November 13, 2024 at 2:19 PM
FORT WAYNE – The Patriots have entered the season with some question marks after returning just 24.8% of their points from a season ago.
The biggest question: Can the players new to varsity take it a step further?
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 answers to the big question when Gabi Petro made back-to-back jump shots to support Schwieterman’s start.
As Petro and a handful of other freshmen lent support, Schwieterman showed why she is the leader of the team.
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 really happy with the kids,” JCHS coach Sherri McIntire said. “Coming into this environment and playing against a team that is so aggressive defensively and very athletic, we obviously had turnovers, but we were able to keep our composure. To come away with a win in this environment, I am just very satisfied with the children and their efforts.”
Jay County’s lone returner from the 2023-2024 rotation, Schwieterman, played a key role in the winning effort. The point guard scored a career-high 27 points and dished out five assists, accounting for 40 of the team’s 60. In addition to points and assists, Schwieterman led the Patriots (1-0) with 11 rebounds, five steals and a block. while operating as the primary ballhandler.
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 on drives to the rim. She ended up shooting 8-of-21 while hitting 3-of-6 3-pointers and 8-of-15 free throws.
“Hallie is just a player,” McIntire said. “She has to be our leader, whether it’s scoring or distributing the ball. We need her to control the pace and I thought she worked really hard on defense tonight and got some deflections, especially in that fourth quarter when we went man-to-man.
Elizabeth Brunswick attempts a shot as 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, putting the game out of reach. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)
Her best quarters came in the first and fourth, with 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 only lead of the game at 11-10 on a bucket by Kianudra Rogers, Schwieterman made a 3-point basket, assisted by Amelia Heath, to regain the lead. She closed the first quarter with an assist on an Alexis Sibray three and splitting a pair of free throws.
Schwieterman opened the fourth with a three-pointer, assisted by Petro, and a steal that led to an open layup and a 48-36 increase. She scored again in transition, hitting a free throw as the Patriots defeated South Side 17-5 in the period.
Schwieterman received important help from three first-year students. Petro added nine points, Natalie May eight and Elizabeth Brunswick six.
“I played with these girls in seventh and eighth grade,” Schwieterman said. “I love playing with them in high school because they all have so much heart, give their all and love the game. … They’ve come in and done a great job just because of the progress they’ve made over the summer. Going from high school to college is a huge change for everyone, so it was big for them.”
Two of Brunswick’s baskets came midway through the fourth quarter to put the Archers’ hopes of a comeback to bed.
May shot an efficient 3-for-5 from the field. She also made a pair of threes in the second quarter to extend the Patriots’ lead to 10 points at intermission.
Petro had one of the stronger games of the freshmen. She made the first field goal of the game for both teams, hitting a three from the top of the key with 6 minutes, 24 seconds left. On the next possession, she hit a 2-point jumper from the right sideline. Petro also converted after a press break in the second quarter and dished out two pairs of foul shots in the second half.
“It was very nerve-wracking playing varsity in the first game, especially for (us) high school freshmen, but I think we handled it very well,” Petro said. “Those (first two) shots made me feel very confident. Like I can go outside and shoot without having to worry about whether it’s going in or not. I thank God for all of this because He really helped me get through it.”
In addition to having the second-most points for JCHS, Petro Schwieterman followed with six rebounds and two assists.
The Archers’ production also came from freshmen and sophomores. BritTanya 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 in the first two quarters before leaving the game with an apparent head injury after falling on a rebound.
South Side Archers vs. Jay County Patriots
Girls Varsity Summary
Jay County (1-0)
FG-FGA FT-FTA PTS
Sibray 1-5 0-2 3
Newton 0-0 0-0 0
Schwtrmn 8-21 8-15 27
Hummer 1-4 0-0 2
Petro 3-6 2-4 9
Skrivin 1-1 0-0 2
Brunswick 3-7 0-2 6
Be able to 3-5 0-0 8
Heather 1-3 1-2 3
Totals 21-52 11-25 60
.404 .440
Certainly. rebound percentage: .600
South side (1-2)
FG-FGA FT-FTA PTS
Mante 1-5 0-0 3
Autry 0-10 0-2 0
Hamlet 0-1 0-0 0
BriD-Willims 8-25 0-0 18
BryD-Willims 3-9 0-0 7
Owens 0-1 0-2 0
Shetler 0-0 0-0 0
Rogers 1-4 0-1 2
White 3-11 2-4 8
Vegetable 1-2 0-0 2
Totals 17-68 2-9 40
.250 .222
Certainly. rebound percentage: .622
Score per quarter:
Jay Co. 18 16 9 17 — 60
So. Side 14 10 11 5 — 40
3-point shooting: Jay County 7-15 (Schweiterman 3-6, May 2-3, Petro 1-2, Sibray 1-4). South Side 4-30 (BriDiedrich-Williams 2-4, Mante 1-4, BryDiedrich-Williams 1-6, Hamlet 0-1, Rogers 0-2, White 0-5, Autry 0-8).
Rebounds: Jay County 44 (Schwieterman 11, Petro 6, Sibray 5, Team 5, Newton 4, Hummer 4, Brunswick 4, Heath 4, May 2, Skirvin). South Side 43 (White 16, BriDiedrich-Williams 6, Autry 4, Rogers 4, Team 4, BryDiedrich-Williams 3, Owens 2, Mante, Hamlet, Shetler, Green).
Assists: Jay County 10 (Schwieterman 5, Petro 2, Sibray, Brunswick, Heath). South Side 9 (Autry 2, BryDiedrich-Williams 2, Hamlet, BriDiedrich-Williams, Rogers, white, green).
Blocks: Jay County 1 (Schwieterman). Southside 1 (BriDiedrich-Williams).
Personal fouls: Jay County 13 (Petro 3, Brunswick 3, Sibray 2, Hummer 2, May 2, Schwieterman). South Side 22 (Owens 5, BriDiedrich-Williams 4, Green 3, Autry 2, BryDiedrich-Williams 2, Rogers 2, Mante, Hamlet, Shetler, White).
Turnover: Jay County 23. South Side 22.
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