YOUNG JUMPERS OUSTED: Somerset falls to Danville in All "A" Tournament

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset junior Sophie Barnes (12) attempts to grab the ball away from Danville senior Myla Turner (11) during the Jumpers' 69-41 loss to the Admirals on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.

SOMERSET - For a young Lady Jumper team, Wednesday evening’s contest against the Danville Lady Admirals at the Patch was a chance to prove themselves as the winner would advance to the championship game of the 12th Region All “A” Tournament to take on Danville Christian. Despite trailing for the entirety of the game, Somerset did in fact prove themselves as they hung right with the Ads. Despite falling by a final score of 69-41, don’t let the final score fool you, it was a good night for the Jumpers. Head coach Andrew Laughlin had similar thoughts after the conclusion of the ball game.

“We are never going to stop fighting, doesn’t matter if we are down 20 or up 20. We went down by 10 early but we settled into our game flow and kept chipping away. I’m very happy with the way we fought for the entire game, and I know as we keep getting better the results are going to start to flip,” he explained.

Nahla Yeast scored the first four points of the contest for the Lady Admirals and after a pair of free throws from Tayvionna Caldwell, the visitors were already out to a six-point advantage. Maci Huff scored the first two of the game for her team inside the paint, but Danville used some suffocating defense and inside work to further increase their lead to double digits at 13-2, causing coach Laughlin to spend a timeout.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset seventh grader Nora Grider (13) attempts to finish past heavy defense during the Jumpers' loss to Danville on Wednesday evening.

Huff struck back with three straight points of her own to get the Jumpers in a bit of a groove on the offensive end of the court. Mati Cooper also scored two after a quick 4-0 spree by the Ads, but again it looked like the visitors would have all the momentum after the first eight minutes following another four straight from Yeast. However, Nora Grider managed to rip down an offensive rebound shortly before the end of the period and put the ball into the hoop for two, decreasing the Jumpers’ deficit to 22-9 heading into the second.

Danville kept the pressure on in the second period with four straight points before Sophie Barnes finally put her team into double figures on the scoreboard with the first made three of the game for Somerset. Another three by the junior guard midway through the period put the Jumpers down by 15 points at 30-15, with coach Laughlin calling for another timeout to get his team refocused.

It finally looked like Somerset was putting a run together after back-to-back baskets from Huff and Luci Haught, with the Admirals calling for a timeout up 32-19 . Huff hit a pair of free throws and Grider followed up with two more to cut their deficit down to 36-23 late in the quarter. Myla Turner and Grider each traded a free throw each to end the first half, as the home team found themselves trailing 37-24 heading into the second half of action.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset senior Serenity Haynes (21) attempts a bounce pass past a defender during the Jumpers' contest against Danville on Wednesday at the Briar Patch.

Turner and Cooper traded baskets to open play in the second half, and after a basket from Serenity Haynes decreased the Admirals lead down to just 11 points, it really looked like the Jumpers were going to, pun intended, jump right back into this contest. Aniah Byrd drilled a three to put her team’s lead back up to 16 points before a made layup from Barnes. An offensive rebound and two from Caldwell forced Somerset to soon call for a timeout down 46-31.

After Barnes made another two out of the short break, it was all Danville for the remainder of the period though. Caldwell scored five straight and Turner had another two following a steal shortly before the buzzer. Haynes added the lone point for the Jumpers during a period-closing 9-3 run by the Lady Ads, with the home team trailing by nearly 20 points at 53-34 heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Somerset came out in the fourth on a mission it seemed, with Haynes, Barnes and Grider all scoring two points and suddenly the Jumpers were down by just 13 points, with Danville immediately calling for a timeout. That timeout worked for the Ads too, as they went on a 12-0 run to capture a 25-point lead with time winding down in the ball game. Byrd had seven of those points, including two three-point baskets. Barnes managed to sink one of two from the charity stripe to bring the run to a close, but that was the final point scored of the contest for Somerset, as they soon fell to the Ads by a final score of 69-41.

Photo by Jacob Pratt: Somerset seventh grader Maci Huff (right) attempts to finish with a shot near the basket during the game between the Lady Jumpers and the Danville Lady Admirals on Wednesday.

Barnes led the way for the Jumpers with 12 points. Other scorers included Huff with 10, Grider with eight, Haynes with five, Cooper with four and Haught with two. Somerset falls to 3-7 with the loss and weather-permitting, will next take on the Southwestern Warriors at the Wig Wam on Friday. Coach Laughlin noted his team will be ready for the daunting task ahead of them.

“We are going to have a game plan and come out and execute it to the best of our ability. Junior Molden is a great coach and he has some really great players, so we are just going to come out, execute and do the best that we can,” he elucidated.

Snow is predicted in the forecast for Friday, but if the game isn’t postponed tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Independent local stories like this are available to capture the essence of local sports. Support my continued independent work solely funded by donations. Local sport stories always deserve full coverage, it is my passion to highlight the talent and hard work put in by our youth. If you feel like donating, my Venmo is @PRATT-3523.