Lady Eagles win top-10 matchup in overtime
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson sophomore forward Kayla Schmitz lines up a jumper from just inside the free throw line in the first half of the Lady Eagles’ 51-46 overtime win over North Harrison. Schmitz scored 14 points in the victory.
Top 10 teams are rarely separated by much, and such was the case it Tuesday night’s matchup between Class 1 No. 5 Jefferson and No. 10 North Harrison. Things were so tight in fact that it took overtime for Jefferson to claim a 51-46 win
The Lady Shamrocks’ Haley Craig went to work early, scoring 12 first quarter points — a big reason for Jefferson’s early foul trouble. Junior center Jessie Henry was forced to the bench just over two minutes into the game with her second foul.
North Harrison started the game on a 6-0 run before sophomore forward Kayla Schmitz hit a jumper from the foul line to get the Lady Eagles on the board.
The Shamrocks responded with five straight points before sophomore guard Sarah Chor ended that spurt with a running layup, and held a 15-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Sophomore guard Kelsi McQuinn opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, but Craig answered with a triple of her own the very next possession.
“We just needed to find (Craig),” Jefferson head coach Tyler Pedersen said. “It seemed like every time we were on a little bit of a run, she had something to answer. Give them a lot of credit because they knew to find her. They knew she had the hot hand. She definitely made us pay.”
Jefferson cut the deficit to just four, 23-19, by getting several looks in the post, but North Harrison freshman Payton Craig hit a running three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to send the Shamrocks into the locker room with a 26-19 advantage.
“We had a girl right in her face,” Pedersen said. “And that’s what I told them at halftime: they shot really well. I told them at halftime, ‘Hey, if they come out and we have a hand in their face, we play good defense and they shoot that well again, we’re going to have to tip our hats to them tonight.’ That makes them really difficult, they got good size, good post presence and if they’re shooting that well also, it makes it really difficult.”
The Lady Eagles scored the first four points of the third quarter before a three-pointer from Haley Craig pushed the Shamrocks’ lead back to 29-23.
With 1:10 left in the third, Jefferson once again cut the lead to four, 36-32, on a three-pointer by senior guard Brooklyn Stoll. However, Payton Craig answered with another triple and North Harrison took a 37-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
Just over midway through the fourth quarter, the Eagles got things back to even on a layup from Schmitz, who was diving toward the rim from the high post and took a pass from Henry, who was working the baseline against the Shamrocks’ zone.
“Kayla got aggressive,” Pedersen said. “She can make people pay for playing that zone because Jessie requires enough attention that Kayla at the high post will hit that shot all day long. It’s just a matter of her catching it ready to score. I felt from about halfway through the second quarter on she flipped a switch and was aggressive, and that was a huge difference.”
A layup from Henry with 2:51 to play gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 41-39, and another layup from Schmitz gave Jefferson its biggest lead at 43-39 before a North Harrison timeout.
“I saw our confidence come back a little bit,” Pedersen said. “I felt like there in the first quarter our confidence, or whatever it was, was wavering just a little bit. I saw the team I’m used to seeing in the second half.”
After cutting the Eagle lead back to two, Haley Craig tried to give the Shamrocks the lead on a three-pointer, but it rattled out. Cooper Sadowsky was there to clean it up, and tied things up with 11.9 seconds to play.
Chor’s runner just before the buzzer came up short to force overtime.
Not even two minutes into the extra period, Haley Craig fouled out and 40 seconds later, Schmitz gave Jefferson the last lead it would need, 45-43, on a layup.
A layup with 56.1 seconds to play by freshman forward Josie Deen pushed the Eagles’ lead to 48-43 and all but sealed Jefferson’s 18th win of the season.
A three-pointer by Payton Craig was all the offense the Shamrocks would get in overtime as McQuinn knocked down 3-of-4 free throws to clinch the 51-46 Jefferson win.
McQuinn led the way with 16 points while Schmitz finished with 14. Chor and Henry finished with eight points apiece. Haley Craig led all scorers with 25 points.
Jefferson (18-2) hits the court next at 6 p.m. Friday against Osborn in Conception Junction.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson sophomore guard Kelsi McQuinn is fouled by North Harrison’ Haley Craig while putting up a shot during the Lady Eagles’ 51-46 overtime victory Tuesday night. McQuinn finished with a team-high 16 points.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson sophomore guard Sarah Chor glides through the lane for two points in the Lady Eagles’ 51-46 overtime win Tuesday night in Conception Junction.
