Survive and advance

YORKTOWN — Tigers can jump on average somewhere between 18 to 20 feet.

For most of the game, the Patriots stood about 21 feet away.

In the final period, they finally pulled further away into safety.

The Jay County High School girls basketball team, which finished 12th in the Class 3A poll voting of the season, squeaked past the host Yorktown Tigers 56-48 Tuesday in the opening round of IHSAA Sectional 24.

The win extends the Jay County (21-2) win streak to 19-consecutive victories and earns it a date with Delta, who they recently beat 60-36, in the early semifinal at 6 p.m. on Friday. On Thursday, Centerville opens against Frankton followed by New Castle battling three-time reigning sectional winner first-ranked Hamilton Heights. The winners of each game will follow the Jay County-Delta semifinal, with the winners of each meeting Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the championship.

The Patriots entered the fourth quarter with just a three-point lead, but a trio of seniors stepped up to take over the game.

“I felt like our defensive intensity picked up and we got a lot of hands on balls,” JCHS coach Sherri McInire said. “We ran our trap out of our 1-2-2 and that was good to us tonight.

“Breanna Dirksen played phenomenal on the defensive end. She got her hands on so many balls and put ball pressure that we needed. We thought that we could get them to turn it over if we put some ball pressure on them and I think that finally helped us in the fourth quarter.”

Working on as a wing defender and at the top of the zone, Dirksen led the Patriots with five steals, including a pair in the fourth quarter that she then converted into assists.

The final period opened with transition buckets by Molly Muhlenkamp and Hallie Schwieterman to push the lead to seven. The Tigers (13-11) quickly responded with a Lilly Sylvester jumper and Olivia Conklin Euro-step.

Jay County followed up with a 10-2 run, powered by Muhlenkamp.

The first point came on a Sophie Saxman free throw before Muhlenkamp pulled off an up-and-under move in transition. Thirty seconds later, Saxman added a bucket by discarding Conklin in transition to push the lead to eight.

Yorktown got a bucket back on a Sylvester jumper, but back-to-back hoops by Muhlenkamp — both were assisted by Dirksen — gave the Patriots their first double-digit lead.

“That run was really huge for us,” said Muhlenkamp, who scored a team-high 16 points. “We knew we had to win or we’re done and we wanted it bad.”

The run capped off with Schwieterman splitting a pair of free throws, making 11 points the largest lead of the game.

While Dirksen stepped up with her defense and Muhlenkamp stepped up offensively, Saxman made an impact with hustle plays in the fourth quarter. 

During the middle of the Patriots’ run, Addison Barnes got downhill toward the rim when Saxman stepped in from the weak side to take a charge, swinging even more momentum in Jay County’s favor.

“She was really good at driving and being fancy,” Saxman said of the Yorktown guard, who was held to seven points after scoring 11 in the first matchup. “There was really no way to stop her except getting in front of her, so I did what I had to do.

JCHS hit 4-of-10 free throws over the final minute as Yorktown could only manage a final shot with five seconds after both teams subbed their benches in.

Slyvester finished as the Tigers’ leading scorer with 20 points on 81.8% shooting (9-of-11) from the field. She took advantage of the Patriots when they were being aggressive defensively, catching the ball on the weak-side elbow and rising up for a jump shot, or ripping through for a layup.

While Slyvester had an efficient game, the rest of Yortkown combined for 11-of-40 (27.5%) and struggled with turnovers, giving away the ball 20 times.

“There were times where we were trying to reverse the ball and we just didn’t make good decisions,” Yorktown coach Leigh Ann Barga said. “A couple more made shots and a couple less turnovers, and we are talking a little bit differently.”

Outside of Muhlenkamp’s 16 points, Schwieterman scored 14 and Saxman added 13.

“All of our seniors, especially Sophie, Molly and Breanna, stepped up and did what they needed to do,” McIntire said. “They’ve been here before and understand that if you get beat you go home and don’t get to play anymore. They definitely want to move on and continue their season.

“So, I’m just real proud of them and their leadership.”