Another close call (01/04/06)

The Patriots took yet another state-level opponent down to the wire. But they came up short again.

The Class 3A No. 7 New Castle Trojans forced a turnover, then got a pair of free throws from senior Amanda Lee with 1.6 seconds remaining Tuesday to edge Jay County.

It was the third straight such loss for the Patriots, who had a nine-point lead with six minutes to go in their previous game against Elwood — 10-2 and 13th in the most recent Class 3A voting. But they fell 58-51 thanks to 22 points from Kyleigh Jones in the fourth quarter.

Jay County also played a strong game against Fort Recovery (7-1), rallying to take the lead after trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter. But victory also eluded them there in a 52-49 loss

“We wanted a chance in the fourth quarter and we had it,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer of Tuesday’s defeat, which dropped his team .500 for the first time since Nov. 21. “Sooner or later we’re going to get one.”

“We built this schedule to raise our level of play. Yes we want to win every game, but it’s not about wins and losses, it’s what you do at the end of the season. Hopefully this raises our level of play to where we can win a sectional championship.”

The game was tied at 50 with 15.5 seconds remaining and Jay County (7-7) in possession, but the home team could not manage to get a shot off. The Trojans (9-2) had three fouls to give, and committed the first with 10.7 seconds to go.

The Patriots were looking for a quick shot on the ensuing inbound play from their own baseline, but a pair of New Castle defenders swarmed the pass from Theresa Reinhart. Allison Reece tied up Chelsea DeBoy, and the possession arrow handed the ball back to the Trojans with 8.1 seconds to go.

After a time-out, Corie West brought the ball up against the Jay County pressure defense, working across halfcourt on the right side. From there she saw Amanda Lee streaking to the basket on the opposite side of the court and hit her with a perfect pass. Lee was fouled by Markie Runyon on her lay-up attempt, and proceeded to make a pair of free throws with just 1.6 seconds to go.

“If they played man-to-man, we had a play ran, if they were going to ... try to trap you’ve got to play basketball — everyone has got to try to space away and look and try to be a weapon,” said New Castle coach Curt Bell. “(West) did a great job of seeing the floor and hit Lee at the opposite block for an easy shot.

“Luckily we got a lay-up and got fouled on it.”

West also got a hand on the inbound pass on Jay County’s final play, and Sara Garringer couldn’t get a hail-mary shot off before the buzzer sounded.

“I watched them play Elwood and they had Elwood beat,” added Bell. “Elwood’s a nice team, probably about like us. We just knew it was going to be a dogfight and we stepped up and hit some big plays, but so did they. It could’ve went either way.

“It was a great team effort. They’re a nice team. I was impressed before and I’m even more impressed after. They’re going to win some basketball games ... We’re just pleased to get out of here alive, with a win.”

Jay County led 10-5 before the Trojans went on a 9-0 run to finish the opening quarter. The teams traded the lead the rest of the way — 11 times in all — with New Castle up 44-39 after three periods.

The Patriots scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter and had leads of 46-44 and 48-47 before West drained a 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining. Runyon tied the game with 1:08 to play, but JCHS never got another shot off and Lee’s free throws gave the Trojans the victory.

Madison Qualkenbush led three New Castle players in double figures, scoring all of her 12 points on 3-pointers. West and Reece each added 11 points. Reece also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Macey Elyea had nine points and six rebounds, and Lee scored seven points.

New Castle’s biggest advantage in the game came at the foul line where it shot 13-of 20.

The host Patriots had just eight free-throw tries.

“This is I think the best opponent we’ve played since Fort Wayne South,” said Comer, referring to his team’s 57-26 season-opening defeat. “I told the girls coming in we had to pick our game up ... I thought we did on the defensive end.

“We’ve got to find ways to get to the free throw line. We’re fouling too much and we’re not getting to the line ourselves.”

Sara Garringer racked up a game-high 16 points for Jay County, but 14 of those came in the opening half. She also led the team with six rebounds.

Cassandra Huelskamp, who missed some time thanks to a gash on the chin suffered during the first half, added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She notched a team-best three assist.

Junior varsity

Jay County dominated the first half as it took a 32-21 victory over the Trojans.

The Patriots allowed just two points in the first quarter and three in the second in building a 12-point halftime lead. New Castle pulled to within seven points after three quarters, but could not come all the way back.

Brittany O’Dell led all scorers as she posted 12 points for Jay County. Natasha Stout had seven points, and Amber Edmundson and Kaelee Keller each had four points.

Kayla Nicholson paced the Trojans with eight points, and Heidi Lanzer scored five.[[In-content Ad]]