November 27, 2021 at 4:40 a.m.
Woodburn-ed
Spurt, tight defense after halftime carries Patriots past Warriors
Woodburn-ed
WOODBURN — The Patriots made a run in the second quarter.
Then they slowed down the highest-scoring Warrior in the second half.
A 10-0 run before halftime gave the Jay County High School girls basketball team a lead and they kept Dakotah Krohn in check for more than 12 minutes in a 46-43 victory Friday in the Allen County Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
“They are a good basketball team,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team improves to 4-2 (1-0 ACAC). “We’ve been battling some illness and it took all we had to come out with a victory.”
Woodlan (4-2, 0-1 ACAC), which was riding a three-game winning streak, led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter and was ahead 20-17 past the midway point of the second quarter.
Madison Dirksen scored on a Renna Schwieterman assist with 2:48 remaining in the half, starting a 10-0 JCHS spurt. Gabi Bilbrey made a pair of free throws to give Jay County a 21-20 lead.
Comer called a timeout with 1:36 to go before half and asked his players if they wanted to hold the ball and carry the one-point lead into halftime or create a little bit of separation.
The Patriots chose the latter, Schwieterman fired a 3-pointer from the right wing and, after a Warrior miss, Dirksen connected for a triple to cap the run.
“It was big,” said Comer, noting the team’s decision to keep up the pressure.
“Kudos to them to have the confidence to make that call.”
Woodlan senior Dakotah Krohn, who was averaging 15 points per game with seven made threes on the season, spent most of the second quarter on the bench in foul trouble.
But in the third, she hit 3-pointers on consecutive Woodlan possessions, cutting the Jay County lead to one point from a 31-24 advantage with 4:25 to play in the period.
They were Krohn’s fourth and fifth threes, respectively, to give her 16 points for the night.
At that time, Comer switched to a box-and-one defense, putting Breanna Dirksen, and subsequently Sophie Saxman, on Krohn to follow her around the court.
Krohn didn’t score again.
“I thought we did a good job defensively,” Comer said. “I felt like we were going to have to do something to change things defensively and that’s what it was.”
Jay County went on a 9-0 run that covered more than three minutes in the second half to go up 44-33 with 2:20 to play, but the offense mostly fizzled from there.
Woodlan, meanwhile, scored seven points on a Olivia Baumert 3-pointer, two free throws from Taylor Kneubuhler and a layup from Avah Smith to make it 44-40 with 7.2 seconds to play.
Schwieterman then made a pair of free throws ahead of Baumert making a 3-pointer at the final horn, giving Jay County the win against the ACAC team that has given it fits in previous seasons.
“Every game is important in the league,” Comer said. “We start out 1-0. It’s tough to be conference champs if you get a loss. We try to come out each conference game and obviously try to get a W.”
Schwieterman, who did not score in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 21 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Madison Dirksen was second with 11 points, and Bilbrey chipped in nine points — seven in the first half.
Woodlan finished 15-of-38 (39.5%), including a 10-for-23 clip (43.5%) from the 3-point line.
Four Warriors each scored six points in support of Krohn, and Avah Smith pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
“I was disappointed with us offensively,” Comer said. “We’re still struggling offensively, but we beat a good team tonight on their floor. Renna has been battling sickness and she showed a lot of guts tonight by gutting it out.”
Junior varsity
Molly Muhlenkamp made a 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds remaining but Jay County couldn’t get off another shot on its final possession in a 38-37 loss to Woodlan.
The Patriots trailed 8-7 at the end of the first quarter and were down 18-16 at half.
Woodlan pulled away in the second half, eventually leading by six before Jay County’s comeback bid fell short.
Muhlenkamp led all players with 14 points, six of which came during the fourth quarter. Daisy Muhlenkamp finished with seven points and Bella Denton ended with six points.
Savanna Grabner led the Warriors with 11 points.
Then they slowed down the highest-scoring Warrior in the second half.
A 10-0 run before halftime gave the Jay County High School girls basketball team a lead and they kept Dakotah Krohn in check for more than 12 minutes in a 46-43 victory Friday in the Allen County Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
“They are a good basketball team,” said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team improves to 4-2 (1-0 ACAC). “We’ve been battling some illness and it took all we had to come out with a victory.”
Woodlan (4-2, 0-1 ACAC), which was riding a three-game winning streak, led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter and was ahead 20-17 past the midway point of the second quarter.
Madison Dirksen scored on a Renna Schwieterman assist with 2:48 remaining in the half, starting a 10-0 JCHS spurt. Gabi Bilbrey made a pair of free throws to give Jay County a 21-20 lead.
Comer called a timeout with 1:36 to go before half and asked his players if they wanted to hold the ball and carry the one-point lead into halftime or create a little bit of separation.
The Patriots chose the latter, Schwieterman fired a 3-pointer from the right wing and, after a Warrior miss, Dirksen connected for a triple to cap the run.
“It was big,” said Comer, noting the team’s decision to keep up the pressure.
“Kudos to them to have the confidence to make that call.”
Woodlan senior Dakotah Krohn, who was averaging 15 points per game with seven made threes on the season, spent most of the second quarter on the bench in foul trouble.
But in the third, she hit 3-pointers on consecutive Woodlan possessions, cutting the Jay County lead to one point from a 31-24 advantage with 4:25 to play in the period.
They were Krohn’s fourth and fifth threes, respectively, to give her 16 points for the night.
At that time, Comer switched to a box-and-one defense, putting Breanna Dirksen, and subsequently Sophie Saxman, on Krohn to follow her around the court.
Krohn didn’t score again.
“I thought we did a good job defensively,” Comer said. “I felt like we were going to have to do something to change things defensively and that’s what it was.”
Jay County went on a 9-0 run that covered more than three minutes in the second half to go up 44-33 with 2:20 to play, but the offense mostly fizzled from there.
Woodlan, meanwhile, scored seven points on a Olivia Baumert 3-pointer, two free throws from Taylor Kneubuhler and a layup from Avah Smith to make it 44-40 with 7.2 seconds to play.
Schwieterman then made a pair of free throws ahead of Baumert making a 3-pointer at the final horn, giving Jay County the win against the ACAC team that has given it fits in previous seasons.
“Every game is important in the league,” Comer said. “We start out 1-0. It’s tough to be conference champs if you get a loss. We try to come out each conference game and obviously try to get a W.”
Schwieterman, who did not score in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 21 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Madison Dirksen was second with 11 points, and Bilbrey chipped in nine points — seven in the first half.
Woodlan finished 15-of-38 (39.5%), including a 10-for-23 clip (43.5%) from the 3-point line.
Four Warriors each scored six points in support of Krohn, and Avah Smith pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
“I was disappointed with us offensively,” Comer said. “We’re still struggling offensively, but we beat a good team tonight on their floor. Renna has been battling sickness and she showed a lot of guts tonight by gutting it out.”
Junior varsity
Molly Muhlenkamp made a 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds remaining but Jay County couldn’t get off another shot on its final possession in a 38-37 loss to Woodlan.
The Patriots trailed 8-7 at the end of the first quarter and were down 18-16 at half.
Woodlan pulled away in the second half, eventually leading by six before Jay County’s comeback bid fell short.
Muhlenkamp led all players with 14 points, six of which came during the fourth quarter. Daisy Muhlenkamp finished with seven points and Bella Denton ended with six points.
Savanna Grabner led the Warriors with 11 points.
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