Jay dominates Winchester

Defense has been crucial to the Patriots’ early success this season.
The Jay County High School girls basketball team has held an opponent scoreless for a full quarter in each of its three wins.
“We talk about it all the time, defense dictates offense,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team held the Winchester Golden Falcons without a bucket in the opening quarter en route to a 54-22 win Saturday. “Everyone’s best offense out there is a good defense and our defense has been really good.”
Jay County (3-0) limited Winchester (0-3) to just five shots in the opening frame and created seven turnovers in the process. Catherine Dunn got the Patriots on the board by hitting a pair of free throws on two separate occasions. The senior was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the first half.
Ava Kunkler and Hanna Ault both made buckets before the Patriots started draining shots from long distance. Bre McIntire, Abby Wendel, Ault and Lyla Muhlenkamp each hit their first attempts from beyond the arc, helping the Patriots to a 20-0 lead after eight minutes.
“I’ll be honest, I have girls that can shoot the basketball,” said Krieg, whose team made 10 of its 18 (56 percent) 3-point attempts. “I don’t have one, I don’t have two … I have like six, seven girls that can shoot the ball well.
“I am pleased with that. It makes you hard to guard.”
Winchester coach Ed Geesaman said the Patriots’ ability to move the ball and find an open shooter is what makes them difficult to stop.
“I knew that we couldn’t play man-to-man with them because that’s another thing they are good at, driving and kicking it,” he said. “That’s the bread and butter that Jay County brings and it’s hard to defend.”
Following a jumper by Ault, Winchester finally found the bottom of the hoop 46 seconds into the second quarter when Makenna Haney hit the first of her two free-throw attempts. Sarah Mallory and Mariah Roberts made back-to-back buckets for the Golden Falcons as they scored five straight points.
But then it was all Patriots again for the remainder of the half.
Dunn nailed a 3-pointer from the corner and then hit four-straight free throws to spark a 14-2 run to close out the second period. She scored all of her 11 points in the first half. Dunn then assisted on a trey by her classmate McIntire, who also hit the final shot before intermission.
Winchester came out shooting in the third quarter — outscoring Jay County 11-10 in the stanza — going 4-of-8 from the field including a 3-pointer from Roberts, who led the Golden Falcons with seven points.
“This young group we have, even though we’re 0-3, we are making progress,” said Geesaman, whose team is without a senior on its roster. “I really feel like we’re making progress with this group and that’s all we can ask about them.”
Abby Wendel scored 10 of Jay County’s 18 points after the break on her way to a game-high 15 points, an effort her coach was pleased with.
“Abby is just all around a great athlete,” Krieg said of the junior. “Obviously tonight it showed.”
Wendel credited her teammates for the success she had on the court.
“It definitely was one of the better shooting games I’ve had in a while,” she said. She was 4-of-6, including two 3-pointers after intermission. “Obviously you can’t shoot if you don’t get open by your teammates so I have to thank them for the good passes and the good screens so I could get open and hit those shots.”
McIntire and Ault, a freshman, both scored 10 points as four Patriots reached double figures. Muhlenkamp chipped in with six points, and Ava Kunkler had two points to go with her team-high nine rebounds.

Junior varsity
Just like its varsity counterparts, Jay County’s junior varsity team held the Golden Falcons scoreless in the opening period.
They did it in the third quarter also, beating Winchester 49-8.
Katie Beougher made three 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 13 points for Jay County (3-0). Britlyn Dues was a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line as she added seven points. Emily Muhlenkamp and Brianna Muhlenkamp each chipped in with six points.