JC girls advance; boys fall again

MONROE — The Patriot girls found themselves in an unusual situation Friday. They were trailing.

It was a circumstance that didn’t last long.

For the boys, it was more of the same.

The Jay County High School girls basketball team gave up the opening basket in their Allen County Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game before rolling to a 56-29 over the host Adams Central Jets.

The Patriot boys had another rough start that led to a 50-35 loss to Class 2A No. 10 Adams Central as they dropped out of the tournament with their seventh consecutive loss.

Jay County’s girls (16-2), who have won 14 in a row, advance to tonight’s championship game at 6 p.m. at South Adams to take on Woodlan, which defeated Bluffton 47-37 in Friday’s semifinal round. They beat the Warriors 60-53 on Nov. 24. It will be the girls ninth appearance in the title game in their 10 years in the ACAC and they will be looking for their fourth straight conference championship.

The boys championship will follow with Adams Central taking on Heritage, which edged Bluffton 37-35 in Friday’s semifinal.

The Patriot girls gave up the opening basket of the game, but quickly reclaimed a 4-2 lead. They were up just one when Athena Schwartz hit a 3-pointer late in the first quarter before Schwieterman responded with a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds. 

The freshman’s triple started a 12-0 run for the Patriots, with Bella Denton scoring the first two hoops of the second quarter, Molly Muhlenkamp coming up with a steal and pair of free throws and Sophie Saxman scoring off of a steal.

Jay County was in firm control with a 28-14 lead at halftime and stretched the advantage to 24-points after three quarters.

Saxman continued her hot streak, leading the Patriots with 19 points. (Her career high is 20 in last week’s 40-24 win over Bluffton.) She has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games, averaging 16 points per game over that span.

Muhlenkamp continued to enjoy playing the Jets. She followed Saxman with 18 points after pouring in a career-high 21 in Jay County’s 62-26 victory on Dec. 8.

Denton and Schwieterman followed with seven points apiece for the Patriots, who shot 48% over the final three quarters after hitting for just 25% in the first.

Schwartz was the only Adams Central player to reach double figures, scoring 10 points. Kate Fisher added six.

Jay County’s boys had a pattern continue as they struggled to find offense in the opening quarter against the Jets. They turned the ball over eight times and made just one of their eight field-goal attempts.

Isaac Schultz, who had 32 points in Adams Central’s 66-45 win last week over the Patriots, scored the game’s first points on a pair of free throws. Micah McClure followed with a 3-pointer, Schultz scored on a put-back and Ryan Tester hit a triple for a 10-0 advantage.

The Jets were up 16-2 at the quarter break and 27-14 at halftime. They pushed their advantage to 24 points on back-to-back dunks by Schultz and Trace Maller en route to their fifth consecutive win.

Schultz finished with 22 points for Adams Central, which shot 53% after the intermission. McClure followed with 13 points and Maller had eight.

The lone loss for the Jets this season came against Bellmont, which finished 11th in this week’s Associated Press Class 3A poll voting.

Jay County also had two players — Liam Garringer with 15 points and Gradin Swoveland with 11 — score in double figures. But no one else on the squad had more than four.

It’s been almost a month and a half since the Patriots’ last victory, a 55-42 win over Woodlan on Dec. 1. The job won’t get any easier Tuesday as they host Class 2A No. 3 Bishop Luers (9-1).