JC tops Norwell (11/29/2008)

Having won each of the first five games by 19 points or more, Jay County had not had to deal with much second-half pressure. They finally got some Friday night, and responded like a team on a mission.

The host Norwell Knights took the lead for the first time three minutes into the second half, having overcome what was once a nine-point Patriot advantage. But the home team only stayed on top for about 10 seconds.

A pair of Cara Garringer 3-pointers launched Jay County back into the lead and it never trailed again in a 48-40 victory over the Class 3A No. 7 Knights.

"I was relaxed and still confident right then," said JCHS coach Kirk Comer. "I looked at it as, 'We're going to get to see what we're made of here.' I wasn't going to call a timeout. Normally I would, but I wanted to see how they responded. And they responded like champions."

After pulling to within three at the intermission, Norwell opened the second half on a 6-1 run. Norwell took its first lead of the game on Andrew Vogels hoop just inside the 5:30 mark, only to see that advantage disappear seconds later.

Jay County pushed the ball back up the floor, and senior point guard Kaelee Keller found Garringer open for a 3-pointer. The sophomore made another triple off a Pazia Speed assist on the next Patriot possession and the Knights never pulled closer than five points the rest of the way.

"We get the lead there in the third quarter and the very next play we don't switch a screen, they make one pass to the left wing, and boom we're on our heels again," said Norwell coach Eric Thornton. "You'd like to see your kids sustain a lead right there for more than one possession.

"That was the key. We played catch-up all night. We put ourselves in that position."

Jay County built its lead on the strength of a mammoth first-half performance from junior Lindsey Wellman.

With Speed, the team's No. 2 scorer, on the bench for nearly 12 minutes of the half because of foul trouble, Wellman picked up the scoring load. She poured in 15 of her game-high 17 points in the first 16 minutes.

"Wellman is so good," said Thornton. "She's such a good shooter, she can create mismatches and double teams and find the open man. She's really just a basketball player."

Wellman was also one of six Patriots to grab four or more rebounds, helping the team to a 36-31 rebounding advantage as it overcame the Norwell twin towers - senior Andrea Vogel and freshman Jessica Rupright.

Brittany Mann had a game-high eight boards, followed for JCHS by Mackenzie Loy with six, Kaelee Keller and Pazia Speed with five a piece and Cara Garringer with four.

"It was a really good team effort," said Comer. "I thought Mackenzie came in and gave us some really good minutes tonight, when we needed them. Everything starts with the rebound ...

"If we can be up against a team like that, we've got to be pleased. It's something we work really hard at."

Speed followed Wellman with nine points, six of which came in the fourth quarter. She also led the team with three assists.

Garringer had eight points, including the pair of big 3-pointers.

Norwell got 25 of its 40 points from its pair of post players, but struggled to get much else going. It shot just 1-of-15 (seven percent) from 3-point range and 14-of-50 (28 percent) overall.

Vogel led the way with 14 points on 6-of-10 from the field and 2-for-2 at the line. Rupright followed with 11 points, and Kylie Dial had team highs of seven rebounds and four assists to go along with seven points.

"I can't complain about the shots we took for the most part," said Thornton. "We got good looks and we were able to get some close range stuff. Our threes, we were open. Those are good shots for our kids.

"Their zone early on was pretty tight. I don't think we attacked the gaps that we needed to. ... I just felt like we weren't very aggressive early with our penetration."

Junior varsity

Jay County held off a fourth-quarter charge by the Knights to hold on for a 31-25 victory.

Danielle Link scored 10 points for the Patriots, who led 27-17 early in the final period. Norwell scored eight straight points to pull within a basket, but failed to get on the board again in the final two minutes.

Katie Butcher added nine points for JCHS, and Kassi Hemmelgarn scored four.

The Knights' Caitlyn McGrew finished with nine points. Eden Chaney scored eight.

Freshman

There was no doubt for the Patriots, who gave up just two field goals in a 42-4 destruction of Norwell.

Mariah Hornaday scored 12 points to lead Jay County, and Mollie May also reached double figures with 10. LeAnn Horn chipped in four points.

Mary Douglas scored all four points for the Knights.

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