2nd half shift

WOODBURN — The Patriots gave up 36 first-half points.

Taylor Kneubuhler was responsible for 16 of those.

A defensive change sought to slow her down.

She never scored again.

Jay County High School’s girls basketball team blanked Woodlan’s leading scorer in the second half Friday and her teammates struggled for a long stretch to fill the void as the Patriots handed the Warriors their first defeat of the year, 60-53.

“I was very pleased,” said JCHS coach Sherri McIntire, whose team finished tied for 15th with Scottsburg (6-1) in the most recent Class 3A Associated Press poll voting. “We were tied and I didn’t really feel like we played fantastic in the first half. We made some adjustments defensively. We were able to stop the Kneubuhler girl in the second half. That was a big key.”

While the Patriots (4-2, 1-0 Allen County Athletic Conference) gave up their highest scoring total in a half — they entered the game allowing only an average of 41 points per game — they were still tied going into the intermission.

McIntire shifted defensive strategies, putting Molly Muhlenkamp on Taylor Kneubuhler in a box-and-one for most of the second half. (Sophie Saxman also saw spot minutes on the Warriors’ leader.)

The complexion of the game changed completely, as after an early hoop Woodlan (4-1, 0-1 ACAC) went four and a half minutes without scoring. The home team opened the third quarter by missing 10 of its first 11 shots.

“Jay County had a lot to do with that,” said Woodlan coach Dave Randall. “That box-and-one scrambled us quite a bit. That’s just good coaching. That’s a tribute to the Jay County girls, who are super scrappy.

“Those girls know how to win. I mean, Jay County has run this conference for many years, and it shows. They’re not anxious to give that up yet.

“That’s basketball. Sometimes shots aren’t falling.”

Woodlan clawed back to within two points following a Brooke Kneubuhler triple to start the fourth quarter, but the Patriots responded with an 8-0 run with hoops from Breanna Dirksen, Bella Denton, Saxman and Muhlenkamp. Five consecutive points from Brooke Kneubuhler got the Warriors within four and they got the ball back after a Muhlenkamp miss. But they were off the mark on a pair of shots, and JCHS was able to put the game away at the free-throw line.

Freshman Hallie Schwieterman and Muhlenkamp paired to lead a balanced Patriots’ attack with 15 points apiece. Saxman scored 13 and Breanna Dirksen came through with 10 to give JCHS four players in double figures.

“That was just a lot of moving the ball around and working it well,” said Muhlenkamp. “The passing was great.”

“Breanna Dirksen played more minutes than I really wanted her to,” added McIntire, noting that the senior guard had missed three days of practice this week because of an illness. “She showed a lot of toughness to be able to play the game that she played tonight.”

The game was the ACAC opener for both teams, which are expected to be among the trio in contention for the league title. (Bluffton, currently 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference, is the other.) It was a tight battle throughout the first half, with Woodlan leading 19-18 at the quarter break and pushing its advantage to six points in the second quarter. The Patriots came back to push ahead 35-32 before the home team evened the score at halftime.

A Muhlenkamp free throw gave Jay County the lead at the beginning of the third quarter before Brooke Kneubuhler made it 38-37 Warriors. It was the home team’s final lead of the game, as the Patriots scored the next nine points in a row.

Brooke Kneubuhler made four 3-pointers, including two in the final period, to finish with a game-high 17 points.

Taylor Kneubuhler rarely got a shot off after halftime as Muhlekamp locked her down. Alix Jacquay scored seven points, and Mariah Thullner added six.

Junior varsity

In one half of action, Jay County suffered a 25-9 loss to the Warriors.

Meredith Dirksen led the way with four points for the Patriots, who were shut out in the second quarter. Alexis Sibray added three points.

Addison Klotz had seven points for Woodlan to lead all scorers. Eve Eager followed with six points.