January 15, 2017 at 5:41 a.m.
Three-peat!
Jay County girls basketball team wins third-straight ACAC tournament championship
Three-peat!
BERNE — There was no slow start. A third-quarter surge wasn’t necessary, either.
(But the Patriots had one just in case).
And the conference newcomers continued their dominance over the tournament.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team won its third consecutive Allen County Athletic Conference tournament championship by defeating the Woodlan Warriors 59-37 Saturday in StarDome at South Adams.
Taylor Homan, a JCHS senior who was named the Hilliard Gates Most Valuable Player, wasn’t able to describe which of the three conference titles was best.
But she had one word to describe her last.
Bittersweet.
Homan scored 13 points to lead the Patriots (12-7), who become the first team to win the tournament title in three straight seasons since Heritage did it from 2005 to ’07.
“Getting the MVP award is kind of fun so I really like that,” said Homan, whose six rebounds were tied for the team lead with classmate Emily Muhlenkamp.
“I love all my teammates,” she said. “All three years it’s been great. I’ve had great teammates that have been great leaders to look up to and to kind of follow in their footsteps.”
She spoke of 2015 graduate Catherine Dunn, who won the MVP in her senior year. Homan also mentioned Abby Wendel, a 2016 JCHS graduate who earned the honor in leading the team to back-to-back championships a year ago.
(But the Patriots had one just in case).
And the conference newcomers continued their dominance over the tournament.
Jay County High School’s girls basketball team won its third consecutive Allen County Athletic Conference tournament championship by defeating the Woodlan Warriors 59-37 Saturday in StarDome at South Adams.
Taylor Homan, a JCHS senior who was named the Hilliard Gates Most Valuable Player, wasn’t able to describe which of the three conference titles was best.
But she had one word to describe her last.
Bittersweet.
Homan scored 13 points to lead the Patriots (12-7), who become the first team to win the tournament title in three straight seasons since Heritage did it from 2005 to ’07.
“Getting the MVP award is kind of fun so I really like that,” said Homan, whose six rebounds were tied for the team lead with classmate Emily Muhlenkamp.
“I love all my teammates,” she said. “All three years it’s been great. I’ve had great teammates that have been great leaders to look up to and to kind of follow in their footsteps.”
She spoke of 2015 graduate Catherine Dunn, who won the MVP in her senior year. Homan also mentioned Abby Wendel, a 2016 JCHS graduate who earned the honor in leading the team to back-to-back championships a year ago.
“It’s been fun,” Homan said. “I’ve had a great group of girls to work with.”
Muhlenkamp finished with four points, but her first basket in the opening quarter gave Jay County a 5-4 lead that it never gave up. The Patriots led 26-18 at halftime and used a 12-0 run in the third quarter — all the while holding the Warriors to six points in the period — to create more separation.
“I felt a lot better in the second half once we were able to spread them out and use our quickness,” JCHS coach Kirk Comer said. “We were able to get to the paint and get some easy baskets.”
Kendra Muhlenkamp was responsible for four of those baskets, three of which were on designed plays. The sophomore stood near midcourt with her teammates at each corner of the offensive zone. Muhlenkamp drove to the right around her defender, and when a Woodlan player guarding her teammate in the corner didn’t provide help, Muhlenkamp simply drove the basket for the layup.
“I’ve been seeing that all year in practice,” Comer said of the youngster, who finished with a career-high 10 points, including a fast-break layup after a turnover during the fourth quarter. “I was glad to see her bring it out on the floor tonight. She is playing with a lot more confidence.”
Kendra Muhlenkamp scored twice during the 12-0 run, with Britlyn Dues adding a basket and two free throws and Emily Muhlenkamp and Hanna Ault each adding buckets.
Dues finished second on the team with a dozen points and Ault had eight.
Jay County led 43-24 heading into the final period, and after a Rain Hinton basket to start the fourth quarter it pushed the lead past 20 by scoring seven consecutive points. Kendra Muhlenkamp had an old fashioned three-point play and a fast-break bucket sandwiched around a Dues layup in the paint.
Woodlan’s Addie Bayman had a layup and a foul shot of her own until two free throws from Homan and a baseline jumper from Shreve gave Jay County its biggest lead of the championship game, 54-29, with more than four minutes to play.
“You just keep working hard,” Homan said of what it was like to have a lead for almost the entire game rather than having to fight to keep it after intermission. It has been the theme for JCHS in the tournament. “We had a great first half, which has been better because we’ve had slow starts.”
Hinton led the Warriors with 14 points, seven of which came during the fourth quarter. The 5-foot, 10-inch, senior got in foul trouble during the first half, and the Patriots often double- and triple-teamed her to make sure nothing came easy. Hinton also had a game-high eight rebounds.
“I was really proud of the girls,” said Comer, whose team defeated Heritage on Tuesday and South Adams on Friday to reach the tournament championship. “They came in here on a mission and they weren’t going to get beat. From the start to the finish of the tournament they wanted to prove they were the best team and they did that
Muhlenkamp finished with four points, but her first basket in the opening quarter gave Jay County a 5-4 lead that it never gave up. The Patriots led 26-18 at halftime and used a 12-0 run in the third quarter — all the while holding the Warriors to six points in the period — to create more separation.
“I felt a lot better in the second half once we were able to spread them out and use our quickness,” JCHS coach Kirk Comer said. “We were able to get to the paint and get some easy baskets.”
Kendra Muhlenkamp was responsible for four of those baskets, three of which were on designed plays. The sophomore stood near midcourt with her teammates at each corner of the offensive zone. Muhlenkamp drove to the right around her defender, and when a Woodlan player guarding her teammate in the corner didn’t provide help, Muhlenkamp simply drove the basket for the layup.
“I’ve been seeing that all year in practice,” Comer said of the youngster, who finished with a career-high 10 points, including a fast-break layup after a turnover during the fourth quarter. “I was glad to see her bring it out on the floor tonight. She is playing with a lot more confidence.”
Kendra Muhlenkamp scored twice during the 12-0 run, with Britlyn Dues adding a basket and two free throws and Emily Muhlenkamp and Hanna Ault each adding buckets.
Dues finished second on the team with a dozen points and Ault had eight.
Jay County led 43-24 heading into the final period, and after a Rain Hinton basket to start the fourth quarter it pushed the lead past 20 by scoring seven consecutive points. Kendra Muhlenkamp had an old fashioned three-point play and a fast-break bucket sandwiched around a Dues layup in the paint.
Woodlan’s Addie Bayman had a layup and a foul shot of her own until two free throws from Homan and a baseline jumper from Shreve gave Jay County its biggest lead of the championship game, 54-29, with more than four minutes to play.
“You just keep working hard,” Homan said of what it was like to have a lead for almost the entire game rather than having to fight to keep it after intermission. It has been the theme for JCHS in the tournament. “We had a great first half, which has been better because we’ve had slow starts.”
Hinton led the Warriors with 14 points, seven of which came during the fourth quarter. The 5-foot, 10-inch, senior got in foul trouble during the first half, and the Patriots often double- and triple-teamed her to make sure nothing came easy. Hinton also had a game-high eight rebounds.
“I was really proud of the girls,” said Comer, whose team defeated Heritage on Tuesday and South Adams on Friday to reach the tournament championship. “They came in here on a mission and they weren’t going to get beat. From the start to the finish of the tournament they wanted to prove they were the best team and they did that
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