team averted more foul trouble and outscored the Bluffton Tigers 18-6 in the final two quarters for a 38-21 victory in the Allen County Athletic Conference semifinal on Friday night.

“We came out and we were flat in the first half,” said Comer, whose Patriot team advances to the tournament championship against Adams Central, which knocked off South Adams 53-19 in Berne on Friday night. The final is slated for 7 p.m. tonight at South Adams' Stardome.

“We felt like the first half we had to get the game in an up-tempo game so we didn't have to set up our offense because we struggled against their zone last time,” Comer continued, alluding to the Patriots 49-31 win just seven days earlier. “We weren't able to do that and then we got in foul trouble. That's why you saw us hold the ball for a while because we had three of our better players with two fouls. If we could shorten the game then we knew we had a better chance of having them in there at the end.”

Jay County (13-3) led 20-15 at halftime after being out front 7-6 at the end of the first. Bluffton (9-8) struck first in the second half as Natalie Lehrman made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three points just 39 seconds into the third quarter.

Then Izzy Rodgers dribbled the ball for more than two minutes while standing still just inside mid court with her teammates spread across the front court and Bluffton packing its zone defense inside the 3-point line.

Rodgers passed to Renna Schwieterman to the right, and another minute ticked away.

Comer finally called timeout after 3 minutes, 30 seconds, had come off the clock. Then the Patriots scored six straight to get on top 26-17.

The coach said he didn't mind taking the risk with such a narrow lead and so much time left to play.

“If we picked up some fouls then we're in a position where we're putting freshmen in there at the end of the game,” he said. “Although they did a great job tonight, I don't really want to put them in there in that situation.”

Rodgers, who ended with 11 points, scored on a fast break early in the fourth to make it 28-19, and then Emme Boots had a steal and a quick bucket of her own to bring Bluffton back within seven with slightly less than seven minutes to play.

Continued from page 10

But Jay County scored the last 10 points of the game. Jay County's defense limited Boots, who was averaging more than 16 points per game, to just 11, all but two of which came before halftime. The Patriots forced her teammates to shoot, and Bluffton was 2-of-17 (11.8%) from the field in the final 16 minutes and 8-of-49 (20%) on the night.

“We went to a triangle-and-two,” Comer said of the defensive switch in the second half, putting Aubrie Schwieterman on Boots and doubling 6-foot, 2-inch Zoe Barger with Madison Dirksen and Gabi Bilbrey. “We wanted other girls to shoot it and other girls shot it. We were just playing the percentages and the percentages weren't that good with some of the other (shooters).

“We got the ones we wanted to shoot the ball in the positions that we wanted them to shoot it. I thought defensively we did a really good job the second half.”

Dirksen, who picked up her fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, led all players with 12 points. Renna Schwieterman chipped in nine points, and Sophie Saxman had four second-half points.

Tonight's championship game will be a rematch of a Dec. 11 tilt Jay County won 46-41 in Portland. The Patriots will be playing in the tournament final for the sixth time since joining the conference seven years ago, and will be vying for its fifth title in that span.

Adams Central, meanwhile, will be looking for its first tournament crown since 2003.

“We struggled with them the first time,” Comer said. “We'd love to have another shot at them and I'm sure they're thinking the same thing; they'd love to have another shot at us.

“We're just happy to be playing (tonight). Hopefully we can get back to playing the way we were. As you know we're just trying to keep getting better and see what happens (in the final).”