Missed it by ...that much (3), Jays nearly upset No. 1 Century
Two things have been inevitable this season. The first is that Jerry Meyer Arena will encounter some type of scoreboard malfunction that will delay play, and the other is that the top-ranked Bismarck Century Patriots will trump whatever West Region opponent they match up against.
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Two things have been inevitable this season.
The first is that Jerry Meyer Arena will encounter some type of scoreboard malfunction that will delay play, and the other is that the top-ranked Bismarck Century Patriots will trump whatever West Region opponent they match up against.
Century remained unbeaten in the West with a 61-58 victory over the Blue Jays at Jerry Meyer Arena where the game opened with a stoppage of play 1 minute, 32 seconds in because of scoreboard difficulties.
Century is now 14-0 in the West and 16-1 overall, but it didn’t come easy. It took a missed three-pointer at the end of regulation for the Patriots to keep their undefeated streak alive.
“You’ve got to like the effort tonight,” said JHS coach Andy Skunberg. “The girls were up for it on Senior Night against the No. 1 team in the state. We took them down to the wire and had a shot at the end to tie it. You can’t ask for a better effort.”
Jamestown, after Century’s Hannah Jeske hit two free throws, called Julie Fuchs’s number in the closing seconds, but the shot was just off the mark as the Patriots were able to escape by a narrow margin.
“We executed (the play call),” Skunberg said. “’It looked like a bowling alley out there with four or five girls on the floor, and then Julie Fuchs came popping out of there and had a wide open look. You can’t for anything else.
“She shot it right in front of me and I thought she had it, but it just hit the back rim.”
Kelsey Glatt led four Patriots with double-digit points with 14. Jeske finished with 12 and both A.J. Jacobs and Lexy Eli put up 10.
Hannah Larson was one point shy of a double-double for Century with nine points and 10 rebounds.
“You can’t give a team like (Century) any extra opportunities,” Skunberg said. “They will kill you doing it.”
The Blue Jays (6-8 West, 7-10 overall) built a seven-point lead into the break after the Patriots were held without a field goal for over seven minutes to close out the first half.
But the Patriots, like quality teams do, made the adjustments at the half.
Century erased its largest deficit of the game in less than four minutes to knot the game at 34-all. Jacobs knocked down a three-pointer to knot the game with 14:12 to play and Jamestown never led the rest of the way.
“In the first half, I thought we executed very well,” Skunberg said. “We were boxing out, rebounding and taking good shots. That gave us the seven-point cushion.
“In the second half, in the first four or five minutes, we turned the ball over and the defense wasn’t seeing the back side.”
Century built its lead to as large as nine points but the pesky Blue Jays stuck around despite committing 14 turnovers in the second half.
Paige Peterson pulled the Blue Jays to within one point with under a minute to play when she knocked down a pair of free throws, but the Patriots kept JHS scoreless the rest of the way.
Kayla Thoele had a team-high 14 points and Fuchs had 12, including two three-pointers. Peterson finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Jamestown is on the road for the remainder of the year with games against Bismarck and Bismark St. Mary’s. The Blue Jays will meet up with the Demons on Friday and the Saints on Tuesday, Feb. 21 before opening up West Region tournament action.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time, one practice at a time,” said Skunberg. “We’ve got a big Bismarck game to prepare for.”
Bismarck Century 61, Jamestown 58
Century 22 39 — 61
Jamestown 29 29 — 58
Century — Hannah Jeske 12, A.J. Jacobs 10, Hannah Larson 9, Tessa Delzer 2, Kelsey Glatt 14, Ann Govig 2, Lexy Eli 10, Kelsey Schatz 2. Totals: 23 FG, 7-11 FT, Three-pointers: 4 (Jeske 2, Jacobs 2), 30 Rebounds (Larson 10), 8 Assists (Jacobs 3), 16 Steals (Jeske 6), 20 Turnovers, 18 Fouls (Larson).
Jamestown — Kyra Dewald 8, Jade Lind 9, Julie Fuchs 12, Paige Peterson 11, Kayla Thoele 14, McKayla Orr 4. Totals: 20 FG, 14-22 FT, Three-pointers: 4 (Fuchs 2, Dewald, Lind), 40 Rebounds (Peterson 11, Dewald 9), 11 Assists (Lind 5, Dewald 3), 9 Steals (Dewald 4), 23 Turnovers, 14 Fouls.
Records: Century 14-0 West, 16-1; Jamestown 6-8 West, 7-10.
Tags: sports, basketball, jays
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