Jennings County’s Juliann Woodard shoots a layup while being guarded by Columbus East’s Leah Bachmann and Messiah Trapp at Columbus East, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
Columbus East and Jennings County looked to appear to be tight down the stretch in Thursday’s Hoosier Hills Conference girls basketball game at the Orange Pit.
The Panthers had different ideas.
Jennings used a huge run to end the first half to lead by double digits, and the Olympians couldn’t come back in the second half and eventually fell 68-46.
“We basically didn’t do anything right tonight,” East coach Danny Brown said. “That goes to Jennings County and what they’re doing. They’re a tough team.”
The Olympians (7-12, 1-5) turned to Saige Stahl early in the game, and then Jennings’ top player Juliann Woodard hit a few shots to make the game close. The score was 14-13 after the opening quarter.
East came out with energy to start the second quarter. They took the lead 18-14 following a 5-0 run. The Panthers (14-5, 3-2) came back with Mollie Ernstes scoring five points in a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 23-18. Later in the quarter, Stahl converted two free throws to cut the lead to 25-24, but then Jennings exploded for a 13-0 run to extend the lead to 38-24. Jenna Guse hit a 3-pointer later in the first half to make it 38-27 at the half.
The Olympians looked to cut the deficit a few times in the third quarter, but whenever they tried to, Ernstes hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer keep them at bay. The Panthers closed out the quarter on a 5-0 run for a 49-35 lead heading into the fourth.
“(Ernstes) shot the ball with confidence, and that’s what we needed,” Jennings coach Kristi Sigler said. “If she’s going to get the looks, take them and knock them down. Overall, she stepped up. We had a lot of kids that stepped up. Everyone that was on the floor tonight contributed.”
Things didn’t get better for East when Stahl picked up her fourth foul with 25 seconds left in the third quarter. It was the Olympians that took advantage instead of Jennings as they tried to close the deficit. However, back-to-back 3-pointers by the Panthers grew the lead to 65-44 with 3:59 left in regulation.
“We tried to stop Woodard in the second half a little bit, and Ernstes got open and she can knock it down,” Brown said. “They spread us out too much. I can’t think of anything that worked tonight. You’ve got to give all the credit to Jennings County. They outplayed us in almost every phase of the game.”
For the Panthers, Woodard and Ernstes shared the game-high honors with 24 apiece, and Megan Vogel added seven.
“Juliann works every day. She’s the last one out of the gym almost every night,” Sigler said. “She works at it. She works at her game, and she’s really progressed her game from her freshman year to where she is now. She can score at all three levels and she does exactly what we need her to do.”
For East, Stahl led the team with 21 points. Leah Bachmann had 11 and Guse added seven.
Jennings County 68, Columbus East 46
Jennings County;14;24;11;19;—;68
Columbus East;13;14;8;11;—;46
Jennings County (13-5, 2-2): Juliann Woodard 9 6-7 24, Mollie Ernstes 9 0-0 24, Madelyn McIntosh 2 2-2 7, Megan Vogel 2 3-4 7, Manto Vadell 1 0-0 2, Abrey Belding 0 1-2 1, Alexis Carson 1 0-0 3, Avynn Belding 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 12-15 68.
Columbus East (7-11, 1-4): Saige Stahl 8 5-6 21, Leah Bachmann 4 3-5 11, Jenna Guse 2 2-2 7, Allison Craig 1 1-2 3, Maeleigh Roberts 0 0-0 0, Messiah Trapp 1 0-0 2, Heidi Murphy 1 0-0 2, Brielle Stevens 0 0-0 0, Victoria Cuhadar 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 11-15 46.
3-point goals: Jennings County 8 (Ernstes 6, McIntosh, Carson); Columbus East (Guse).
