Strong defense

DECATUR — The Patriots once again needed to find some offense with their leading scorer out in foul trouble.

Fortunately their defense made sure not much scoring was necessary.

Jay County High School’s girls basketball team kept the Bellmont Braves to just five first-half points, including a stretch of more than nine minutes without a bucket, in a 44-19 victory Friday.

“I thought defensively we did a good job when Renna (Schwieterman) picked up her second foul and had to go to the bench,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose Class 3A No. 8 Patriots improved to 3-1 and travel to take on Class 2A No. 10 Winchester tonight at Winchester Fieldhouse. “I don’t think we did as well the first time that happened. Obviously we want Renna out on the floor as much as possible but I thought the girls really stepped it up.

“I thought it was a well-played first half.”

Bellmont’s Kenzie Fuelling split a pair of free throws with 2:28 left in the first quarter, and on the ensuing possession Schwieterman was called for a charge, her second foul of the game.

Coincidentally, though, that Fuelling basket was the last of the first period for the Braves and they didn’t score again until the final minute of the half.

With Schwieterman out, Jay County scored 19 consecutive points. Izzy Rodgers made two technical free throws after the Braves had too many players on the court, and Mabrey McIntire scored as the buzzer sounded.

Madison Dirksen, who led all players with 15 points, converted back-to-back jumpers on inside-out passes from Breanna Dirksen.

Rodgers had two more points in the run, while McIntire drained a triple from the left wing. Madison Dirksen (two points) and Gabi Bilbrey also found the bottom of the net for points.

Bellmont, meanwhile, didn’t record a basket until there was 45 seconds left in the first half. The Braves went into intermission shooting 12.5 percent (2-of-18) from the field and didn’t end the night much better.

“We’ve really been working this week at getting out on the shooters and contesting,” Comer said. Bellmont finished 6-for-39 (15.4%), including a 1-for-18 clip (5.3%) from long range. “Tonight we wanted to get out and contest the threes because they can get out and shoot the ball. We didn’t think the dribble penetration would hurt as much.

“I thought we did a really good job for about 15 to 16 minutes of really playing good defense, which is the way we’ve been practicing. I talked to the girls at the end about taking pride in their defense. If we can become as good defensively as we are offensively, we’re going to be a really tough team to beat.”

One thing Comer was disappointed in, however, was the intensity of how his team played during the second half. Jay County had its highest scoring quarter in the third (16 points) but managed just one point — a Cash Hollowell free throw with less than two minutes to play — over the final eight minutes.

“Coming out (in the second half) with Renna on the floor, we’re up 22 points in the first half with Renna not on the floor and then we come back with our leading scorer and we’re not playing with the same intensity,” Comer said. “For 32 minutes it’s about us getting better. The second half, we just didn’t play with the same intensity. The second half was 17-14. That’s not acceptable.”

Dirksen was the only Patriot player to reach double figures. Rodgers finished with nine points, while Schwieterman ended with eight points and Bilbrey had six.

Breanna Dirksen didn’t show up on the score sheet, but her effectiveness was shown elsewhere. With Schwieterman out, she played a majority of the second quarter and even dished three assists. She also hauled in seven rebounds, second on the team only to Bilbrey’s eight.

“I think she’s just starting to get back to the Breanna we had last year with her confidence,” Comer said. “She’s a really good player, a steady player. She’s a good shooter, we just need to get her to shoot the ball when she has a good shot.”



Junior varsity

Jay County got outscored 10-6 in the second quarter and wasn’t able to catch up in a 34-31 loss to Bellmont.

The Patriots (1-3) went point-for-point with the Braves in the opening quarter but went into intermission down 18-14. The Braves continued to pull away in the third quarter, and held off a small rally by JCHS down the stretch.

Meredith Dirksen led Jay County with nine points, while Daisy Mulenkamp and Cassie Petro had six points each. Molly Muhlenkamp and Bella Denton both scored four points.