Jay takes BNL tourney (12/29/2008)

BEDFORD - The Patriots have been tested this season.

Three wins, two by wide margins, over state-ranked foes are the proof.

But Saturday's test may have been the most grueling.

Jay County High School's girls basketball team proved up to the task yet again, winning the Bedford North Lawrence tournament with wins of 58-54 over the host Stars and 40-27 over the Bloomington North Cougars.

The Class 4A No. 7 Patriots pushed their record to 12-0 with the pair of victories, which pushed coach Kirk Comer to 199 in his career. They are one of 19 undefeated teams remaining in the state, and are now sixth in the Sagarin Ratings.

While Bedford North Lawrence and Bloomington North entered the tournament with a combined seven losses, they came against the best of competition. The teams they lost to prior to Saturday have a combined record of 89-11.

Jay County built a five-point lead through three quarters against the Stars, who then rallied to tie on a 3-pointer with about two minutes to go.

But the Patriots were up to the challenge, finishing off an outstanding effort from the free-throw line to come away with the four-point win.

Bedford North Lawrence (7-5) was the third straight team with no answer for Lindsey Wellman, who racked up 23 points. The junior, who scored 22 points against Anderson Highland and 24 versus Fort Recovery, hit three 3-pointers, made all of her eight free throws, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.

Pazia Speed added 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Kaelee Keller scored seven of her nine in the fourth quarter and had four assists, and Brittany Mann totaled eight rebounds.

Keller went 4-for-4 at the foul line to complement Wellman's effort as the Patriots shot 17-of-20 overall.

Kenly Perry led the Stars with 13 points. Leah Myers had nine, and Tabitha Turrell scored seven.

Jay County got a balanced scoring effort in the second game Saturday and doubled up Bloomington North (7-4) in the final three quarters. The Cougars led by four after the first quarter before getting outscored 34-17 over the course of the final three.

Speed, who needed seven stitches in between games, finished with eight points and six rebounds. Wellman, Gina Muhlenkamp and Erin Hunt each hit two 3-pointers, finishing with eight, eight and six points respectively.

Cara Garringer had five rebounds, and Keller notched five assists.

Kaity Hoy's nine points were the team-high for the Cougars. Pendah Jallow followed with six points.

Junior varsity

The Patriots picked up two more victories topping Bedford North Lawrence 37-29 and Bloomington North 40-17.

Jay County trailed the Stars by two after the opening quarter, but outscored them 17-6 in the second to take control. Maria Murphy led the way with 10 points, and Brittany Manor hit three 3-pointers for nine points.

In the second game, JCHS outscored the Cougars in every quarter. Danielle Link scored all of the Patriots 10 first-quarter points on the way to a 14-point effort, and Mariah Hornaday scored eight points.

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