There was no stopping Peyton Beamer from deep on Dec. 19.

The Community R-6 senior guard drained seven 3-pointers, according to head coach Bob Curtis, and finished with 25 points to lead the Lady Trojans to a 44-36 win at Van-Far. The Lady Indians (2-4) came as close as 32-26 before Community (7-2) went on a 7-0 to end the third quarter to win the Audrain County matchup.

Curtis said Beamer’s night was even more impressive considering she had six 3-pointers at halftime, giving Community a 26-19 halftime edge. Jocelyn Curtis finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists to help beat “a much improved” Van-Far. 

Community R-6 vs Van-Far Photo Gallery

“They junked her in the second half, but she had six in the first half,” Bob Curtis said. “It was a great shooting night for her. We were really good at the free throw line, too. Her and Jocelyn (Curtis) were 8-for-9 from the line.”

Bob Curtis said Community is capable of having effective shooting nights from the perimeter as the team nailed 11 3-pointers to win 58-37 at Slater this season. Beamer hit five, and Kat Meyer had six in that game. Meyer had one 3-pointer and five points against Van-Far.

Van-Far head coach Heather Minter said her team tried to adjust to Beamer after her early hot streak. She said her kids shouldn’t be too discouraged if someone is having a night like that, but they can control something.

“If somebody is shooting hot like that, there’s nothing you can do,” Minter said. “A lot of our issues right now are self-confidence. We’re not shooting the ball well right now. Until we start having confidence, we’re going to struggle.”

Elliott Utterback led Van-Far with 14 points, Aviana Early had six points and 15 rebounds, and Carly Hunn added five points. 

Minter said Van-Far won’t be able to make every shot so the girls have to accept that and stay confident. She said Beamer set the example.

“She played like I want my kids to play — with confidence,” Minter said. “She knew she was hot, and they kept going to her and she kept knocking down shots.”

Community had to hold off Van-Far as the Lady Indians kept fighting back in the game. Early was cleaning up seemingly all the rebounds while Hunn and Kenya Jones — who had four points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks — kept making plays. Curtis said the Lady Trojans figured something out before that 7-0 run to close the third quarter.

“We talked about our possessions and running our sets in the half court,” Curtis said. “We got some looks out of our sets rather than rushing a contested shot.”

Curtis added that Community did well draining the clock and hitting free throws in the final two minutes of the game and is proud that the Lady Trojans were able to seal a close game. 

Minter said the Lady Indians need to believe in themselves as they play their final games of this calendar year. She said they have the players to back it up, like the sophomore Early.

“She’s been busting her butt so we threw her a bone right now,” Minter said. “I’m not surprised (she ended up with 15 rebounds). That’s why she is in the starting lineup right now. She hustles and goes after it.”

Community doesn’t play against until 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in the New Franklin tournament against Brunswick (6-3). Curtis likes his team’s progress at this point of the season and actually wonders if the Lady Trojans even need the time off. 

“We’ve guarded all year in all nine contests,” Curtis said. “Right now, every night, we’re pushing that needle to 50 (points). A lot of times when we play good enough defense, we get to 50, we’re going to win. We’re doing that right now.”