Perfect Patriots

The Patriots shot poorly in the opening quarter Saturday.
They put the game away from the free-throw line down the stretch to remain undefeated.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe in the second half for a 48-41 victory over the visiting Leo Lions.
“When you’re 10-of-12 from the foul line in the fourth quarter you’re not going to lose very many ball games that way,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team won its first six games of the year for the first time since the Patriots’ undefeated regular season in 2008. “I’m so proud of my girls. This is a total team win.”
Jay County (6-0, 2-0 Allen County Athletic Conference), which shot just 28.6 percent in the first half, grabbed a 24-20 lead nearly two minutes into the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Abby Wendel and a long jumper by Bre McIntire. After Morgan Sanderson split a pair of freebies for Leo (4-4, 1-1 ACAC), McIntire assisted on a bucket by Wendel to push the Patriots’ lead to 26-21 midway through the third quarter.
Leo cut the deficit to 29-27 with less than two minutes in the period, but Wendel was fouled as she made a layup and nailed the free throw to put the Patriots’ advantage back at five.
Leo’s Daisha Green scored in the paint off an inbound pass and McIntire hit a pair from the charity stripe with 5.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter and Jay County had a 34-29 lead heading into the final frame.
The Patriots had possession of the basketball in the fourth quarter for more than two minutes thanks to an offensive rebound by Wendel. The junior had six rebounds and shared the team-high in scoring with 13 points.
Leo’s Abbie Heischman deflected an inbound pass and outran a Patriot player to lay it in at the other end, and Green nailed two from the foul line to get the Lions within one, 34-33, with 4:37 left on the clock.
McIntire split a pair of freebies, and Leo’s Katie Crowe scored her only two points to tie the game. McIntire and Kunkler both found the bottom of the net — the Patriots only attempted three field goals in the fourth quarter — to push the JCHS lead back to four, 39-35.
Heischman, who led all players with 16 points, nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner in the final minute to get her team within two, 42-40, but Jay County pulled away with the victory on four consecutive free throws.
McIntire, who went 6-of-8 from the line and finished with 12 points, said shooting well has been important to the Patriots’ success this year.
“It’s extremely crucial, especially when (the game is) point-for-point,” she said. Jay County has made 76 percent of its free-throw attempts this season. “It was really nice to see us knock them home.”
Leo coach Carrie Shappell said it’s hard to beat a team that shoots as well from the free-throw line as Jay County did.
“They’re solid from the free-throw line. We struggle from the free-throw line this year and that’s how you win games,” Shappell said. “They’re pretty much a complete team. When you’re playing a team like that there’s not a lot of margin for error.”
Jay County struggled in the opening quarter, making just two of its 12 field goal attempts. Catherine Dunn scored all nine points for the Patriots in the first quarter on a pair of 3-pointers and three free throws. She totaled 13 points in the game after sitting out most of the second and third quarters in foul trouble.
The Patriots trailed 12-9 after eight minutes, but went 4-of-9 from the field in the second quarter to tie the game at 19 heading into halftime.

Junior varsity
A big third quarter at both ends of the court helped the Patriots pick up their fifth win of the season.
Jay County’s junior varsity team outscored Leo 16-1 in the third quarter in a 38-22 victory over the Lions on Saturday.
Betsy Muhlenkamp scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the third quarter. Like their varsity counterparts, the JV Patriots (5-1) were 12-of-16 from the free-throw line.
Emily Muhlenkamp tallied eight points for Jay County, with Briana Muhlenkamp and Audrey Shreve scoring four points apiece.