Schwieterman swamps South Side

FORT WAYNE — The Patriots entered the season with some question marks after bringing back just 24.8% of their points from a season ago.

The biggest question: Can the players new to varsity step up?

The first three points of the season opener came from a familiar source as Hallie Schwieterman made a pair of trips to the free-throw line.

Two possessions later, Patriot fans may have gotten some answers to the big question as Gabi Petro ripped off back-to-back jump shots to support Schwieterman’s start.

While Petro and a handful of other freshmen provided support, Schwieterman showed why she’s the team’s leader.

The Patriot sophomore scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Jay County High School girls basketball team to a 60-40 victory over the South Side Archers on Tuesday.

“I’m just very pleased with the kids,” said JCHS coach Sherri McIntire. “To come into this environment and play a team that’s so aggressive defensively, and very athletic, obviously we had turnovers, but we were able to hold on and hold onto our composure. To come out with a win in this environment, just very pleased with the kids and their effort.”

Jay County’s sole returner from the 2023-24 rotation, Schwieterman, played a key role in the winning effort. The point guard scored a career-high 27 points and dished out five assists that made her responsible for 40 of the team’s 60. Along with points and assists, Schwieterman led the Patriots (1-0) with 11 rebounds, five steals and a block while operating as the primary ball handler.

Eight of Schwieterman’s points came at the charity stripe, nine were made on shots from behind the arc, six in transition after steals and four off drives to the rim. She ended up shooting 8-for-21, while hitting 3-of-6 3-pointers and 8-of-15 free throws.

“Hallie’s just a player,” McIntire said. “She’s got to be our leader, whether it be her scoring or dishing the ball. We need her to control the tempo and I thought she worked really hard tonight on defense and got some deflections, especially in that fourth quarter when we went man-to-man.”

Elizabeth Brunswick puts up a shot while South Side’s Kaleigha Owens defends her during Tuesday’s season opener. Brunswick scored six points in her varsity debut, including four in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

 

Her best quarters came in the first and fourth, putting up nine and eight, respectively. She scored the first three points on free throws before assisting Petro on the next two baskets. After a trio of baskets from the Archers (1-2), she made her first field goal on a drive. After South Side claimed its sole lead of the game at 11-10 on a bucket by Kianudra Rogers, Schwieterman made a 3-point basket assisted by Amelia Heath to reclaim the advantage. She finished off the first quarter with an assist on an Alexis Sibray three and splitting a pair of free throws.

Schwieterman opened the fourth with a 3-pointer assisted by Petro and a steal that led to an open layup to go up 48-36. She’d score once more in transition and hit a free throw as the Patriots outpaced South Side 17-5 in the period.

Schwieterman got some key help from three freshmen. Petro provided nine points, Natalie May had eight and Elizabeth Brunswick had six.

“I’ve played with these girls in seventh and eighth grade,” Schwieterman said. “I’m excited to play with them in high school because they all have so much heart, give it their all and love the game. … They’ve come in and done amazing just with the progress from the summer. Going from middle school to varsity is a huge change for anybody so it was big for them.”

Two of Brunswick’s baskets came in the middle of the fourth quarter to put the Archers’ hopes of a comeback to bed.

May shot an efficient 3-of-5 from the field. She also delivered a pair of second-quarter threes to help extend the Patriots’ lead to 10 points at the intermission.

Petro had one of the stronger games of the freshmen. She made the first field goal of the game for either team by hitting a three from near the top of the key with 6 minutes, 24 seconds left on the clock. On the very next possession she hit a 2-point jumper from the right side. Petro also converted on a press break in the second quarter and split two pairs of foul shots in the second half.

“Coming into the first game playing varsity was very nerve wracking especially for (us) freshmen coming from junior high, but I think we handled it really well,” Petro said. “Those (first two) shots made me feel really confident. Like I can go out there and shoot without having to worry about if it will go in or not. I thank God for it all because He’s really helped me through it all.”

Along with having the second most points for JCHS, Petro followed Schwieterman with six rebounds and two assists.

The Archers’ production also came from freshmen and a sophomore. BriTanya Diedrick-Williams and Maddie White finished as the top two scorers and rebounders for SSHS. BriaTanya Diedrick-Williams had 18 points on 8-for-25 from the field and six boards, while White scored eight points with a game-high 16 points.

Sophomore Bry’Lee Diedrich-Williams had seven points through the first two quarters before needing to leave the game with an apparent head injury after falling while pulling down a rebound.