Perfect Patriots ready for tourney (02/12/2009)

Kirk Comer has said the same thing about his players all year long.

He was saying it a month ago.

He was saying it in the preseason.

He was even saying it during the summer.

And with the sectional tournament up next, nothing has changed.

"They expect to win every game. ... It doesn't matter who they play, where they play them or what time they play them, they expect to win."

The Class 4A No. 6 Patriots have backed up that attitude with results, running the table to an 18-0 record in the regular season. The next challenge for the Jay County High School girls basketball team comes Friday at 6 p.m. when it plays the Fort Wayne South Side Archers in the semifinal round of the sectional tournament at Fort Wayne North Side.

South Side (17-4) survived its opening-round game Tuesday 54-52 over Homestead (13-8). Marion (16-5), which scored a 72-64 win Tuesday over the host Redskins (3-17), will play Huntington North (9-11) in the other semifinal game.

The championship game will be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with the winning team advancing to the regional tournament at Huntington North.

Jay County and the Archers are more than familiar with each other, having already played three times in the last two seasons. South Side won the first two of those meetings, including a 78-48 blowout of the Patriots in the sectional semifinal round last season, but JCHS controlled the season opener this year for a 52-33 win.

IPFW-bound forward Sydney Weinert is the Archers' team leader, but the Patriots held her scoreless on just two field goal attempts during the regular season.

"They're very athletic. They've played a really good schedule," said Comer of South Side, which suffered its only losses to Jay County, Class 3A No. 4 Elmhurst (twice) and Class 2A No. 8 Bishop Luers. "They're well coached. They can shoot it inside and outside. ...

"I don't think they're as quick as they were a year ago, but they still like to run and press and trap ... They're a very good team."

As for the potential finals opponents, Jay County defeated Huntington North 60-47 Jan. 13 despite playing without leading scorer Lindsey Wellman for most of the second half because of an injury.

The Patriots did not play Marion during regular season, but the teams shared five common opponents - Anderson Highland, Huntington North, Muncie Central, Mississinewa and Anderson. Both teams were 5-0 against those foes, JCHS by an average of 21.6 points per game and Marion by 18.6.

"If we would be fortunate enough to win the first game and get to the next game ... it's going to be a tough game no matter who it is," said Comer.

Juniors Lindsey Wellman (14.7 points per game) and Pazia Speed (12.1) lead the Patriots in scoring, but they are far from the only options. Kaelee Keller, a senior, scores 8.8 points per game and is one of six other JCHS players who have reached double figures this year.

Jay County has been an efficient team, which both Speed and Keller shooting 50 percent or better from the field and Wellman adding a 41.4 percent mark from 3-point range.

The team racked up its stats against a challenging schedule, which included the Bedford North Lawrence tournament. It is responsible for the only loss incurred by Class 3A No. 2 Norwell, and one of just three for both Class 2A No. 7 Winchester and Fort Recovery.

"I think they're on a mission," Comer said. "They're a team that's very confident in their ability. They play very well together. ... I always say there's nothing better than experience, and they have it. ...

"To be honest, I wish we could (have played Tuesday). ... They're focused. They're ready to play. They're confident."

"Big-time players step up in big games. And I think that's what you'll see out of our girls. I think you'll see them step up when Friday night comes."

The Patriots have now won 15 or more games three times in Comer's five seasons, but both previous times the sectional title has eluded them.

In 2004-05, Jay County won 16 games before losing in the sectional championship game to a state-ranked Elwood squad. It won the title a year later after a 10-10 regular season, but in 2007 lost by 20 in the sectional championship to an Elwood team they had defeated earlier in the year.

And in 2008, after losing to South Side by four in the regular season and trailing by just four at halftime, they ended an 18-win season with a 30-point defeat.

So even coming off the best regular season in school history, Comer said a succesful season starts now.

"There is no doubt about that to me," he said. "I don't think you can take away what the girls have done ... but for me, you prepare all season for the tournament. ... This is the most fun time of the year. It's what you play for."

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