Laney Pilcher scores, and much more, in Jesup’s Class 2A regional win

ALBURNETT — Laney Pilcher is a scorer, the most prolific in the area.

And she’s more. Much more.

“I’m kind of a combo guard,” she said. “I like to shoot a little bit. I like to attack and finish.”

Jesup Coach Jordan Conrad put it more simply:

“Laney’s special,” he said. “She’s not the loudest of kids, but when you talk about someone who sets an example, No. 1 on the list is Laney Pilcher.”

Pilcher piloted Jesup’s press, which forced 25 Alburnett turnovers in a 64-45 Class 2A girls’ basketball regional quarterfinal win Tuesday night at Alburnett High School.

“We’re always in attack mode,” said Pilcher, a senior who still is weighing some Division-III and junior-college offers. “We’re able to cause a lot of turnovers with our defense, and that translates to offense.”

Pilcher compiled 24 points, 18 rebounds and eight steals as the J-Hawks (13-9) advanced. They’ll face top-ranked Dike-New Hartford (21-1) in a regional semifinal Friday at Dike.

Alburnett retired at 12-10. The Pirates were without junior post Ally Olmstead, who has been sidelined recently with a sprained ankle.

“I didn’t know for sure that she’d be out until they announced the starting lineups,” Conrad said. “I looked over and saw her in street clothes.”

Senior Lacey Neighbor tried mightily to pick up the slack, finishing with 20 points and a school-record 25 rebounds in her final game.

But this one belonged to Pilcher and the J-Hawks. The visitors had nine of their 20 steals by the end of the first quarter, building an 18-9 lead. It was 29-20 at halftime.

The dagger came in the third quarter, a 10-0 run that pushed an eight-point margin to 46-28.

Pilcher entered the game as the state’s third-leading scorer (all classes) at 25.0 points per game. She hit 12 of 27 shots Tuesday, all from inside the arc.

“I like to get to the lane a lot, turn steals into layups,” she said.

Freshman Emma Bose added 13 points for the J-Hawks.

Jesup 64, Alburnett 45

Class 2A Regional Quarterfinal, at Alburnett

JESUP (64): Laney Pilcher 12-27 0-0 24, Peyton Bose 2-9 2-3 7, Sage Behn 2-3 0-0 4, Sayler Youngblut 0-2 0-0 0, Adrianna Boulden 3-8 2-3 8, Emma Bose 5-6 2-6 13, Peyton Youngblut 2-6 0-0 6, Scout Kohagen 1-3 0-0 2, Cece Mensching 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Butters 0-0 0-0 0, Amaya Trebon-Boyd 0-0 0-0 0, Karlie Schutte 0-0 0-0 0, Sienna Youngblut 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 6-12 64.

ALBURNETT (45): Peyton Scott 2-10 0-0 4, Ava Armon 3-8 2-2 9, Isabelle Graubard 1-5 0-0 2, Savannah Caves 1-13 2-4 4, Lacey Neighbor 7-17 6-8 20, Miranda Neighbor 1-2 0-0 3, Ingrid Landa 0-1 0-0 0, Lonna Wickman 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Stiffler 1-1 1-2 3, Raina Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-57 11-16 45.

Jesup 18 11 22 13 — 64

Alburnett 9 11 11 14 — 45

3-point goals: Jesup 4-10 (P. Bose 1-6, E. Bose 1-1, P. Youngblut 2-2), Alburnett 2-10 (Armon 1-4, Graubard 0-1, Caves 0-3, M. Neighbor 1-1, Landa 0-1). Team fouls: Jesup 13, Alburnett 9. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Jesup 40 (Pilcher 18), Alburnett 42 (Neighbor 25). Assists: Jesup 10 (Pilcher 3), Alburnett 8 (Caves 3). Steals: Jesup 20 (Pilcher 8), Alburnett 8 (L. Neighbor 3). Turnovers: Jesup 17, Alburnett 25.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com