Bluejays Swarm Weinberg And Fly Away With Two Wins!

In the rematch between the two Starke County Rivals, round two would take place at historic Harold Weinberg Gymnasium in Knox, where the Redskins and Bluejays would take each other on in what would count as their official Hoosier North Athletic Conference meeting for this season. Earlier in the year, both Knox teams had won in the non-conference matchup at North Judson, with the Lady Redskins defeating the Lady Bluejays 54-41 on November 27th, while the Knox boys were able to defeat the ‘Jays 81-75 on December 11th. January 25th would see different outcomes.

The first game of the night would feature the Lady Redskins (20-1, 5-1) and Lady Bluejays (17-4, 4-2). The Lady ‘Skins would jump out to an early lead as they looked to pound the ball inside early and often to Junior forward Remi Jordan. When the horn sounded, it would be Knox in front 11-9. The second quarter would not see as much production on the offensive end of the floor, rather, it would be the intense defenses that would take center stage as the two teams continued to battle in the first half. The Lady Redskins would tally six steals as a team in the first half, while the Lady Bluejays were able to take the ball away seven times in the first two quarters. North Judson would outscore the Lady Redskins 5-3 in the second quarter, to leave the score at a 14-14 tie at the half. All-Stater Lily Frasure, who was fairly quiet in the first matchup from a scoring standpoint, would end the half having scored all 14 of her team’s points, while Knox’s Remi Jordan would lead her team with 7.

The two defenses would continue to give problems to the other side throughout the second half, but foul trouble would turn into an issue for the Knox Lady Redskins. Knox would end up losing two of their key players to fouls, as Sophomore point guard Megan Bolen, as well as Junior shooting guard Felicity Olejniczak would both foul out of the game. North Judson Freshman Sophie Frasure would help shoulder the scoring load in the second half, along with sister Lily, as the two would combine for 17 of the Lady Jays’ 22 second half points.

In the end, North Judson would edge Knox on, not only the scoreboard, but in rebounding, steals, free-throw shooting, as well as three-point shooting on their way to the big HNAC win. Lily Frasure was named the Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI for her 23 point, 15 rebound, 4 steal performance, which included 12-17 at the free throw line, along with three made 3-pointers.

The second game of the night would feature the boys matchup of the Starke County rivalry, as the Bluejays looked to avenge their loss earlier in the season. Both the Redskins and Bluejays would get off to great offensive starts, as the two teams would combine for 48 points in the first quarter, with North Judson holding a 28-20 lead over the host Redskins. The second quarter would see Knox make a little bit more of an offensive push, while the ‘Jays were able to do just enough to hold a 3-point lead at the half, 35-32.

For those of us on the outside looking in, the first half scoring in the boys game would be quite surprising, as it would not be a Hochstedler or Cox leading the Bluejays in points, nor would it be a Short or a McIntire leading the scoring for the Redskins in the first two quarters. Rather it would be 5’11 Senior Austin Taulbee for Knox, and 6’0 Sophomore Blayne Wilcox for North Judson leading the scoring for their teams with 12 and 11 respectively! A true testament to the mindset of these two teams, which appears to be “we don’t care who scores”. The Bluejays as a team would be on fire from behind the 3-point line, knocking down 8 first half 3-pointers. The first quarter would end with an incredible made 3-point shot by Trey Hampton as time expired to give North Judson an 8-point lead at the half. The big highlight for the Redskins would come from the explosive Sophomore Kole McIntire who, after a rebound and outlet pass by Austin Taulbee, the explosive underclassman would throw down a two handed dunk in transition, pulling the rim down with an enthusiastic show of athleticism.

The second half would continue to see an incredible effort by both teams, with momentum shifting back and forth, almost minute-to-minute. The Redskins would once again be able to chip away at the Bluejay lead, narrowly outscoring North Judson 6-5 in the third quarter, to make it a 40-38 North Judson lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Again, the Redskins and the Bluejays would continue to be aggressive offensively, with North Judson beginning to be a little more patient, knowing that the clock was on their side with the slim lead. The Redskins, meanwhile would continue to get high levels of intensity from Short and McIntire, as the two would combine for 14 of Knox’s 18 second half points. The Bluejays though, would continue to be patient on offense, working the ball around to take as much time off the clock as they could. As time would continue to tick down, each possession for each team became more and more crucial.

On the game’s final possession, the Bluejays would be clinging to a 1-point lead with just 9.2 seconds remaining in the ballgame, with the Redskins in possession of the ball, out of bounds, to the left of their own basket. Gunner Wagner would inbound the ball to Austin Taulbee, the Senior would look to split the North Judson defense off the dribble, losing the ball in the process. The loose ball would be picked up by McIntire, who quickly made a pass to the top of the key, where teammate Braxton Geller awaited the ball. After hauling it in, the 5’10 Junior would go straight towards the basket, jump-stopping to put up a bank shot from about six feet away, which was unsuccessful. With time still on the clock, the two teams frantically fought for the rebound, which would end up back in the hands of Wagner, who immediately put up the shot. The ball would go off the backboard and, in a moment that almost defied the laws of gravity, the ball would seemingly pause on the front of the rim, as if the basketball gods were still not sure which team should get the big victory. Finally, the ball would roll off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded, giving North Judson High School a clean sweep of the night at Weinberg Gym!

The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game for the second game on WKVI would go to North Judson Sophomore Blayne Wilcox, who scored all 11 of his points in the first half, in helping his Bluejays to a 3-point halftime lead. The Redskins will be looking to put an end to their 4-game losing streak on January 31st, when they play host to Washington Township, while the Bluejays will try to keep the momentum going on February 1st, when they travel to Triton in another Hoosier North Athletic Conference matchup.

Girls Game Stats

Scoring:

North Judson(36): Abby Chambers-2, Sophie Frasure-8, Lily Frasure-23, Olivia Burkett-3

Knox(29): Riley Messer-3, Megan Bolen-4, Remi Jordan-12, Felicity Olejniczak-7, Preston Minix-3

Free Throws:

North Judson: 14-20 70%

Knox: 6-12 50%

Made 3-Point Shots:

North Judson(6): Olivia Burkett-1, Sophie Frasure-2, Lily Frasure-3

Knox(3): Riley Messer-1, Felicity Olejniczak-1, Preston Minix-1

Rebounding:

North Judson(32): Abby Chambers-8, Jordynn Dusek-5, Olivia Burkett-3, Sophie Frasure-1, Lily Frasure-15