Blue Jay girls basketball targets Adisyn Yunck, can't get by Century

Dec. 12—JAMESTOWN — Adisyn Yunck was a popular target on Tuesday night.

"She had a great game tonight," Jamestown High School head girls basketball coach Andy Skunberg said of Yunck. "In the past, she's had foul trouble and so it was nice to see her stay out of that and stay in the game. She kind of took control out there and tried to get us into our offenses. It was a good game for her."

Unfortunately for the team, a great game for Yunck still resulted in a loss.

The Blue Jays dropped 65-41 to Bismarck Century in their WDA season opener Tuesday night. The loss was the Jays' second of the season to put them at 2-2 overall. The Jays collected nonconference wins against Fargo South and West Fargo last week. The squad's one other loss came against Moorhead (Minn.) on Dec. 9. The Jays dropped 57-53 to Moorhead.

Jamestown's final test of the week is slated for Friday at Mandan. Tipoff between the Jays and Braves is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

We have to be more prepared and ready to go," Skunberg said. "I think we got better as the game went on and we kind of settled down and figured out what we were doing. We battled. We never quit. It's a long season and we'll just take it game by game."

Mari Anderson broke the ice for the Blue Jays. The 6-foot sophomore fought through traffic to score against Century's defense but Century still held a 13-2 lead. The Blue Jays, not intimidated, did what they could against the Patriots. Andy Skunberg's squad capitalized on seven of their nine foul shots and dished the ball out to Yunck.

Yunck, a 5-foot-3 freshman, pulled up and looped in a pair of two-point buckets and went 4-of-4 at the line for a first-half total of eight points. Junior Leah Trumbauer, arguably the Jays' most experienced player, accounted for five of the home team's 22 first-half points.

Yunck kept the pressure on in the second half and wound up tallying 16 total points for the night.

"We knew that she was going to be a contributor and a ball handler and someone who would get us into our offense," Skunberg said. "Yeah, she's done well so far."

Zoie Austin was leading Century in total scoring after one with 10 points. Abby Fosland added nine to the total while Erika Lee was responsible for eight. Century led the Jays 40-22 at the half.

"Their physicality was tough for us tonight and they did a good job of slowing down instead of running it up so that helps a little bit but they are a great team," Skunberg said. "They are probably one of the better defensive teams in the state and they get after it."

Century's 18-point cushion at the half gave them some breathing room down the stretch. Austin led the Patriots in the second half with nine to lead all scorers with 19 points.

While it wasn't a win — Skunberg is still grateful for the court time his players have been able to see. With just two juniors serving as upperclassmen and 10 girls on the full roster experience is vital for the Jays this season.

"We're a young team," Skunberg said simply. "We're growing, we're learning every game. Now they know what to expect from the WDA schedule."

Century 65, Jamestown 41

BC 40 25 — 65

JHS 22 19 — 41

BC — Zoie Austin 19, Abby Fosland 11, Erika Lee 11, Eden Fridley 9, Emma Davis 5, Olivia Klimpel 4, Addie Weigel 4, Ashlyn Buchholz 2. Totals: 23 FG, 14-22 FT, 18 fouls. 3-pointers: Fridley 2, Austin 1, Fosland 1, Davis 1.

JHS — Adisyn Yunck 16, Amelia Newman 7, H Attleson 6, Mari Anderson 5, Leah Trumbauer 5, Emily Ellingson 2. Totals: 12 FG, 13-17 FT, 21 fouls, 3-pointers: Yunck 2, Anderson 1, Trumbauer 1.

Thomas Newman and Dalton Lamp had the hot hands on Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, they didn't stay hot quite long enough.

The Blue Jay boys basketball squad dropped 83-59 to Bismarck Century to move to 0-1 in the WDA and 0-2 overall. The team's next WDA contest is scheduled for Friday in Mandan. The Jays and Braves will face off beginning at 7:45 p.m.

"They made shots and we didn't," JHS head boys basketball coach Jason Carroll said. "Century was deliberate. They got to their spots and they made their shots and we did not. You hate to make it sound that simple but sometimes it is."

What was an 18-16 Blue Jay ball game midway through the first half turned into a 15-point lead for the Patriots by the time the break rolled around. The 2023 WDA regular season and tournament champions were up 46-31 halfway through.

Kale Schommer paced the Patriots' comeback, leading his team with 22 first-half points while Jenner Smude chipped in nine from the floor.

"We had some good things happen early on," Carroll said. "We had some good energy, we got after it but the Schommer kid, I don't think he missed a shot in that first half. It wasn't necessarily anything that we did poorly they just made good, tough shots."

Thomas Newman scored the majority of the Jays' first-half points. The junior drained five from floor, went 4-for-8 from the line and notched one from behind the arc for 17 points. Dalton Lamp scored 10 of the remaining 14 points. Noah Meissner and Jackson Rose made the final pair of buckets.

"Thomas really attacked the rim well," Carroll said. "He did a nice job — he always does. That worked well for him tonight."

Newman ended his night with a team-leading 23 points. Lamp hit his final two 3s and tossed in a pair of two-point buckets en route to 10 second-half points. The senior tallied 20 points.

"Dalton is just a good basketball player," Carroll said. "He did everything well tonight. He was all over the place. He was working his tail off and I appreciated that a lot."

A 16-9 run by the Patriots to start the second frame forced Carroll to burn his first timeout of the half to talk things over with his team.

The Blue Jays did what they could to answer their coach's call but the Patriots were squarely in the lead and they wouldn't let up.

Century's lead grew to 25 until Ryan Larson and Newman scored on back-to-back plays to make it a 20-point ball game but that was about as close as the Jays would get.

"Give Century a lot of credit," Carroll said. "They are a good defensive basketball team. Darin Mattern has been there a long time and they know how to play defense. They've always been one of the best defensive teams in the West and they are going to be one of the best defensive teams again this year. They did a nice job."

Century 83, Jamestown 59

BC 46 37 — 83

JHS 31 28 — 59

BC — Kale Schommer 24, Drew Kempel 21, Isaiah Schafer 15, Jenner Smude 12, Garrett Nissley 7, Gibson Kinnebrew 2, Aujura Spears 2. Totals: 33 FG, 11-15 FT, 13 fouls. 3-pointers: Schafer 3, Smude 2, Schommer 1.

JHS — Thomas Newman 23, Dalton Lamp 20, Jackson Rose 5, Jaxon Kolpin 4, Ryan Larson 3, Brady Harty, Noah Meissner 2. Totals: 22 FG, 8-14 FT, 14 fouls. 3-pointers: Lamp 4, Newman 1, Rose 1.