By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Style points usually count for nothing. A win, no matter what it looks like, is a win. A rose is a rose is a rose, after all, and still smells sweet. Bedford North Lawrence, where excellence is demanded, coasted to an expected victory, but never found the overdrive gear. And that caused a little teeth grinding.
So that cost the No.4 Stars a clean review following a 60-31 blowout of struggling Jasper on Saturday afternoon. They were never in danger, not after coming within 39 seconds of a first-quarter shutout, but they didn’t quite reach the level of sharpness for a team preparing for a state tournament run.
Call it perfectionism. BNL (18-2) blasted the overmatched Wildcats 60-31, but can play better. The Stars had three double-figure scorers, but can shoot better. They forced 29 turnovers, but can rebound better. After a swarming start, they settled into a comfort level rather than reaching for the stars.
Call it expectations. Chloe Spreen had 17 points and 10 rebounds for another double-double, Karsyn Norman had 15 points, and Madisyn Bailey got the Stars rolling with 10 in the first half. But they missed enough layups to make coach Jeff Allen growl a little. BNL shot only 34 percent, even while rumbling to a huge margin as the Wildcats (4-16 with eight straight losses) fumbled the ball all over Damon Bailey Court and got away without suffering the humiliation of the running clock.
”How many layups did we miss?” Allen asked. Fortunately, those aren’t part of the stat package, but the game film will reveal that total. “That’s frustrating. From everybody. 20 points worth? We don’t finish a shot, and I can’t fix that. They have to take accountability. That’s a big part of playing at the level we need to play. Sometimes we’re making a simple play a little more complex than it should be.
“I’m not particularly happy with how we played, especially with a week off to work on some stuff. We made some bad decisions, took some chances, we weren’t sharp offensively. I’m really not happy. We’re capable of playing higher-level basketball than that, so it’s disappointing. A win is a win, but we’re trying to get where we we feel fine-tuned. And I don’t know if that was a step in the right direction.”
The start was fine, a 15-0 burst before Jasper found a way to get the ball over halfcourt and execute some sort of offense. Bailey was that catalyst with two steals for layups and a 3-pointer from the key. Jasper had 12 turnovers before Aspen Sermersheim finally got loose for a basket.
BNL ended the first half on a 11-2 run, with Spreen sliding through traffic for layups, with a trey from Norman as BNL rolled to a 31-14 advantage. The Stars opened the third quarter with seven consecutive points, then raced away to a 48-18 lead on a 10-0 blast.
From that point, lethargy spiked and quality suffered. BNL will need to be better, with the postseason on the immediate horizon.
“I don’t want to be a deadbeat about a win like that,” Allen said. “We had bright moments, too, but we should have played at a higher level.”
Shooting is a personal issue and a complex equation of form, decision and set execution. The Stars were 22 of 65 overall (yet 13 of 13 at the line), so there is room to peak as they look ahead to the final week of the regular season. Were they guilty of playing down to the level of the opponent? That is not allowed.
“It was a sloppy win,” Norman said. “Shots are going to fall, we’ll be fine. I wouldn’t say we’re ready exactly at this moment, but I think we will be ready. I’m so excited.”
Ella Turner had 8 points and 8 boards for the Stars. Sermersheim finished with 10 points for Jasper.
BNL will learn its sectional fate on Sunday when the IHSAA conducts the state tournament draw, then shift focus to Salem (and Senior Night) on Tuesday.
JASPER WILDCATS (31)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
25 Kennedy Mathies, f 0-0 0-3 0-2 8 1 0
21 Emma Schipp, f 0-0 4-8 0-0 5 0 8
23 Jasmin Mehringer, g 0-1 2-4 0-0 2 0 4
13 Aspen Sermersheim, g 0-3 4-11 2-4 3 4 10
15 Carlee Rogers, g 1-1 1-4 0-0 2 3 3
45 Izzy Hopf 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 2 0
1 Tori Brandt 0-2 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
41 Madysen Sutton 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 1 0
33 Katelyn Vaal 0-0 1-1 0-1 0 0 2
3 Hallie Rue 0-0 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
35 Olivia Young 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
5 Adrienne Simmers 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 1-7 14-39 2-7 35 11 31
BEDFORD NL STARS (60)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Chloe Spreen, f 0-3 6-18 5-5 10 1 17
24 Carlee Kern, f 0-1 1-5 2-2 4 2 4
22 Mallory Pride, f 0-1 1-10 2-2 3 0 4
32 Madisyn Bailey, g 2-5 4-8 0-0 2 2 10
21 Karsyn Norman, g 1-3 6-16 2-2 4 0 15
31 Ella Turner 0-0 4-7 0-0 8 3 8
23 Hadley Teague 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 4 0
50 Emma Crane 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 1 2
3 Katie Baumgart 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-14 22-65 13-13 34 13 60
Jasper 3 11 8 9 – 31
Bedford NL 15 16 19 10 – 60
Turnovers – Jasper 29, BNL 8
Field goal percentage – Jasper 14-39 (.359); BNL 22-65 (.338)
Free throw percentage – Jasper 2-7 (.286); BNL 13-13 (1.000)
