July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Eight straight (12/05/07)
JCHS girls basketball
Eight straight (12/05/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
The second half has been a relaxing time for Jay County High School fans.
For the third straight game Tuesday, and the fifth time this year, the Patriot girls basketball team had complete control by halftime. It was up by as many as 21 in the first half, then used an 8-0 run to start the second to bury the Muncie Central Bearcats in their 68-43 victory.
The win was the eighth straight for Jay County. All of them have come by double digits, and each of the last three have been by at least 25 points.
"We got off to a good start," said Patriot coach Kirk Comer, whose team's only loss came by a 62-58 score in the season opener to Class 4A No. 10 Fort Wayne South Side. "We were playing as well as we've played all year there early. ... The girls came back out in the second half and picked up right where they started in the first half.
"It was a good win."
Comer has praised his team's unselfishness after just about every game this year, and his players proved his point Tuesday. They passed their way to perhaps their most impressive offensive performance of the year, which is something to say for a team that has scored at least 55 points in every game and averages nearly 66.
After giving up the first basket of the game, Jay County turned in three impressive runs. Three streaks of seven, 11 and 12 straight points - Central coach Kaye Harrell repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to break the momentum with timeouts - for a 30-7 lead just 1:13 into the second quarter.
"We started poorly in the first quarter, and this is just a really nice Jay County team," said Harrell. "I mean, they don't have any weaknesses. They play aggressively. They pass well. It's great teamwork. You can't afford to come in here and get a slow start ..."
"I felt like once we got settled our effort was much better. But against this kind of team you've got to come ready to play from the first second, and we didn't do that. So they took it to us."
Eleven of the Patriots' 13 first-half hoops were assisted, including the final nine in a row. The only two that weren't came on a breakaway lay-up for Abby Loy after a steal, and a put-back by Amber Edmundson.
In all, JCHS had 22 assists on 28 made field goals, which led to a season-best 65-percent shooting effort from the field. It hit 9-of-11 field goals in the first quarter and missed just one of six attempts in the fourth.
Senior point guard Dana Horn returned from missing four games because of a leg injury to dish out six assists, and junior point guard Kaelee Keller also had six assists.
Cassandra Huelskamp had three, and Abby Loy and Pazia Speed each added two.
"They're very unselfish," said Comer. "That just shows the kind of girls we have. It's all about getting the win. ... As long as we can continue to play like that, we're going to be a good basketball team.
Sophomore Lindsey Wellman did her damage in the post, finishing 10-of-15 for a season-high 25 points. She also had 10 rebounds for a double-double while adding an assist and a block.
Speed, also a sophomore, had her best offensive effort of the year as well. After scoring just two points in each of the previous two games, Speed made every shot she took against the Bearcats and went 8-for-8 for 16 points.
She was also second on the team to Wellman with four rebounds and had a pair of assists.
"Lindsey did an outstanding job. Her teammates got her the ball in the right position to score ... She finished tonight.
"(Speed) came out and hit her first shot, and I think each shot that she hit her confidence just soared. You could see it out there. Hopefully she can just continue to build on that."
Huelskamp buried 3-of-4 3-pointers for the Patriots, who used an 8-0 run to start the second half to push their lead to 42-17, to follow Wellman and Speed with nine points. Loy hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight.
Rodneka Price totaled team highs of 10 points, six rebounds and three assists for Central, which never pulled within 20 points in the final 14 minutes. Dimon Price added nine points.
"We penetrated the ball better (after the first two minutes of the second half)," said Harrell. "We used our quickness a little better. Our defense settled down and got through some screens and didn't give them as many opportunities. Although, they run a very disciplined offense ... so they still got a lot of easy baskets. But I did feel we got our legs under us a little bit. ...
"Our kids played really hard, especially in the second half. How well we played ... was a little questionable."
Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the final three quarters, improving to 8-1 with a 40-14 victory over the Bearcats.
Danielle Link scored eight points to lead a balanced effort for the Patriots, who had just a 9-8 lead after the opening period. JCHS then outscored Central 15-3 in the second, 9-2 in the third and 7-1 in the fourth for the 26-point win.
