Strong 2nd period propels Lady Jays by Musketeers

By Jim Metcalfe, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Wednesday, January 3, 2007 (2 years ago)
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The Lady Jays pulled away from Fort Jennings to earn a non-conference victory Tuesday night.FORT JENNINGS — Fort Jennings stayed with unbeaten St. John’s for a quarter Tuesday night at The Fort.

The Lady Blue Jays then cut loose in period 2, outgunning the Lady Musketeers 18-3 and launching a 57-32 non-conference victory.

The Jays (10-0) have been relying on their trademark man-to-man defense to jump-start their offense all season and Tuesday night was no exception.

“Our defense did it again. Jennings has some weapons, especially (Rachel) Landwehr and (Lynzie) Swartz inside and (Amber) Schuerman, (Erica) Metzger and (Regan) Askins outside,” Jays mentor Dan J. Grothouse said. “The job Kim (Miller) and Sarah (Clark) did inside against much bigger girls was outstanding. Those two have been doing it all year. Our perimeter pressure has been a big help to that. Jennings was really never able to get comfortable. For the most part, we did a great job on the boards, too.”

The Jays unleashed a balanced offense as well: Jeanne Bockey and Brittany Pohlman with 12 each and Miller, Laura German and Alisha Byrne (3 treys) with nine each. They connected on 22-of-48 shots (7-of-24 triples) for 45.8 percent.

The Musketeers (5-5) got nine from Landwehr and six each from Askins (2 bombs), Schuerman and Swartz. They hit on 40 percent (12-of-30, 3-of-9 long range) but couldn’t overcome 26 turnovers to 11 for the guests.

The Jays registered 22 steals, led by five from Clark and four from Bockey and Pohlman.

“Turnovers were the story again tonight. St. John’s just plays good, tough man-to-man defense and we didn’t handle it when they upped the pressure,” Jennings coach Matt Myerholtz began. “They apply a lot of pressure and when a defender does get beat, you know the help is coming and our girls rushed their shots some.”

Jennings, despite committing eight miscues in the opening period, only trailed 13-9 entering the second installment. They added five miscues and hit 1-of-8 from the field, getting a Landwehr basket and a free throw from Metzger. The Jays got it rolling from there, canning 7-of-13 fielders, including 3-of-6 from downtown. Byrne (2 in the quarter) nailed a transition bomb from the left wing — via a Tori Recker assist — with 1.9 seconds to go for a 31-12 spread.

“Jennings has a good team and played us tough. The thing about our team is its unselfish attitude,” Grothouse added. “These girls do a great job of finding the open person. We have great scoring balance and we have a number of girls capable of having a big game any given night. That’s been one major key this season.”

The visitors used the 3-ball to great effect in the third canto, hitting 4-of-9 attempts. The Musketeers just had no answer this night as the Jays’ biggest margin reached 26 and ended up with a 48-23 bulge on a Byrne trifecta from the right corner with 1:32 showing.

All that needed to be decided in the finale was the final margin of victory and Grothouse was able to empty his bench.

“St. John’s did a great job of adjusting to our defense. We started out in a 3-2 zone and that worked for a time but they adjusted to it,” Myerholtz added. “We tried four different defenses but they made the changes necessary to deal with each one. That’s the sign of a solid team.”

Miller was big in the first period, scoring six markers in the span. The hosts hung tough in slowing the pace but when German dropped a transition 15-footer from the left corner with 29 ticks showing, it put the Jays up 13-9.

St. John’s added 6-of-8 at the line for 75 percent. They collected 20 boards (6 offensive) as Clark had five. They team totaled 17 assists, with Pohlman’s four topping the list. They added 13 fouls and will host Marion Local Thursday.

Fort Jennings hit 5-of-10 charity tosses (50 percent). They drug down 29 boards (9 offensive) as Swartz had seven and Metzger six. Askins grabbed three thefts. They compiled 11 fouls and welcome in Elida Saturday (1 p.m.).

In JV action, the Jays goose-egged the Musketeers 12-0 in the second period en route to a 41-17 triumph.

Lindsy Reindel struck for 15 for the Jays (7-3) and Brittany Miller 10. Leah Kimmet countered with 10 for the Musketeers (4-6).

VARSITY

ST. JOHN’S (57)

Tori Recker 0-0-0, Laura German 4-0-9, Emily Schwieterman 0-0-0, Stephanie Knippen 1-0-2, Jeanne Bockey 5-0-12, Sarah Clark 0-0-0, Brittany Pohlman 5-1-12, Kim Miller 3-3-9, Rachel Miller 0-0-0, Zefyrin Bryan 1-2-4, Alisha Byrne 3-0-9, Brittany Miller 0-0-0, Lindsy Reindel 0-0-0. Totals 22-6-57.

FORT JENNINGS (32)

Katie VonLehmden 0-0-0, Jessica Ladd 0-0-0, Amanda Horstman 0-0-0, Erica Metzger 1-3-5, Regan Askins 2-0-6, Amber Schuerman 2-1-6, Lynzie Swartz 3-0-6, Rachel Landwehr 4-1-9. Totals 12-5-32.

Score by Quarters:

St. John’s 13 18 17 9 - 57

Ft. Jennings 9 3 11 9 - 32

Three-point goals: St. John’s, Byrne 3, Bockey 2, German, Pohlman; Fort Jennings, Askins 2, Schuerman.

JUNIOR VARSITY

ST. JOHN’S (41)

Brittany Miller 3-2-10, Katie Kundert 2-1-5, Kristina Desenberg 1-0-3, Shonda Bensman 0-0-0, Stephanie Knippen 0-0-0, Emily Schwieterman 1-0-3, Lindsay Grothouse 0-0-0, Rachel Miller 1-3-5, Lindsy Reindel 7-1-15. Totals 15-6-41.

FORT JENNINGS (17)

Katie VonLehmden 3-0-6, Kayla Knippen 0-1-1, Stacie Chandler 0-0-0, Megan Schimmoeller 0-0-0, Megan Hemker 0-0-0, Amanda Young 0-0-0, Kristen Negro 0-0-0, Leah Kimmet 4-2-10. Totals 7-3-17.

Score by Quarters:

St. John’s 9 12 10 10 - 41

Fort Jennings 11 0 4 2 - 17

Three-point goals: St. John’s, B. Miller 2, Kundert, Desenberg, Schwieterman; Fort Jennings, none.

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