Early, late droughts doom Patriots (11/22/03)

DECATUR — The Jay County girls basketball team suffered through two stints of stunningly rough basketball Friday night.

The first lasted nearly the entire first quarter. The second was half as long, but twice as costly.

After bouncing back from a dismal two-point first quarter, the Patriots allowed the Bellmont Braves to end the game on an 18-2 run over the final four minutes in a 55-43 defeat.

“I really felt like we came out tentatively on offense,” said Jay County coach Lea Selvey. Then, we finished up that way.”

The team’s tentative nature resulted in turnover after turnover at the beginning and end of the game as the Patriots finished with 25 overall.

Jay County (2-1) coughed up the ball on 10 of their 13 first-quarter possessions. Of the first seven possessions, six were turnovers and the other resulted in a blocked shot by Bellmont’s Brittany Cook.

No Patriot shot reached the rim until nearly five minutes had passed, and the visiting team didn’t score until the waning minutes of the period. They finally got on the board with a Markie Runyon hoop with five seconds to go before the first-quarter buzzer.

Despite the early woes Jay County managed to get into the game, and was actually ahead 41-37 at the midway point of the fourth quarter. But then the turnovers came back.

The Patriots repeatedly gave the ball away in the final four minutes of the contest, allowing a veteran Bellmont squad to regain control.

Starting with a 3-point by senior Trista Bauer with 3:40 left on the clock, Bellmont would score nine straight points. Lindsay Friddle finally broke through with 2:12 left to cut the Squaws’ lead to 46-43, but that was the last time a Patriot would put the ball through the net.

Bellmont poured in the final nine points of the game, finishing on an 18-2 run for the 12-point victory.

“It seems like when there’s an urgent need, we come around,” said Bellmont coach Lou Koning, reiterating a though assistant coach Tory Fuelling had during a Squaws timeout. “Otherwise, we kind of just play.”

Koning was especially aided on the evening by a couple of reserves as ace senior Myranda Zimmerman and several other starters struggled at times.

Sophomore Liz Thatcher worked wonders for the Bellmont offense, finishing 6-of-8 from the field for a team-high 13 points. She also did a tremendous job running the offense from the point with Zimmerman on the bench.

Fellow reserve Amanda Miller, a junior, scored nine points in her back-up role. She was 4-of-5 from the field and 1-for-1 from the free throw line.

“Thatcher and Miller have done great off the bench,” Koning said. “They’re a big part of the reason we’re 3-0.”

Starting senior Trista Bauer reached double figures for the Squaws with 12 points, seven of which came during their huge 24-point final period. Kristy Hakes struggled with a 3-for-12 night from the field, but grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Patriots had just one player in double figures on the night, with Sarah Dirksen scoring 16 points before fouling out in the final minute. She was 7-of-10 on field goals in the contest, and also had four rebounds.

The next highest Jay County scorer was Jamie Bruggeman with six points. The junior also dished out six assists.

Felisha Parr finished with five points and team-best six rebounds.

Selvey’s squad was 9-of-10 from the foul line, one of the two fazes the coach said would be key to winning close games. The other was turnovers, and the Patriots finished with 26 compared to 17 for Bellmont.

“You live and learn,” Selvey said. “I think we’re still kind of gelling as a team. Bellmont is a veteran team. It’s tough to win here anytime.

“I just hope that as the season goes on we learn out to pull these out. Hopefully that’s something we’ll grow into.”

Jay County will get another chance tonight when they visit the Winchester Golden Falcons at 6:30 p.m.

Junior varsity

The Patriot junior varsity team used a big fourth quarter for a 30-25 win over Bellmont Friday.

The Patriots trailed by one at the half, and were tied with the Squaws at 14 after three periods. However, Jay County opened a 23-17 lead with 3:30 to play and stayed on top for the five-point victory.

Sara Garringer led the Patriots with 12 points. Chelsea DeBoy also reached double figures with 10 points.

Whitney Homan and Amber Champ each had four points.

The Squaws were paced by Chelsey Skramstad’s seven points. Nicki Geyer finished with six.

Freshmen

Jay County’s freshman team went though an offensive quagmire in the second and third quarters in a 21-12 defeat at Bellmont Friday.

The Patriots led 6-2 after one quarter and 6-3 at halftime. Despite going two full quarters without a point, the were still only down 8-6 after three periods.

However, Bellmont won the fourth-quarter scoring battle 13-6 to put the game away.

Katie Witte paced the Squaws with eight points. Lacy Schwartz, Andrea Braun and Caitlin Landis each had three points.

Samantha Pinkston scored four points to lead Jay County. Mary Spencer, Kim Norris, Miranda Denney and Jessica Mosier each had two points.[[In-content Ad]]