July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Jay Co. stops losing streak (01/16/06)
JCHS girls basketall
Jay Co. stops losing streak (01/16/06)
By By RAY COONEY-
CONNERSVILLE — Sometimes four games can seem like an eternity.
Jay County finally put an end to its four-game losing streak Saturday, stifling the Connersville Spartans in the first half in a 46-34 victory.
The Patriot girls basketball team evened its record at 8-8 after losing consecutive games to Fort Recovery, Elwood, Class 3A No. 7 New Castle and Huntington North — teams with a combined record of 45-11. Because of the scheduling breaks around the holidays, the losing streak spanned more than a month, with the last JCHS victory coming Dec. 13 against Blackford.
“Anytime you come and play Connersville here and can get out of here with a win you’ve got to feel good,” said Jay County coach Kirk Comer, whose squad finished 2-1 for second place in the Olympic Athletic Conference. “Connersville (5-12) is a team that doesn’t have the record they’ve had in the past, but they’ve been playing without (Mindy) Cooper for eight of those games. They’re a much better team than their record. We’re really pleased to get out of here with a win.”
The Patriots didn’t let Cooper, a senior guard, or any of the Spartans (5-12) hurt them in the opening half.
Connersville missed its first 16 field-goal attempts as Jay County took a 19-4 lead. Its first make didn’t come until their was just 2:06 remaining in the first half when Erin Winkler came off the bench for a score.
The Spartans’ four first-quarter points came on a 4-of-6 effort from the free-throw line, and they went nearly the first six minutes of the second quarter without scoring.
They managed one other field goal — a 3-pointer from Katie Fischesser — before the intermission to trail 21-9.
“This is the first time we’ve played 2-3 zone all year,” said Comer. “We worked at it all week. We knew we had to get out on them. I was really pleased with the defense.”
Connersville coach Michael Thompson said he felt his team was fortunate to only be down by 12 at halftime despite the first-half shooting woes. But his squad never got within single digits again, despite opening the final period with a 10-2 run.
“They did a good job in their (zone) of pushing us out more than we wanted to,” said Thompson, whose team shot just 9-of-45 (20 percent). “Once that happens, you get back on your heels. We allowed them to dictate what we wanted to do on offense.”
While the Spartans struggled, Cassandra Huelskamp lit them up from the outside. The Jay County sophomore went 4-of-8 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 16 points. Sara Garringer added nine points, and seniors Markie Runyon and Chelsea DeBoy each had eight.
Garringer led the Patriots’ dominance on the glass — they finished with a 36-25 advantage — with 10 rebounds. Dana Horn dished out four assists.
Comer said he felt his team grew in the previous four losses, getting pushed by the high level of competition.
“Going into that four-game stretch we knew that ... had to show up today,” he said. “I thought that it did. I thought our level of play was higher ... and that enabled us to get a quick lead.”
Fischesser managed 12 points to lead the Spartans. But, three others finished 0-for-7, 0-for-6 and 0-for-5 from the field respectively.
Jessica Gibson had five rebounds, and Taylor Isaacs totaled three assists.
Junior varsity
Jay County was in control at halftime, but fell apart in the second half for a 38-33 loss to the Spartans.
The Patriots gave away all of a 21-12 halftime lead as Connersville tied the game at 27 in the third quarter. They reclaimed the advantage, but not for long, getting outscored 11-4 in the final period of the defeat.
Brittney Miller led the Spartan comeback victory with 14 points. Amber Hood added seven.
Gina Muhlenkamp scored nine points for Jay County, and Amber Edmundson finished with eight.
Freshmen
A scoreless third quarter finished off the Patriots in a 30-20 loss to Connersville.
Jay County trailed by just three at the half, and got shut out 6-0 in the third period. Its first points of the second half came when Kristi Morningstar hit a couple of free throws at the 3:34 mark of the fourth quarter.
Mackenzie Loy’s five points were a Patriot team high. Chelsea Grady and Esther Stephen each had four points.
