July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Even regular season (02/02/06)
JCHS girls basketball
Even regular season (02/02/06)
By By RAY COONEY-
MUNCIE — The Patriots have set the table for themselves.
With a 63-44 victory over the Delta Eagles in the regular-season finale Wednesday, Jay County evened its record at 10-10. Now two wins next week would not only claim a third sectional title in four seasons but also guarantee a fifth straight winning campaign.
“At times we played pretty good ball,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team opens sectional play in semifinal action against the host Mississinewa Indians (2-17) Friday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. “When we got the lead we let up intensity-wise. We’re not going to be able to do that in the tournament, but we finished pretty strong. We wanted to come in and get a nice win and we got that accomplished.”
Jay County allowed some easy scores and trailed by three after the first quarter, before cracking down and taking control. It scored the first eight points of the second period — four by Markie Runyon — and went on a 15-3 run.
The stretch was capped by a huge play from junior guard Whitney Homan. She took a pass on the right side from Dana Horn, popped a 3-pointer and was fouled in the process. She proceeded to make her free throw for a four-point play and a 30-21 Patriot lead.
The visitors also scored the final five points of the half, outscoring Delta 23-6 in the second quarter for a 38-24 advantage.
“You give a good team that big of a lead early you’re in trouble,” said Delta coach Glen Stewart. “Missed free throws and then the silly stuff [fouling on 3-pointers] ... stretched their lead out. You’re not going to win basketball games when you do things like that.”
Homan, who was fouled on another 3-point try later and made all three free throws, had one of her best games of the season. She shared the team high of 12 points with senior Markie Runyon.
Comer said Homan got a day off from practice Tuesday and it seemed to pay off.
“Whitney has been battling injuries all year,” he said, adding that he plans to rest both Homan and Sara Garringer every other day as long as his team remains in the tournament.
“She has not been healthy the whole season. We have not gotten to see the (real) Whitney Homan, we really haven’t. ... Whitney had a lot more energy tonight.”
Jay County took the 19-point win thanks to some outstanding shooting from the field. It finished 24-of-44 (55 percent) for the night, and made 7-of-16 (44 percent) from 3-point range.
Senior Chelsea DeBoy was good on all of her four field-goal tries for eight points, and Runyon went 5-of-7. Homan and Garringer (eight points, five assists) each had a pair of 3-pointers, and Horn (six points), Theresa Reinhart (five points) and Cassandra Huelskamp (five points) added one apiece.
DeBoy also had a big day on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds while no one else on either team had more than five. She helped lead the Patriots back from an early deficit on the boards to a 30-22 advantage.
Runyon added five boards and three assists.
“They just outworked us,” said Stewart. “Obviously (senior Whitney Whitehair) went out early and that was a big hurt to us. She’s been dynamite as far as blocking out big girls and clearing out those defensive blocks for us. Without her, things really slowed down tonight.”
Whitehair had four points and three rebounds when she and Homan smacked heads during the second quarter. Whitehair suffered a cut behind the ear and a “mild concussion” and did not return.
The Eagles (7-13) closed to within 42-31 with a 7-0, third-quarter run, but Jay County responded with a 10-0 run of its own to push back to a 21-point advantage and put the game away.
Kelly Costello, the only other senior on the Delta squad, led the way with 14 points. She scored eight of her points at the foul line as the Eagles lost despite shooting 30 free throws to the Patriots’ 15.
Sara Miller added 13 points, and Emily Miller had a team-best five rebounds.
Junior varsity
Delta went scoreless in the first and third quarters as the Patriots rolled to a 58-4 victory.
Jay County was up 15-0 after the opening quarter. It built a 36-2 lead at halftime as the Eagles’ first field goal of the game came with 2:36 remaining in the opening half.
Amber Edmundson’s 13 points led the Patriots, who finished the season at 15-5. Natasha Stout had eight points, and Gina Muhlenkamp scored seven.