Jordan McMillan added six points with a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Shelby Gierhart also scored six. Erin Hunt and Cara Garringer added five points apiece.[[In-content Ad]]
For the third straight game Tuesday, and the fifth time this year, the Patriot girls basketball team had complete control by halftime. It was up by as many as 21 in the first half, then used an 8-0 run to start the second to bury the Muncie Central Bearcats in their 68-43 victory.
The win was the eighth straight for Jay County. All of them have come by double digits, and each of the last three have been by at least 25 points.
"We got off to a good start," said Patriot coach Kirk Comer, whose team's only loss came by a 62-58 score in the season opener to Class 4A No. 10 Fort Wayne South Side. "We were playing as well as we've played all year there early. ... The girls came back out in the second half and picked up right where they started in the first half.
"It was a good win."
Comer has praised his team's unselfishness after just about every game this year, and his players proved his point Tuesday. They passed their way to perhaps their most impressive offensive performance of the year, which is something to say for a team that has scored at least 55 points in every game and averages nearly 66.
After giving up the first basket of the game, Jay County turned in three impressive runs. Three streaks of seven, 11 and 12 straight points - Central coach Kaye Harrell repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to break the momentum with timeouts - for a 30-7 lead just 1:13 into the second quarter.
"We started poorly in the first quarter, and this is just a really nice Jay County team," said Harrell. "I mean, they don't have any weaknesses. They play aggressively. They pass well. It's great teamwork. You can't afford to come in here and get a slow start ..."
"I felt like once we got settled our effort was much better. But against this kind of team you've got to come ready to play from the first second, and we didn't do that. So they took it to us."
Eleven of the Patriots' 13 first-half hoops were assisted, including the final nine in a row. The only two that weren't came on a breakaway lay-up for Abby Loy after a steal, and a put-back by Amber Edmundson.
In all, JCHS had 22 assists on 28 made field goals, which led to a season-best 65-percent shooting effort from the field. It hit 9-of-11 field goals in the first quarter and missed just one of six attempts in the fourth.
Senior point guard Dana Horn returned from missing four games because of a leg injury to dish out six assists, and junior point guard Kaelee Keller also had six assists.
Cassandra Huelskamp had three, and Abby Loy and Pazia Speed each added two.
"They're very unselfish," said Comer. "That just shows the kind of girls we have. It's all about getting the win. ... As long as we can continue to play like that, we're going to be a good basketball team.
Sophomore Lindsey Wellman did her damage in the post, finishing 10-of-15 for a season-high 25 points. She also had 10 rebounds for a double-double while adding an assist and a block.
Speed, also a sophomore, had her best offensive effort of the year as well. After scoring just two points in each of the previous two games, Speed made every shot she took against the Bearcats and went 8-for-8 for 16 points.
She was also second on the team to Wellman with four rebounds and had a pair of assists.
"Lindsey did an outstanding job. Her teammates got her the ball in the right position to score ... She finished tonight.
"(Speed) came out and hit her first shot, and I think each shot that she hit her confidence just soared. You could see it out there. Hopefully she can just continue to build on that."
Huelskamp buried 3-of-4 3-pointers for the Patriots, who used an 8-0 run to start the second half to push their lead to 42-17, to follow Wellman and Speed with nine points. Loy hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight.
Rodneka Price totaled team highs of 10 points, six rebounds and three assists for Central, which never pulled within 20 points in the final 14 minutes. Dimon Price added nine points.
"We penetrated the ball better (after the first two minutes of the second half)," said Harrell. "We used our quickness a little better. Our defense settled down and got through some screens and didn't give them as many opportunities. Although, they run a very disciplined offense ... so they still got a lot of easy baskets. But I did feel we got our legs under us a little bit. ...
"Our kids played really hard, especially in the second half. How well we played ... was a little questionable."
Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the final three quarters, improving to 8-1 with a 40-14 victory over the Bearcats.
Danielle Link scored eight points to lead a balanced effort for the Patriots, who had just a 9-8 lead after the opening period. JCHS then outscored Central 15-3 in the second, 9-2 in the third and 7-1 in the fourth for the 26-point win.
Jordan McMillan added six points with a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Shelby Gierhart also scored six. Erin Hunt and Cara Garringer added five points apiece.[[In-content Ad]]
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