Patriots earn redemption

The last time Jay County and Woodlan squared off, the Patriots saw their seven-game winning streak snapped in an agonizing 56-54 defeat on Jan. 2.

Less than two weeks later, the Jay County High School girls basketball team didn’t let history repeat itself, romping to a dominant 50-20 home victory over the Woodlan Warriors in the opening round of the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday.

Next up, the Patriots will host Southern Wells in a semifinal matchup at 6 p.m. on Friday.

“We felt like we didn’t play up to our level last time, and so I felt like the kids came in and were on a mission and I felt like the mission was accomplished,” said Jay County coach Sherri McIntire. “We just did the things that we needed to do defensively, and rebounding was a big key … I’m very pleased with the kids’ effort.”

Jay County’s effort and intensity were evident from the opening tip, as the Patriots rattled off a 14-0 run in the final four-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter to lead 17-2.

One key cog in the Patriots’ early dominance was Raylah Newton. The senior drained four 3-pointers in the opening half to set the tone for Jay County.

Motivation from the prior defeat to Woodlan (9-7, 5-0 Allen County Athletic Conference) helped propel Newton to the career-best four 3-pointers and the fourth double-digit scoring game of her career.

“I just took last game, the last game that we got beat, as just energy to put back for my team to win it,” Newton said.

Newton’s ability to shoot and space the floor paid dividends for the entire Jay County offense as the Patriots (11-5, 3-1 ACAC) picked up their fifth win of the season by 30 points or more.

“It was huge, because when she’s shooting the ball like that, then they can’t focus on Hallie (Schwieterman) or Karsyn (Schwieterman) or Liz (Brunswick),” McIntire said. “That’s a fourth person then that they have to guard … Very proud of Raylah, shot the ball with a lot of confidence tonight and we need her to do that and she’s capable of doing that.”

Aided by the slight reduction in defensive attention, Hallie Schwieterman was also pivotal in the Patriot victory. The junior willed her team to victory with a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double.

“That’s just huge leadership,” McIntire said. “That’s where she’s decided we were winning this game tonight as a team, and she was doing everything that she could to get us there … I feel like she’s on a mission (to) cut nets down on Saturday.”

While Hallie Schwieterman was able to shine as Jay County’s offensive engine on Tuesday, the Patriots were able to curtail the production of Woodlan’s leading scorer Alyssa Anderson.

When the Warriors upended the Patriots earlier in the season, Anderson’s 15 second-half points were at the heart of the Woodlan triumph. This time, Jay County held her scoreless after the intermission as she mustered just 11 points during the contest.

“It was amazing to get revenge,” Newton said. “And the shift in the game plan was to shut (Anderson) down, get her to as (few) points as possible.”

Anderson wasn’t the only Warrior to struggle against the staunch Patriot defense. Woodlan shot just 14% from the field and turned the ball over 23 times. The going got even rougher for the Warriors after the intermission, as Woodlan managed just four points in the second half.

The stifling defense helped secure the Patriots’ 11th win of the campaign, already more victories than they accumulated throughout the entirety of last season.

“To be able to come in and just see the growth of our team and how much that we’ve improved and matured, we had a lot of freshmen last year, and so a year’s time, they’ve matured and gotten better,” McIntire said. “… And so that’s huge for our program, and to beat teams that beat us by double digits last year, hats off to our kids because that’s how much growth they’ve shown.”