Hanging on

PENDLETON — The Patriots slowly watched their lead shrivel away.

Ball pressure, turnovers and offensive rebounds were killing them in the middle of the game.

Down the stretch, coach Sherri McIntire put her trust in the freshman and it paid off.

The ball was in the hands of Hallie Schwieterman late in the Jay County High School girls basketball team’s 59-53 triumph over the Pendleton Heights Arabians on Thursday.

“I’m super proud of our kids and super excited,” McIntire said. “That’s a huge win. Definitely a confidence booster.”

Pendleton Heights (10-5) had all of the momentum starting off the fourth quarter. An early put-back from Brea Perry and a transition bucket by Kaycie Warfel gave the Arabians their first lead of the game with 3 minutes, 28 seconds left to play.

Being held scoreless for the first four minutes of the final period, Jay County (13-2) needed to find a way to put points on the board. It finally did that when Meredith Dirksen was sent to the free throw line for bonus shots, with the junior draining both to regain a 49-48 lead.

The Patriots would not relinquish their lead again.

With guard Breanna Dirksen in foul trouble and the team struggling with turnovers, McIntire turned to Schwieterman to be the primary ball handler late in the game.

“She’s no longer a freshman in my eyes,” McIntire said. “She continues to get better and better each night. …

“Early she wasn’t always making the right decisions, and I think she’s getting more confident in making the right decisions. …

“She could have folded, but she was right in there battling with the upperclassmen.”

Schwieterman assisted the only basket that Jay County made in the fourth quarter, driving into the lane to draw Adah Hupfer up to hit Denton with an easy layup.

The freshman also nailed all four fourth-quarter free throws, including a pair with 10.9 seconds left to push the Patriots’ lead to six and solidify the win.

“Me and my dad actually just went out and shot free throws, but I had no idea this was going to be this kind of game at all,” Schwieterman said. “The crowd is cheering because they think you’re going to make it and they are trying to get you to not make it. Using that, having that in your head and going up confident helps so much.”

Schwieterman finished the game 9-for-9 on free throws, with a three, a pull-up and a layup for a team-high 16 points.

JCHS sank 10-of-12 free throws in the final period.

The Patriots built an early lead by outsourcing PHSH 17-2 in the first quarter. The Arabians didn’t crack the scoring column until there was 22 seconds left, when Mamie Trout got to the free throw line.

Pendleton Heights coach Nick Rodgers was disappointed with his team’s hustle in the first period, stating he felt nearly every loose ball went the way of the Patriots.

The largest lead came at the 5:38 mark when a Molly Muhlenkamp pull-up jumper gave it 16 points of separation at 25-9.

The Arabians clawed their way back into the game by putting pressure on Jay County’s ball handlers and creating turnovers, as well as aggressively attacking the offensive glass.

Of Pendleton Heights’ 21 field goals, six came off of turnovers and five on offensive rebounds.

“It’s one of those things where we scrapped and were able to make plays,” Rodgers said. “I’ll be honest, with it being break and not having the legs, I didn’t know if we’d be able to dig out.

“So to be able to dig out and have it where we took the lead, it’ll make us better in January and February.”

The Patriots also got strong offensive performances from Molly Muhlenkamp (14) and Bella Denton (11). The entire cast filled their roles in the victory with Schwieterman and Sophie Samxan pulling in six rebounds, Breanna Dirksen dishing out six assists, Muhlenkamp sending back four shots and Breanna Dirksen picking off five passes.

“They’re a good ball club,” Rodgers said. “Schwieterman is going to be like her sister and they have so many role players that are champions in their role.”

The win was one of the biggest for McIntire in her first year, being able to take down an opponent that was favored to beat her team.

“That’s a huge confidence booster, beating a team that we weren’t supposed to,” McIntire said. “They are higher than us in the Sagrin ratings … nobody thought we would win this game, but they believed and gutted it out.”

Junior varsity

The Patriots held on in a low scoring affair against Pendleton Heights for a 20-18 win in two quarters.

Jay County (6-7) was just one bucket better in the first quarter, winning the period 10-8.

Raylah Newton scored six of her nine points in the opening frame. Natalie Carreno matched Newton’s nine points, scoring seven of them in the second.

Alexis Sibray had the only other basket for Jay County.

Claire Sorrells was the Arabians’ leading scorer, tallying six points on a pair of threes.