Jay routs Burris for 15th win

The Patriots were just too much for the Owls on both ends of the court.
Jay County gave up just one point in the first half and rolled to a 67-10 victory over Muncie Burris on Thursday.
“Games like this are hard to play,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team has won six straight games for the second time this season. “What we wanted to focus on was defense and then being patient, taking great shots and finishing around the basket.
“For the most part, I’m pleased with the girls for that.”
Jay County (15-3) scored the first 28 points of the game, during which all seven full-time varsity players got on the board. Senior Bre McIntire and sophomore Taylor Homan led the way with six points each during the run, followed by five from freshman Hanna Ault and four from senior Catherine Dunn.
Burris (4-13) turned the ball over eight times in the opening quarter and missed all five of its shot attempts. The struggles on the offensive end for the Owls turned into easy opportunities for the Patriots on the other side of the court
“Credit Jay County for their defense,” said BHS coach Tom Lindsey, whose team has dropped four consecutive games for the second time this year. “I told the girls before the game how they were going to play defense, and our girls didn’t execute it.
“I knew they’d be switching off and be aggressive with that.”
Jay County, which led 24-0 after the opening quarter, eased off the pressure in the second quarter while Burris still had a difficult time hanging on to the basketball. The Owls had six more turnovers in the frame, and didn’t get their first point until the 6:36 mark of the period. Burris senior Alyssa Peters split a pair of free throws for her team’s first point.
The Patriots went on another run, scoring the next eight points on a 3-pointer by Lyla Muhlenkamp — she was 3-of-5 from behind the line — an old-fashioned three-point play by Dunn and a jumper by Abby Wendel.
Dunn added three more points in the second half and finished with a game-high 10. Muhlenkamp totaled a career-high nine points. Twelve of the 13 Patriots that saw the court scored at least two points.
Krieg began to take out the starters in the third quarter as his team had a 36-1 lead to start the second half. Even then, Burris had a difficult time finding the bottom of the hoop. It scored three points on free throws, making it 39-4 Jay County. After the Patriots scored the next four points, Peters made a shot from the right block with 3:47 left in the third quarter for the first Burris field goal.
“It was a tough game,” Lindsey said. “I knew our girls were going to be overmatched.”
In the fourth quarter, Jay County’s reserves were efficient on the offensive end of the court. The Patriots were 8-of-13 from the field and scored 21 points in the final eight minutes, taking advantage of a Burris team that appeared as if it just wanted the game to end quickly.
Patriot sophomore Kyndal Miller scored all six of her points in the final quarter. Miller controlled the area under the hoop, netting two hard-earned buckets in the paint on offensive rebounds and another two from the free-throw line.
Betsy Muhlenkamp added four of her six points in the final period. Freshman Briana Muhlenkamp hit a 3-pointer in front of the Patriot bench for her first varsity points, Britlyn Dues added two points on a put-back and Audrey Shreve hit a 3-pointer from the left wing.
All the while, Jay County’s starters were loudly cheering on their teammates as they extended the lead.
“That’s what I love about this group of girls, they’re there for each other,” said Krieg. “They’re really good friends (and) they do a lot of stuff together as a team.
“It’s good for (the reserves) because their job is to prepare us to play every night, and when they get on the court (the starters) are their biggest supporters.”

Junior varsity
Jay County got out to an early lead behind eight first-quarter points by Shreve, and it just built on its advantage in a 24-14 victory against the visiting Yorktown Tigers.
The Patriots (14-1) limited the Tigers to just one point in the second quarter and two points in the third, and took a 20-7 lead into the final quarter.
Shreve led all players with 10 points. Emily Muhlenkamp and Dues both had four points. Katie Beougher chipped in with three points, and Briana Muhlenkamp added two.