GIRLS BASKETBALL: Trojans defeat Huskies

JACKSON — In the end, it was a game of survival.

Worthington, which had taken a 16-point first-half lead, outlasted Jackson County Central 67-65 in Southwest Conference girls basketball Tuesday night.

“We really just lost our heads,” Trojans head coach Eric Lindner said. “In the first half, we executed our press-break to precision by passing the ball and doing what we needed to do. In the second half, all of sudden, we were panicking. We get into trouble when we start ad libbing.”

Whitney Coriolan came off the Worthington bench to score 15 points, including the Trojans’ last five markers in a tight game during the final 3½ minutes.

With 2:28 left, Coriolan made the second of two free throw attempts before driving for a layup at the 1:15 mark.

With the Huskies trailing 65-60, Kaylee Burmeister put JCC back in the game by burying a left corner 3-pointer as 55 seconds remained. She led all scorers with 20 points.

“When (Jackson County Central) came back, they did so very quickly,” Lindner said. “That unguardred 3 (from Burmeister) hurt us. I don’t know how we lost track of her. We just have some players who need to communicate better, defensively, so we don’t have those kind of breakdowns.”

On Worthington’s ensuing possession, Jackson County Central employed a 1-3-1 fullcourt trap that resulted in a steal from Julia Schumann, but the Huskies attempted and missed a layup in transition with 25 seconds left.

Burmeister produced a steal as the Trojans brought the ball upcourt, but Worthington regained possession after Lydia Kemper poked the ball into arms of Coriolan.

Two more free throws from Coriolan and the Trojans led 67-63 with 13 ticks showing.

Schumann added a transition layup with 7 seconds left, but Worthington was able to run out the clock to seal the league win.

“It was one heck of a comeback,” Huskies head coach Tom Schuller said. “I wrote ‘December’ on my hand because I wanted to remind the girls that we are a work in progress and that we’re building for February.

“We are playing very hard, but we’re still making too many mistakes,” Schuller said. “We made a huge stride in the right direction (Tuesday).”

Worthington built a 17-9 lead with 8½ minutes left in the first half. Jackson County Central scored the first five points of the game, but Brooke Henning scored the Trojans’ first six points, sparking a 17-4 WHS run.

It became a 34-18 edge for the Trojans on a jumper from K.C. Riley with 53 seconds left before intermission.

Henning led the Trojans with 16 points and added nine rebounds, five steals and a blocked shot before fouling out in the final 6 minutes.

Ana Boever chipped in 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers for Worthington, while Riley contributed eight points and Kemper had seven more.

Angela Handzus produced nine of her 15 points for the Huskies in the first half. Lydia Brandt generated 10 of her 12 points after halftime.

Worthington 67, Jackson County Central 65

Worthington (5-0, 3-0 SWC): Boever 3 6-6 14, Henning 6 4-4 16, Kemper 3 1-3 7, Lindner 1 0-0 2, Gravenhof 2 1-2 5, Riley 3 2-4 8, Coriolan 5 5-6 15. Totals: 23 19-25 67.

Jackson County Central (3-3, 0-2 SWC): Schumann 1 1-2 3, Handzus 6 2-3 15, Burmeister 6 6-8 20, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Rasche 3 0-0 6, Klontz 0 0-0 0, Van Epps 1 3-4 5, S. Brandt 0 0-0 0, L. Brandt 4 4-4 12. Totals: 23 16-21 65.

Halftime: Worthington 34, Jackson County Central 25. 3-Point Goals: Worthington 2 (Boever 2); Jackson County Central 3 (Burmeister 2, Handzus). Rebounds: Worthington 34 (Boever 11, Henning 9); Jackson County Central 39 (Burmeister 11, Van Epps 8, Handzus 8). Total Fouls: (Fouled out): Worthington 16 (Henning); Jackson County Central 15 (none). Technical Fouls: None. Assists: Worthington 17 (Gravenhof 6); Jackson County Central 17 (Schumann 6). Steals: Worthington 22 (Henning 5, Riley 5, Coriolan 5); Jackson County Central 19 (Rasche 6, Schumann 5). Blocked Shots: Worthington 6 (Henning 2); Jackson County Central 5 (Rasche 5). Turnovers: Worthington 30; Jackson County Central 26.

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