Lady Braves use free throws to top Panthers 67-61

NORTH VERNON — Coach Karla Rieckers says she has been concerned about how well her Brownstown Central basketball team has shot free throws in recent games.

On Tuesday night, the Braves had one of their better nights of the season at the line, making 15 of 18 in the fourth period and 20 of 25 for the game, in a 67-61 win at Jennings County.

“Free-throw shooting has been a concern for us over the last few games,” Rieckers said. “It is something, as a team in games, we haven’t been shooting very well, so we tried to come back and focus on that and we talked about the aspect that there are going to be games where that’s where games are going to be decided, on the free-throw line.
“Mentally, we have to be prepared and be able to knock down the free throws. That was one of the first things all of the girls said in the locker room, that free-throw shooting tonight was much better, so we’re glad that they recognized that, and that is something we’ll continue to work on.”

The Braves held a 50-36 lead entering the final period, and 15 of their 17 points in the fourth came on free throws.

Sammie Bane made all six of hers in the quarter, Maria Allen missed her first and then made five straight and Jamie Wehmiller and Jenna Hackman made two each.

A pair of free throws by Allen gave the Braves a 57-43 lead with 5:09 remaining before the Panthers used a 7-0 run to close to 57-50 on a 3-pointer by Jenny Royce with 2:05 remaining.

A rebound basket by Allie Ponsler cut the difference to 59-54 with 2 minutes remaining before Wehmiller hit an 8-foot shot from the side to give the visitors a 61-54 cushion at 1:12. The closest the Panthers could get after that was five points.

Wehmiller and Bane scored seven points apiece in the first quarter to help the Braves move on top 21-11.

The Panthers switched from a 2-1-2 zone in the first period to a 1-3-1 at the start of the second.

“When they went to the 1-3-1, we wanted to get the ball in the middle,” Rieckers said. “Obviously, on a zone, you have to attack the middle, and that’s one of the things we did a better job of in the third quarter. Sometimes when a team plays a zone, we stand around and don’t attack the gaps the way we need to or attack the middle and pass the ball in and cause that movement for them on that zone. That is one of the things we continue to work for, but all in all, it was a good win.”

The Braves led 30-27 at the half.

Katelyn Shoemaker became a force inside for the Braves in the third period, making four baskets and pulling down five rebounds.

Panthers coach Jason Longmeier credited Shoemaker’s rebounding as the difference in the game.

“My biggest concern coming into tonight was Shoemaker on the boards, and I think that’s where the game was lost,” he said. “She had seven offensive rebounds and I think five of them turned into buckets.”

Jennings made 1 of 6 shots from the floor and had nine turnovers in the third period.

“We’ve had one of those (cold quarters) each game,” Longmeier said. “I thought we really started slow in the first quarter and we started slow in the third quarter. To their credit, Brownstown came out in the second half and came up and pressured our wings more than they had been, and we didn’t respond well in the first 4 or 5 minutes of the half with them doing that, so it was an adjustment on their part. We did some things late in the third quarter to kind of counteract that, and in the fourth quarter we took advantage of what it was they were trying to do.”

Rieckers said, “At halftime, one of the things we talked about was coming out and playing with intensity and playing with defensive pressure. As good as I thought it was in the third quarter, I thought in the fourth quarter we got a little lax and were standing around.  We have a situation where we think we have a game in hand and instead of really just putting a team away, we kind of let them back into the game. Fortunately, we’ve been able to sustain that all the time, and I think that’s a sign of a good team that can withstand the runs of the other team.”

Both teams had three players in double figures. Wehmiller topped the Braves with 17 and Bane and Shoemaker added 15 each.

“Balanced scoring is something our players have done all year,” Rieckers said. “On any given night, we have a nice eight-player rotation. Anybody can step up and play. Kaylee Bennett didn’t play as much tonight because she’s been battling the flu and has been sick to her stomach. We didn’t want to force it if we didn’t have to have her out there.”

Royce topped the Panthers with 19, Summer Sanders added 15 and Brooke Elmore added 14 to go along with 11 rebounds.

The Panthers (1-8) were without senior Tori Magner, who was ill.

The Braves (7-2) have won three in a row and will play in the Eastern Greene Tournament Dec. 29-30.

Box score

At North Vernon
Brownstown       21 9   20 17—67
Jennings County 11 16 9   25—61
Brownstown Central (7-2): Sammie Bane 4-8 7-7 15, Maria Allen 1-4 7-8 9, Jamie Wehmiller 6-11 3-4 17, Katelyn Shoemaker 7-15 1-2 15, Taylor Fleetwood 1-4 0-0 2, Kaylee Bennett 2-4 0-0 5, Hailey Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Jenna Hackman 1-2 2-4 4, totals 22-50 20-25 67
Jennings County (1-8): Allie Ponsler 4-6 0-0 9, Jenny Royce 7-12 3-6 19, Summer Sanders 5-10 2-2 15, Alexis Weber 2-5 0-0 4, Brooke Elmore 5-12 4-4 14, Kaitlin Kopitzke 0-0 0-0 0, Kirsten Biggs 0-0 0-0 0, totals 22-45 9-12 61
3-point goals: Brownstown Central (Wehmiller 2, Bennett), Jennings County (Sanders 3, Royce 2)
Rebounds: Brownstown Central 24 (Shoemaker 9, Fleetwood 5), Jennings County 22 (Elmore 11, Royce 4)
Turnovers: Brownstown Central 13, Jennings County 18
Fouls: Brownstown Central 14, Jennings County 24
Junior varsity
Brownstown 10 10 6 15—41
Jennings       6   1   2  3—12
Brownstown Central (6-3): Amanda Wischmeier 9, Kaley Wilkerson 7, Haley Hackman 5, J. Hackman 5, Mallory Cockerham 4, Presley Dmitriev 4, Brown 2, Megan Quade 2, Sierra Enrique 1, Kourtney Settle 1, Kristen Mellencamp 1