Kaleigh Reynolds and Caitlin Sanders each scored two points for Delta.[[In-content Ad]]
With a 63-44 victory over the Delta Eagles in the regular-season finale Wednesday, Jay County evened its record at 10-10. Now two wins next week would not only claim a third sectional title in four seasons but also guarantee a fifth straight winning campaign.
“At times we played pretty good ball,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team opens sectional play in semifinal action against the host Mississinewa Indians (2-17) Friday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. “When we got the lead we let up intensity-wise. We’re not going to be able to do that in the tournament, but we finished pretty strong. We wanted to come in and get a nice win and we got that accomplished.”
Jay County allowed some easy scores and trailed by three after the first quarter, before cracking down and taking control. It scored the first eight points of the second period — four by Markie Runyon — and went on a 15-3 run.
The stretch was capped by a huge play from junior guard Whitney Homan. She took a pass on the right side from Dana Horn, popped a 3-pointer and was fouled in the process. She proceeded to make her free throw for a four-point play and a 30-21 Patriot lead.
The visitors also scored the final five points of the half, outscoring Delta 23-6 in the second quarter for a 38-24 advantage.
“You give a good team that big of a lead early you’re in trouble,” said Delta coach Glen Stewart. “Missed free throws and then the silly stuff [fouling on 3-pointers] ... stretched their lead out. You’re not going to win basketball games when you do things like that.”
Homan, who was fouled on another 3-point try later and made all three free throws, had one of her best games of the season. She shared the team high of 12 points with senior Markie Runyon.
Comer said Homan got a day off from practice Tuesday and it seemed to pay off.
“Whitney has been battling injuries all year,” he said, adding that he plans to rest both Homan and Sara Garringer every other day as long as his team remains in the tournament.
“She has not been healthy the whole season. We have not gotten to see the (real) Whitney Homan, we really haven’t. ... Whitney had a lot more energy tonight.”
Jay County took the 19-point win thanks to some outstanding shooting from the field. It finished 24-of-44 (55 percent) for the night, and made 7-of-16 (44 percent) from 3-point range.
Senior Chelsea DeBoy was good on all of her four field-goal tries for eight points, and Runyon went 5-of-7. Homan and Garringer (eight points, five assists) each had a pair of 3-pointers, and Horn (six points), Theresa Reinhart (five points) and Cassandra Huelskamp (five points) added one apiece.
DeBoy also had a big day on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds while no one else on either team had more than five. She helped lead the Patriots back from an early deficit on the boards to a 30-22 advantage.
Runyon added five boards and three assists.
“They just outworked us,” said Stewart. “Obviously (senior Whitney Whitehair) went out early and that was a big hurt to us. She’s been dynamite as far as blocking out big girls and clearing out those defensive blocks for us. Without her, things really slowed down tonight.”
Whitehair had four points and three rebounds when she and Homan smacked heads during the second quarter. Whitehair suffered a cut behind the ear and a “mild concussion” and did not return.
The Eagles (7-13) closed to within 42-31 with a 7-0, third-quarter run, but Jay County responded with a 10-0 run of its own to push back to a 21-point advantage and put the game away.
Kelly Costello, the only other senior on the Delta squad, led the way with 14 points. She scored eight of her points at the foul line as the Eagles lost despite shooting 30 free throws to the Patriots’ 15.
Sara Miller added 13 points, and Emily Miller had a team-best five rebounds.
Junior varsity
Delta went scoreless in the first and third quarters as the Patriots rolled to a 58-4 victory.
Jay County was up 15-0 after the opening quarter. It built a 36-2 lead at halftime as the Eagles’ first field goal of the game came with 2:36 remaining in the opening half.
Amber Edmundson’s 13 points led the Patriots, who finished the season at 15-5. Natasha Stout had eight points, and Gina Muhlenkamp scored seven.
Kaleigh Reynolds and Caitlin Sanders each scored two points for Delta.[[In-content Ad]]
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