Matthew Lounsberry mlounsberry@hillsdale.net mlounsberryHDN

BRONSON Jonesvilles girls basketball season has come to an end with a 37-30 loss to Homer in the district semifinals in Bronson.

The Comets struggled to score consistently throughout the night, and were unable to get to the free throw line, making two of only four attempts from the charity stripe.

We attacked the basket. Obviously, we need to get [to the foul line] more to help us out, said Jonesville coach Tom Dunn.

The Comets jumped to a small 8-5 lead to start the game, but went cold from there as the Trojans scored 12 consecutive points in a run that carried into the early stages of the second quarter.

Jonesville chipped away at their 17-8 deficit, ending the half by outscoring the Trojans 7-4. Comet junior Koryn Playford ended the second quarter with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 21-17 as the teams entered the locker rooms.

Homer was carried through the first half by juniors Megan George and Jillian Sitkiewicz, who scored 11 and 10 points respectively in the first two frames. All of the Trojans first half points were scored by the two post players.

George and Sitkiewicz tore us up in the first half for Homer, Dunn said. I thought we did a much better job on them in the second half.

Jonesville came out of halftime as the aggressor, starting the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 27-23 lead. The run was capped by back-to-back triples from Playford and junior point guard Katie Brown.

The Trojans scored the final four points of the frame however, to make the score 27-27 heading to the fourth quarter.

We struggled to score a little bit, but I thought we hung around. We took that four point lead, then they came back and tied it, Dunn said.

The Comets led 30-29 with about four minutes remaining in the half, and ate up the next two minutes on one possession, keeping the ball on the perimeter, and looking for an easy bucket against Homers extended defense.

The possession resulted in a turnover and a fastbreak layup for Homer however, and the Trojans took a 31-30 lead.

We got up by one, and I just wanted to spread the floor and maybe sneak to the basket, Dunn said. We werent really stalling, but we were just trying to get a back-door layup. [Homer] took the ball from us, and they made more plays at the end then we did.

Jonesville would not score for the remainder of the game, and the Trojans stretched their lead with free throws down the stretch.

George finished with 16 points for Homer, while Sitkiewicz finished with 14. Breanna McCone, an outside scoring threat for the Trojans, did not hit a three-pointer on the night, finishing with only four points.

The kids sucked it up. We just wanted to clamp down on their two bigs, Dunn said. McCone had an off night, but shes been battling an injury all year, so we just tried to key on the other two.

The Comets were led by Playford with 10 points and four rebounds. Brown contributed in many ways with seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Also for Jonesville, Teya Nichols scored five points, Sarah Dawson had three points and four rebounds, and Samantha Dunn added three points, six rebounds and four steals.

Jonesville will lose seniors Brittany Mapes and Johnni Collard to graduation this year.

Theyve both played four years here, JV and varsity. Brittany left it on the floor tonight. She plays hard all the time. Shes a fist-fighter, Dunn said.

Johnnis a great kid to be around for the kids on the team. Shes like the Mother Hen of these guys, keeps everybody loose. Theyre two decent kids.

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Comets fall in district semifinals - The Hillsdale Daily News