Jay can't keep up with Jones (12/22/05)

Kyleigh Jones knew her team needed to score more. So she started making shots.

It really was that simple.

Jones outscored the entire Jay County team in the final period, hitting for 22 of her team’s 27 points as the Elwood Panthers rallied for a 58-51 victory.

“That’s been sort of our thing this year,” said Elwood coach Shelly Renbarger, whose team improved to 10-2. “She kind of tends to stay back the first half or so. In games lately (in the second half) she’s said, ‘That’s it, it’s my turn.’”

Renbarger said Jay County took away the inside game as well as Jones’ ability to drive so, “we had to do some adjustments, taking her outside, and next thing you know she just took over. She got into one of those zones tonight. She just kind of took the team on her back.”

Jones gave a Kobe Bryant-like performance — he scored 30 of his 62 points in the third quarter Tuesday night — as she torched the Patriots (7-6) in the final period.

She wrested control with her team trailing 42-33 with just six minutes remaining by burying a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Up to that point she had shot just 1-of-6 from long distance.

Chelsea DeBoy scored for Jay County to push the lead back to eight points, but Jones then cut it in half in a single play. She hit a fade-away 3-pointer from the left wing and was fouled by Theresa Reinhart in the process. She made the free throw — in fact, she made all of her 13 free throws in the game — to pull the Panthers within four.

“That was a big momentum swing,” said the senior, who is committed to play at Ball State next season. “After I hit that and got the free throw you could kind of see their heads drop.”

The Patriots, who had led ever since the three-minute mark of the first quarter, managed to push the lead back to 46-40 thanks to a pair of Sara Garringer free throws. But those shots just delayed what Jones made seem inevitable.

Jessica Wright scored to cut the Panther deficit back to four, and Jones followed with a phenomenol step-back 3-pointer forcing a Jay County time-out with 3:14 to go. She scored again following the break in the action, then hit another 3-pointer — her fourth straight make from beyond the arc — with 2:25 remaining. The Patriots tried another time-out, but turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and Jones hit a pair of free throws to complete a 12-0 Elwood run.

Garringer got the Patriots back to within four with 1:38 to play, but Jones and Shalynn Wright connected on six free throws to finish off the home team.

“She’s an excellent player,” said Jay County coach Kirk Comer. “We talked at halftime that she was going to try to take over. We’ve seen it time and time again watching them. We’ve seen them play three times and every time when the game is on the line she takes over.

“I thought for the most part we did a decent job of keeping a hand in her face. She just hit some big shots.

“The game was on the line and she got the job done.”

Jones credited some good screens from junior teammate Abbey Abner, but the game turned mostly on the amazing effort from Elwood’s star player. Her 22 points in the final six minutes of the game gave her 36 total, four off her career high.

She finished 9-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from the 3-point line. She grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and finished with two assists and two blocks.

Her effort leading the Panthers to a 15-of-16 night at the foul line proved the difference in the game. Jay County was just 6-of-14 on the free throws.

“We knew coming in you couldn’t put them at the free-throw line,” said Comer. “They don’t miss free throws.

“We didn’t shoot very well from the free-throw line. We’ve got a couple of girls who are struggling. It’s just confidence.”

Jones got help from Jessica Wright, who shot 6-of-11 from the field for 12 points. But, no other Elwood player scored more than two points. Abner finished with seven rebounds.

Garringer scored 16 points to pace Jay County, which grabbed the lead at 11-9 with 2:55 to go in the first quarter and didn’t relinquish it until Jones went wild in the fourth. She also had six rebounds and three assists.

Cassandra Huelskamp added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Chelsea DeBoy grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Despite the defeat, for the second straight game the Patriots showed the ability to hang tough against a top-flight team. They fell by just three points to Fort Recovery Saturday.

“I think we’ve grown again tonight ... We’ve played two top-quality teams and it’s not going to get any easier,” said Comer, thinking ahead to his next two games against New Castle (8-1) Jan. 3 and Huntington North (7-2) Jan. 10. “Our schedule continues to be tough. But hopefully in the end our schedule will pay off. It would be nice to get one of these, but I’m real proud of the way our team played tonight.”[[In-content Ad]]