July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Garringer leads Jay to 5th win (11/30/05)
JCHS girls basketball
Garringer leads Jay to 5th win (11/30/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
Kirk Comer was ill. Maybe another victory from his team will help speed his recovery.
Comer wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t on the bench Tuesday night, but junior Sara Garringer took control to lead the Jay County girls basketball team to a 46-39 victory over the Bluffton Tigers.
“We lost a lot of talent last year,” said Garringer, who led the Patriots in points, rebounds and assists in their fourth straight victory. “Those five seniors taught me a lot of leadership. I look up to them.
“Last year they would step up and do the little things. I felt like my team needed a lift so I tried to do the little things and if you do the little things points just start coming and things just start coming easier.”
Garringer scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the first quarter. They included a 3-pointer and put-back in the final minute of the period as she led a 6-0 run which gave Jay County (5-2) the lead for good.
Over the final three quarters she hit a big basket each time the Patriots needed one. She also dished out four assists, two in the fourth quarter, and grabbed eight rebounds.
“That’s what we rely on Sara to do,” said JCHS varsity assistant Warren Lowe, who coached the team in Comer’s absence. “Her passing and leadership out there, those things are invaluable to the team. She did a great job.”
The run to end the first quarter gave Jay County a 16-11 lead, but Bluffton (2-4) posted the first four points of the second quarter to get back within one. That was the best the visiting team could do.
The Patriots went on a tear starting with three points from Markie Runyon. They continued to roll on a 13-3 run, with only a Jenifer Johnson 3-pointer breaking Jay County’s six-minute stretch of dominance.
“In the second quarter where they got their lead we came down three or four times (in a row) and never got a shot off,” said Bluffton coach Ron DeWitt. “We just turned it over ... It’s been the same problem for us every game so far. We just shoot ourselves in the foot time after time.”
Most of the Patriot push to a 29-18 lead came with Garringer and four reserves on the floor. The junior was joined by Miranda Betz, Whitney Homan, Nicole Pfeifer and Abby Loy off the bench as the lead grew to double digits.
Betz and Loy each finished with career high scoring totals of nine and seven points respectively. Betz also notched four rebounds.
Homan scored five points while Pfeifer came up with two rebounds and two assists.
“I thought the girls played awfully hard,” said Lowe, praising the bench effort. “It was kind of a new situation for them not having Kirk here ... I thought in spurts they really did well.”
Bluffton managed to close to within four points midway through the third quarter, but Garringer started a rally to finish them off.
Her 3-pointer with 3:05 on the clock forced a Tiger timeout, and Betz and Cassandra Huelskamp — off a Dana Horn steal — added back-to-back hoops to push the Patriot advantage back to 11 points.
Chelsea DeBoy grabbed six boards to help the Patriots to a 36-31 rebounding advantage, Runyon blocked two shots and Horn had two assists.
“It was a good win. We played good defense and that’s definitely what helped us to win the game,” said Garringer after Jay County held the Tigers to under 30 percent from the field. “A lot of our shots haven’t been falling lately, but we stepped it up and played good defense.
“We’re definitely young, so confidence is a big thing. We have four wins in a row, and that definitely gets our confidence going.”
Johnson scored 11 points to lead Bluffton. Marah Kyle, Katie Vanderkolk and Sara Elliot each added eight points.
Vanderkolk finished with 10 points and three assists, and Kyle notched five rebounds.
Junior varsity
Jay County was dominant after the opening quarter, crushing the Tigers 47-26.
The Patriots led just 10-8 after the opening quarter before outscoring Bluffton 14-5 in the second for an 11-point lead at the intermission. They bettered the visitors by seven points in each of the last two quarters.
Brittany O’Dell and Kaelee Keller each reached double figures to lead Jay County with 13 and 10 points respectively. Gina Muhlenkamp and Sarah Westgerdes each added six points.
Eliza Walburn and Ashley Leising finished with nine points apiece for the Tigers.[[In-content Ad]]
Comer wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t on the bench Tuesday night, but junior Sara Garringer took control to lead the Jay County girls basketball team to a 46-39 victory over the Bluffton Tigers.
“We lost a lot of talent last year,” said Garringer, who led the Patriots in points, rebounds and assists in their fourth straight victory. “Those five seniors taught me a lot of leadership. I look up to them.
“Last year they would step up and do the little things. I felt like my team needed a lift so I tried to do the little things and if you do the little things points just start coming and things just start coming easier.”
Garringer scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the first quarter. They included a 3-pointer and put-back in the final minute of the period as she led a 6-0 run which gave Jay County (5-2) the lead for good.
Over the final three quarters she hit a big basket each time the Patriots needed one. She also dished out four assists, two in the fourth quarter, and grabbed eight rebounds.
“That’s what we rely on Sara to do,” said JCHS varsity assistant Warren Lowe, who coached the team in Comer’s absence. “Her passing and leadership out there, those things are invaluable to the team. She did a great job.”
The run to end the first quarter gave Jay County a 16-11 lead, but Bluffton (2-4) posted the first four points of the second quarter to get back within one. That was the best the visiting team could do.
The Patriots went on a tear starting with three points from Markie Runyon. They continued to roll on a 13-3 run, with only a Jenifer Johnson 3-pointer breaking Jay County’s six-minute stretch of dominance.
“In the second quarter where they got their lead we came down three or four times (in a row) and never got a shot off,” said Bluffton coach Ron DeWitt. “We just turned it over ... It’s been the same problem for us every game so far. We just shoot ourselves in the foot time after time.”
Most of the Patriot push to a 29-18 lead came with Garringer and four reserves on the floor. The junior was joined by Miranda Betz, Whitney Homan, Nicole Pfeifer and Abby Loy off the bench as the lead grew to double digits.
Betz and Loy each finished with career high scoring totals of nine and seven points respectively. Betz also notched four rebounds.
Homan scored five points while Pfeifer came up with two rebounds and two assists.
“I thought the girls played awfully hard,” said Lowe, praising the bench effort. “It was kind of a new situation for them not having Kirk here ... I thought in spurts they really did well.”
Bluffton managed to close to within four points midway through the third quarter, but Garringer started a rally to finish them off.
Her 3-pointer with 3:05 on the clock forced a Tiger timeout, and Betz and Cassandra Huelskamp — off a Dana Horn steal — added back-to-back hoops to push the Patriot advantage back to 11 points.
Chelsea DeBoy grabbed six boards to help the Patriots to a 36-31 rebounding advantage, Runyon blocked two shots and Horn had two assists.
“It was a good win. We played good defense and that’s definitely what helped us to win the game,” said Garringer after Jay County held the Tigers to under 30 percent from the field. “A lot of our shots haven’t been falling lately, but we stepped it up and played good defense.
“We’re definitely young, so confidence is a big thing. We have four wins in a row, and that definitely gets our confidence going.”
Johnson scored 11 points to lead Bluffton. Marah Kyle, Katie Vanderkolk and Sara Elliot each added eight points.
Vanderkolk finished with 10 points and three assists, and Kyle notched five rebounds.
Junior varsity
Jay County was dominant after the opening quarter, crushing the Tigers 47-26.
The Patriots led just 10-8 after the opening quarter before outscoring Bluffton 14-5 in the second for an 11-point lead at the intermission. They bettered the visitors by seven points in each of the last two quarters.
Brittany O’Dell and Kaelee Keller each reached double figures to lead Jay County with 13 and 10 points respectively. Gina Muhlenkamp and Sarah Westgerdes each added six points.
Eliza Walburn and Ashley Leising finished with nine points apiece for the Tigers.[[In-content Ad]]
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