Photo by Jimmy Lafakis/The Herald
Northeast Dubois senior guard Jazlyn Sander dribbles down the court during the first quarter of Thursday evening’s
game against Barr-Reeve in Dubois. Barr-Reeve earned a 48-29 victory.

By JIMMY LAFAKIS
jlafakis@dcherald.com

DUBOIS — The beauty of conference play lies in its propensity for providing crucial learning experiences. Northeast Dubois (9-7, 4-1) fell to Barr-Reeve in a physical 48-29 Blue Chip Conference game on Thursday evening.

The Jeeps recognized seniors Jazlyn Sander, Mia Smith, Becca Brosmer and Alexus Royer in a pregame ceremony. All four student-athletes earned starting spots on senior night.

“You could see how excited they were before the game,” Northeast Dubois head coach Andy Chinn said. “Basketball means a lot to those girls. They put in a lot of time and effort over the years. It was frustrating tonight. It really hurt them. I think this one is going to sting, but the clock keeps ticking. We’ve got another tough one on Saturday.”

Northeast Dubois implemented a variety of defenses throughout the game. Zones and traps created some trouble for some Barr-Reeve players, but Vikings senior forward Addison Ainscough finished with a game-high 23 points.

“We let her get away in the first half,” Chinn said. “She scored 20 in the first half. We put Mia Smith on her to start the third quarter. Mia’s a lot smaller, but she was really physical with her. We held her to three points in the second half. Effort wasn’t the issue. We just really struggled to score the basketball tonight. She’s a great player. We’ve got great players, too.”

The Vikings led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and took a 25-16 advantage into the intermission. The Jeeps remained steadfast in their efforts to penetrate through the lane and score inside the paint. That approach led to a 10-for-15 night at the free throw line.

“It was a very physical game,” Chinn said. “I thought we got a lot of really good looks on offense. They’re just not going down for us right now. We’ve got to get back to work tomorrow in practice. We’ve really struggled this week shooting the basketball, and that’s something we had done well throughout the year up until this week.”

Ainscough and fellow Barr-Reeve senior forward Hannah Graber left their imprints on the evening. Graber contributed 18 points, and the duo accounted for four of the Vikings’ five made 3-pointers.

Sophomore forward Reagan Knies knocked down the Jeeps’ lone 3-pointer in the first half. Sander scored a team-high 10 points for Northeast Dubois, while Jeeps sophomore guard Rhylan Kalb added eight points off the bench.

Northeast Dubois will host Springs Valley at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The rivalry game was originally scheduled for Dec. 3, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I sprung that on the girls after the game,” Chinn said. “We talked about tonight’s game. Then, I said, ‘We’ve got to get back to work tomorrow because we’ve got Springs Valley on Saturday.’ They didn’t know that yet. We’ve played Springs Valley really close over the last couple of years. We’ve lost in some really close games in the sectional. These seniors and juniors, they’re excited to get back at it. Our sophomores are excited to get a chance to play Springs Valley.”