January 30, 2015 at 6:14 p.m.
Patriots fall to Trojans
JCHS misses all six field goals in third quarter
Patriots fall to Trojans
NEW CASTLE — Jay County is usually the team holding opponents without points for extended periods of time.
Thursday night at New Castle Fieldhouse, the Patriots found out what it’s like to be at the other end of a scoring drought.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team went more than eight minutes without a field goal — including the entire third quarter — in a 36-28 loss to the host Trojans.
It was the second time this season the Patriots have lost back-to-back games. They fell to Richmond 51-33 on Tuesday.
“Every quarter at this stage of the game is important,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team scored fewer than 30 points for the third time this season. “We didn’t play very well. We missed a lot of shots around the basket that we’ve got to have.
“We only scored two points in (the third) quarter. The positive, they only scored six.”
Jay County (16-5) trailed 19-14 at halftime, and neither team was able to find the bottom of the net early in the third quarter. After the Patriots missed on consecutive possessions, Laura Thomas of New Castle (14-5) connected on two of her game-high 18 points nearly two minutes into the second half. She swished another shot from the left baseline the next time down the court, and Sarah Downs made a bucket on an assist from Samantha Underwood to push the Trojans’ lead to 25-14 and force Krieg to call a timeout with 2:35 remaining.
Underwood finished with six points — all on 3-pointers — and Downs added five points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
The Patriots continued to struggle after the timeout, turning the ball over on the ensuing possession.
With 51 seconds left in the period, junior Abby Wendel hit a pair of free throws for the Patriots’ first points of the second half, ending a stretch of 8:32 during which the visitors were kept off the scoreboard.
After a 4-of-13 effort from the field in the first half, Jay County missed all six attempts in the third.
“The games that we’ve lost, we’ve kind of had a mental lapse in either the second or third quarter,” said NCHS coach Corie West. “I just preached in the locker room to be focused (and) do what needs to be done.
“The third quarter was big. Defense won this game for us tonight.”
In the fourth, Downs hit a 3-pointer from the left corner to give New Castle its biggest lead of the game, 28-16.
Wendel scored Jay County’s next six points. She benefited from a dish from Catherine Dunn and made two fast-break buckets, cutting the deficit to seven, 29-22.
Wendel finished with a team-high 13 points and had four rebounds.
Underwood answered with a trey from the left wing to push the Trojan lead back to double digits midway through the frame.
Trailing 34-26 in the final two minutes, the Patriots missed four consecutive free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one on two separate occasions.
“Our free throws down the stretch, they have won us ball games,” said Krieg. The Patriots were 9-of-16 from the charity stripe. “It hurt us tonight. We come up (to the line) down by eight and miss two front ends of one-and-ones.
“That’s huge. That’s four points we don’t have at the foul line.”
But Krieg was proud of his team for not giving up down the stretch when the game wasn’t going its way.
“They battle. They fight hard,” said Krieg, whose team hosts Heritage on Saturday for the regular season Allen County Athletic Conference championship. “They are very, very competitive and they want to win.
“I wish we would play a little smarter throughout the game.”
Junior varsity
Audrey Shreve scored six points in the opening quarter en route to a game-high 11 points as the Patriots defeated the Trojans, 36-26.
Jay County led 12-6 after the opening quarter, and pushed its lead to 11 heading into halftime. It went point-for-point with New Castle in the third quarter, and kept the advantage in double digits for the remainder of the game.
Betsy Muhlenkamp followed Shreve with eight points, and Emily Muhlenkamp chipped in with six points. Kyndal Miller scored five points, and Briana Muhlenkamp, Katie Beougher and Britlyn Dues had two points apiece.
Jacie Keontz led New Castle with nine points.
Thursday night at New Castle Fieldhouse, the Patriots found out what it’s like to be at the other end of a scoring drought.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team went more than eight minutes without a field goal — including the entire third quarter — in a 36-28 loss to the host Trojans.
It was the second time this season the Patriots have lost back-to-back games. They fell to Richmond 51-33 on Tuesday.
“Every quarter at this stage of the game is important,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg, whose team scored fewer than 30 points for the third time this season. “We didn’t play very well. We missed a lot of shots around the basket that we’ve got to have.
“We only scored two points in (the third) quarter. The positive, they only scored six.”
Jay County (16-5) trailed 19-14 at halftime, and neither team was able to find the bottom of the net early in the third quarter. After the Patriots missed on consecutive possessions, Laura Thomas of New Castle (14-5) connected on two of her game-high 18 points nearly two minutes into the second half. She swished another shot from the left baseline the next time down the court, and Sarah Downs made a bucket on an assist from Samantha Underwood to push the Trojans’ lead to 25-14 and force Krieg to call a timeout with 2:35 remaining.
Underwood finished with six points — all on 3-pointers — and Downs added five points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
The Patriots continued to struggle after the timeout, turning the ball over on the ensuing possession.
With 51 seconds left in the period, junior Abby Wendel hit a pair of free throws for the Patriots’ first points of the second half, ending a stretch of 8:32 during which the visitors were kept off the scoreboard.
After a 4-of-13 effort from the field in the first half, Jay County missed all six attempts in the third.
“The games that we’ve lost, we’ve kind of had a mental lapse in either the second or third quarter,” said NCHS coach Corie West. “I just preached in the locker room to be focused (and) do what needs to be done.
“The third quarter was big. Defense won this game for us tonight.”
In the fourth, Downs hit a 3-pointer from the left corner to give New Castle its biggest lead of the game, 28-16.
Wendel scored Jay County’s next six points. She benefited from a dish from Catherine Dunn and made two fast-break buckets, cutting the deficit to seven, 29-22.
Wendel finished with a team-high 13 points and had four rebounds.
Underwood answered with a trey from the left wing to push the Trojan lead back to double digits midway through the frame.
Trailing 34-26 in the final two minutes, the Patriots missed four consecutive free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one on two separate occasions.
“Our free throws down the stretch, they have won us ball games,” said Krieg. The Patriots were 9-of-16 from the charity stripe. “It hurt us tonight. We come up (to the line) down by eight and miss two front ends of one-and-ones.
“That’s huge. That’s four points we don’t have at the foul line.”
But Krieg was proud of his team for not giving up down the stretch when the game wasn’t going its way.
“They battle. They fight hard,” said Krieg, whose team hosts Heritage on Saturday for the regular season Allen County Athletic Conference championship. “They are very, very competitive and they want to win.
“I wish we would play a little smarter throughout the game.”
Junior varsity
Audrey Shreve scored six points in the opening quarter en route to a game-high 11 points as the Patriots defeated the Trojans, 36-26.
Jay County led 12-6 after the opening quarter, and pushed its lead to 11 heading into halftime. It went point-for-point with New Castle in the third quarter, and kept the advantage in double digits for the remainder of the game.
Betsy Muhlenkamp followed Shreve with eight points, and Emily Muhlenkamp chipped in with six points. Kyndal Miller scored five points, and Briana Muhlenkamp, Katie Beougher and Britlyn Dues had two points apiece.
Jacie Keontz led New Castle with nine points.
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