Patriots draw bye

The Patriots got an opening-round bye.

They know all too well how tough their semifinal opponent is likely to be.

Jay County High School’s girls basketball team came away with a bye in the IHSAA tournament draw held Sunday and will likely have a rematch against Delta in the semifinal round of the Class 3A Sectional 24 tournament at Connersville.

The opening round of Sectional 24 will feature Yorktown (13-6) against New Castle at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, with Delta (14-5) and Hamilton Heights (5-15) to follow. Jay County (9-11) will get the winner of the second game in the semifinal round at approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, after Connersville (14-7) plays the Yorktown/New Castle winner at 6 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8.

The Patriots have split their four games with sectional opponents this season, including a 64-33 loss Thursday to Delta. Their other loss game to Yorktown while it defeated Hamilton Heights and New Castle.

JCHS won its last sectional championship in 2006.