Brookville, Ohio – February 20, 2010

The Tri-Village Lady Patriots headed into sectional tournament basketball today on a roll after having finished their regular season at 14-5 overall and 10-2 in the conference that included knocking off the Miami East Vikings.

So next up was Jefferson a team that ranked themselves number one in the sectional tournament and a team the Patriots couldn’t take lightly. Tri-Village didn’t take them lightly and came out with full court pressure and firing on all cylinders. It became apparent the Broncos were overmatched and over-hyped by their own coaching staff as they offered little resistance as TV won the game 95-32. The Patriots also received a record setting performance from Kayla Linkous in the process.

The first quarter started off much like a typical Tri-Village game with Shaye Thomas scoring two on a drive. Kayla Linkous scored, then Hillarie Frech connected on a three-pointer and followed it up with a 17’ jumper to put T-V up 10-0 that prompted a Jefferson timeout.

If adjustments were made from the timeout they would turn out to be a mistake, because what followed was a barrage by Kayla Linkous as she would go on to score 17 of her 20 first quarter points over the final four minutes to give Tri-Village a 31-6 lead.

In the second quarter with the exception of a three-pointer and a free throw by Hallie Mikesell it was all KJ Linkous. Jefferson was unable to defend her as she scored inside, off the break, jump shots, left handed hooks and even off steals on the press. Linkous would score 25 points in the second quarter for a total of 45 in the first half as Tri-Village led 60-13.

Linkous scored an old fashioned three-point play with 55 seconds to play that tied her with Kara Schlechty for the most points in a game at Tri-Village with 43 points. She followed that up with a fielder inside to surpass Schlechty to notch 45 points at the half.

During intermission the coaching staff had some decision to make on how to proceed in the second half. “This is tournament basketball and we have to try and get our kids minutes and stay prepared going into the next round, said Coach Brad Gray. We weren’t just ready to sit everyone down so we decided to leave them in for at least part of the third quarter.”

The third quarter was more of the same with Kayla Linkous dominating the Jefferson Broncos. Linkous was the only Patriot to score rattling off 7 straight field goals and a total of 59 points.

The only thing keeping Jefferson even remotely in the contest was Aisha Watts. Watts was dazzling the crowd with her ball skills and dribble drive pull-up jump shots as she would go on to score 25 points on the night.

Meanwhile the coaching staff once again had a decision to make and finally agreed once Kayla got to 60 points they would pull her from the line-up. With 3 minutes to play in the third quarter Linkous was fouled and she toed the line and let sail her 16 free throw of the game and made her 16th free throw for 60 points. Coach Gray then sent a sub to the scorer’s table. Linkous then put up her 2nd free throw and it was good making her a perfect 17-for-17 from the line that also gave her 61 points on the day. She left the floor to a standing ovation from the Patriot faithful.

Tri-Village would end the third quarter leading Jefferson 80-21.

In the final stanza the only question on everyone’s mind was would the Patriots score 100 points. Tri-Village would get scoring from Kylie Thomas, Adrianna Finkbine, Alexa Foreman and Brittany Abney. Adrianna Finkbine knocked down a 15 jumper with 50 seconds to play to make the score 95-32… but over the last three minutes of the game Jefferson tried to slow the game down and was able to avoid giving up a 100 points.

No matter those in attendance were able to witness a record setting performance by Kayla Linkous who now holds and new school record with 61 points in a game. A check of the OHSAA record book puts Kayla in 8th place all-time for points scored in an Ohio High School Girls Basketball game. Her 22 field goals in a game also placed her in a tie for the 8th spot at the state level. Finally her 17-for-17 free throws left her just one short of reaching the record books at the state level.

“Well I really don’t know what to say, said Coach Gray. KJ was feeling it today and it wasn’t like we were just feeding her the ball she was scoring it from all over, what an impressive performance.”

“I really like the way we are playing now as a team… it might not seem like that after today’s game but no one here is concerned about who scores we are about winning. Our kids have bought into what we are trying to do her and that is to keep advancing in the tournament and get better. We won today and now move on to play Twin Valley South on Tuesday night,” concluded Gray.

Score by quarters:
Tri-Village…31…29…20…15 - 95
Jefferson..….06…07…08…11 - 32

Individual Scoring

Tri-Village
Hillarie Frech - 5
Teha Richards - 2
Alexa Foreman - 3
Hallie Mikesell - 4
Adrianna Finkbine - 4
Shaye Thomas - 4
Kylie Thomas - 8
Brittani Abney - 4
Kayla Linkous - 61
Totals - 95

Jefferson
Watts - 25
Carpenter - 1
Napier - 2
Barker - 4
Totals - 32

Three Pointers:
Tri-Village 3 (Foreman, Frech and Mikesell)