Amanda Madden carried Connersville with nine points. Courtney Crawford scored five points.[[In-content Ad]]
Jay County finally put an end to its four-game losing streak Saturday, stifling the Connersville Spartans in the first half in a 46-34 victory.
The Patriot girls basketball team evened its record at 8-8 after losing consecutive games to Fort Recovery, Elwood, Class 3A No. 7 New Castle and Huntington North — teams with a combined record of 45-11. Because of the scheduling breaks around the holidays, the losing streak spanned more than a month, with the last JCHS victory coming Dec. 13 against Blackford.
“Anytime you come and play Connersville here and can get out of here with a win you’ve got to feel good,” said Jay County coach Kirk Comer, whose squad finished 2-1 for second place in the Olympic Athletic Conference. “Connersville (5-12) is a team that doesn’t have the record they’ve had in the past, but they’ve been playing without (Mindy) Cooper for eight of those games. They’re a much better team than their record. We’re really pleased to get out of here with a win.”
The Patriots didn’t let Cooper, a senior guard, or any of the Spartans (5-12) hurt them in the opening half.
Connersville missed its first 16 field-goal attempts as Jay County took a 19-4 lead. Its first make didn’t come until their was just 2:06 remaining in the first half when Erin Winkler came off the bench for a score.
The Spartans’ four first-quarter points came on a 4-of-6 effort from the free-throw line, and they went nearly the first six minutes of the second quarter without scoring.
They managed one other field goal — a 3-pointer from Katie Fischesser — before the intermission to trail 21-9.
“This is the first time we’ve played 2-3 zone all year,” said Comer. “We worked at it all week. We knew we had to get out on them. I was really pleased with the defense.”
Connersville coach Michael Thompson said he felt his team was fortunate to only be down by 12 at halftime despite the first-half shooting woes. But his squad never got within single digits again, despite opening the final period with a 10-2 run.
“They did a good job in their (zone) of pushing us out more than we wanted to,” said Thompson, whose team shot just 9-of-45 (20 percent). “Once that happens, you get back on your heels. We allowed them to dictate what we wanted to do on offense.”
While the Spartans struggled, Cassandra Huelskamp lit them up from the outside. The Jay County sophomore went 4-of-8 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 16 points. Sara Garringer added nine points, and seniors Markie Runyon and Chelsea DeBoy each had eight.
Garringer led the Patriots’ dominance on the glass — they finished with a 36-25 advantage — with 10 rebounds. Dana Horn dished out four assists.
Comer said he felt his team grew in the previous four losses, getting pushed by the high level of competition.
“Going into that four-game stretch we knew that ... had to show up today,” he said. “I thought that it did. I thought our level of play was higher ... and that enabled us to get a quick lead.”
Fischesser managed 12 points to lead the Spartans. But, three others finished 0-for-7, 0-for-6 and 0-for-5 from the field respectively.
Jessica Gibson had five rebounds, and Taylor Isaacs totaled three assists.
Junior varsity
Jay County was in control at halftime, but fell apart in the second half for a 38-33 loss to the Spartans.
The Patriots gave away all of a 21-12 halftime lead as Connersville tied the game at 27 in the third quarter. They reclaimed the advantage, but not for long, getting outscored 11-4 in the final period of the defeat.
Brittney Miller led the Spartan comeback victory with 14 points. Amber Hood added seven.
Gina Muhlenkamp scored nine points for Jay County, and Amber Edmundson finished with eight.
Freshmen
A scoreless third quarter finished off the Patriots in a 30-20 loss to Connersville.
Jay County trailed by just three at the half, and got shut out 6-0 in the third period. Its first points of the second half came when Kristi Morningstar hit a couple of free throws at the 3:34 mark of the fourth quarter.
Mackenzie Loy’s five points were a Patriot team high. Chelsea Grady and Esther Stephen each had four points.
Amanda Madden carried Connersville with nine points. Courtney Crawford scored five points.[[In-content Ad]]
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