Eagles roll after Schieber’s final appearance
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson sophomore guard Sarah Chor comes up with an easy layup in the first half of the Eagles’ 59-15 win against Union Star Tuesday at home. Chor finished the night with seven points.
Normally when Jefferson girls’ basketball head coach Tyler Pedersen calls timeout four seconds into a game, it’s not for a good reason. But on senior night, when Danae Schieber had a chance to take the court one last time, Pedersen’s early stoppage wasn’t a cause for concern.
After Schieber’s knee surgery to repair a torn ACL recently, Tuesday’s game against Union Star was the final time she got to lace up her shoes for the Eagles. The game to wrap up her basketball career came out as a positive for Jefferson, a 59-15 victory.
“Well, it’s memories,” Pedersen said. “She’s probably going to remember that. She’s a four-year player and she deserves that.”
As for the game itself, after the timeout at the 7:56 mark of the first quarter, Jefferson went to work early. With a 9-0 run to start the contest, the Eagles quickly took advantage of a Union Star team that struggled against full-court pressure.
With a 14-2 lead at the end of the opening quarter, Jefferson used a 7-0 burst in the early stages of the second period to extend the advantage to 23-6. Trojans senior Melissa Potter hit a free throw with 3:04 left until halftime to end the spurt.
Just before the halftime buzzer, freshman forward Josie Deen pulled down an offensive rebound and got a point-blank lay-in to fall, giving the Eagles a 34-11 lead at the break.
“We talked about that with the way it was going to start and just the nature of senior night, people are thinking about other things than just the basketball X’s and O’s,” Pedersen said. “But I thought for the most part, the girls did a good job focusing.”
The third period started with a bang for the Eagles as well, as they tallied six straight points to tighten their grasp in the blowout win. Deen buried another buzzer-beater to end the quarter, this time from near the free throw line, to boost Jefferson to a 48-13 lead after three.
With a running clock benefitting them in the final eight minutes, the Eagles held firm to their hefty advantage to move to 21-2 on the year. In the final quarter, freshman forward Kellie Palmer and freshman guard Stephanie Chor were able to find minutes to gain valuable experience as underclassmen.
“Some of those younger girls are going to help us down the stretch,” Pedersen said. “But it’s a great opportunity to get those girls in. They’ve worked hard all season, so I like to see that.”
Junior center Jessie Henry tallied 22 points to lead the way, followed by nine from senior guard Brooklyn Stoll. Senior forward Makayla Wilmes scored two points in her final contest at home. Jefferson (22-2) will return to action at 6 p.m. Thursday at DeKalb.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
In the final home game of her career, Eagles senior forward Makayla Wilmes fires up a shot from the right block while Jefferson went on to capture a 59-15 win over Union Star. Wilmes tallied two points.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Sophomore guard Sarah Chor skies for an offensive rebound Tuesday night during the second half of a 59-15 win for Jefferson against Union Star.
