Jimmies topple Winnipeg to remain unbeaten

Three blowout wins to open the season showed the Jimmies were really good front-runners.

Saturday afternoon, they showed some comeback-ability.

Down 13-2 early and 37-35 at halftime, Jamestown College put together a strong second half en route to their fourth straight win, beating the University of Winnipeg for the second time in eight days, 77-61.

“The first half was disappointing. We weren’t ready to play and they (Winnipeg) outworked us,” JC coach Greg Ulland said. “Hopefully it’s a lesson learned. We can’t just show up and expect to win. Obviously, the second half was a lot better in terms of effort and execution and that’s what we expect out of the girls.”

The Jimmies, now 4-0, came out of the locker room with a 14-2 run to start the second half which turned a back and forth first half into a 10-point JC lead.

“We know the first half wasn’t good enough, but the second half was more of what we expect out of ourselves,” said junior Amber Ramlo after a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double.

The Jimmies outscored the Wesmen 42-24 in the second half, keyed by the 14-2 run, which was started (Casey Geffre) and ended (Carly Jensen) by three-pointers.

“We’re very explosive and that can make up for some inconsistencies and times where we aren’t shooting the ball very well,” Ulland said.

The second-year JC coach also has seemingly endless buttons to push. Eleven girls scored. Bridget Schuneman came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points in just 18 minutes.

“We all know that if we’re not getting the job done, coach (Ulland) will find somebody who will,” Ramlo said. “But it’s all for the betterment of the team.”

The Jimmies floated through the first half and never led. They fell down eight late to the Wesmen, who are 7-3 against everybody else they’ve played. But Ramlo sent the home team into the break with momentum, hitting two late 3-balls, the second pulling the Jimmies within two (37-35).

Ramlo, carrying the banner for Jamestown High School, is in her third year and second as a starter and is one of the team’s leaders.

“That’s kind of my personality, I guess, but on this team we have a lot of good leaders and at anytime someone new might step up,” said Ramlo, who also had a game-high 3 steals. “It’s all about the team. It’s a great system we have in place.”

The Jimmies shot just 38 percent after a blistering 60-percent outing in Thursday’s win over Bemidji State. Still, they nearly scored 80 points. They did bury 12 threes. Ramlo made four of them and Casey Geffre three.

The Jimmies have a big weekend ahead. They host Dordt on Friday before the two-time defending NAIA national champion and No. 1 ranked Northwestern Red Raiders come to Jamestown on Saturday.

“We definitely don’t want to look past Dordt, but it is exciting to get the opportunity to play the No. 1 team,” Ramlo said of the Red Raiders. “That should be a great game.”

Tags: jamestown college, sports, basketball, winnipeg