By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Pestilence, locusts, blood and the death of the first game. Bedford North Lawrence descended like the plagues of Exodus, attacking at whirlwind speed, and left Lanesville in darkness.
With its swarming defensive pressure, creating a hailstorm of turnovers, the 4A No.7 Stars struck down Class A No.3 Lanesville 63-38 in the season opener on Saturday night in BNL Fieldhouse. Freshmen phenom Chloe Spreen shrugged off a nervous start to score 20 points and senior Chloe McKnight totaled 16 as BNL drew blood with a 19-0 burst in the first half.
The Eagles were guilty of 14 early turnovers, fueling BNL’s fiery run, unable to adjust to the full-throttle, high-speed velocity and ferocity. The Stars, accelerating close to the red line, suffered through their own shooting woes, but they were able to offset the rushed misses with fierce pressure.
For a debut, some crashes at the breakneck speed were expected. For a rookie in her first official outing, Spreen was splendid. For a team that launched 70 shots – do the math, that’s more than two per minute – the ball movement and unselfishness was crisp. For a team missing two seniors in quarantine, which hurt the depth and rotations, the Stars didn’t slow down.
After a rugged start, BNL blasted away to a 25-5 lead midway through the second quarter. Spreen scored 9 points during that surge and added another bucket on a beautiful no-look catch and dish from McKnight for a layup.
“We made some defense-to-offense plays, and that’s the way this team is going to play,” BNL coach Jeff Allen said. “We’ll have spurts like that when we play fast.”
Lanesville was being a pest, staying within 6-5 as BNL clanged along with misfires, when basketball’s version of a pandemic swept across the Eagles. The Stars ended the first quarter with Haley Deckard’s layup off a Jenna Louden pass, McKnight’s rebound basket, and Irye Gomez’s corner trey to a 13-5 lead.
Then Spreen sprang to life. A 3-point play, two fast-break layups, a 12-footer along the baseline and the gorgeous combination play with McKnight. The Eagles were left panting and clawing.
“Our speed is something they’re not used to, and that was a huge difference,” Allen said.
“I started a little off, but I got into it,” Spreen said. “In the beginning it was a little rough. Even though we didn’t start off well, we ended well.”
Spreen, rated one of the top freshmen in the country and the target of multiple Div. I programs, also had a game-high 9 rebounds. If she suffered anxiousness, it disappeared.
“I would think she would be, with the tradition we have and being thrown in there as a freshman,” Allen said. “She probably felt a little pressure, and she’s a competitor. Probably put pressure on herself. But she relaxed and made some good plays.”
Gomez finished with 10 points and Karsyn Norman added 8. BNL’s only real issue was 26 of 70 shooting (including 4 of 21 from long range).
“We struggled a little bit to make shots, but we haven’t played,” Allen said. “They were good shots. There were a lot of good things. Game atmosphere, you just can’t simulate that. It’s the fact we haven’t played. And it’s about winning and sharing the basketball. Our kids have always bought into that.”
Gracie Adams paced Lanesville with 12 points. The Eagles finished with 22 turnovers.
“It was an unbelievable amount,” Lanesville coach Angie Hinton said. “They were just pressing, trying to do things they weren’t capable of doing at this pace of the game.”
BNL, thanks to the early-season schedule juggling and adjustments, will now be idle until Nov.17, when it visits Bloomington South.
LANESVILLE EAGLES (38)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Gracie Adams, f 1-2 4-10 3-3 7 0 12
30 Danielle Haire, f 1-2 1-3 2-2 3 1 5
40 Morgan Sonner, c 0-1 0-1 2-2 3 2 2
25 Linzie Wernert, g 0-1 1-3 0-1 6 3 2
20 Elizabeth Turner, g 2-2 2-3 0-0 1 1 6
22 Emma Campbell 1-7 2-9 0-0 1 0 5
15 Kennedy Gordon 0-0 1-4 1-2 5 3 3
10 Ava Kerr 0-1 0-1 0-0 3 1 0
32 Mackenzie Pavey 0-1 0-1 0-0 3 1 0
Totals 6-20 12-37 8-10 36 13 38
BEDFORD NL STARS (63)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Irye Gomez, f 2-8 4-14 0-0 6 1 10
11 Chloe McKnight, f 2-8 6-13 2-2 2 1 16
2 Chloe Spreen, f 0-2 8-17 4-7 9 2 20
21 Karsyn Norman, g 0-4 4-14 0-0 4 5 8
23 Jenna Louden, g 0-0 1-4 0-0 2 2 2
24 Carlee Kern 0-0 2-2 0-1 5 0 4
40 Haley Deckard 0-0 1-3 1-2 5 0 3
32 Madisyn Bailey 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
20 Emma Brown 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
3 Ella Turner 0-0 0-3 0-0 1 0 0
50 Emma Crane 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 4-21 26-70 7-12 36 11 63
Lanesville 5 6 13 14 – 38
Bedford NL 13 21 11 18 – 63
Turnovers – Lanesville 22, BNL 9
Field goal percentage – Lanesville 12-37 (.324); BNL 26-70 (.371)
Free throw percentage – Lanesville 8-10 (.800); BNL 7-12 (.583)
