By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
JEFFERSONVILLE – By the time Jeffersonville heard the rumbling avalanche, escape was too late. To put this ‘wow’ night in Game of Thrones terms, Bedford North Lawrence was fire, Jeffersonville was ice, the song was insane and BNL’s dragons scorched the Devils with wicked ferocity.
Talk about shock and awe. The No.4 Stars unleashed a firestorm, engulfing everything in their path. BNL has made a habit of crushing overmatched opponents, but this Hoosier Hills Conference opener was supposed to be a clash of equality. Think again.
With brutal force, with speed and dazzling defense, BNL roasted the Red Devils 65-21 on Saturday night. And it wasn’t that close. While the Devils (5-3) rushed to their own demise, the Stars erupted to trigger the mercy rule in less than a half of sensational basketball. Karsyn Norman scored 22 points and Chloe Spreen added 20 as BNL (6-0) took the first step toward a conference championship.
Nobody expected such dominance, lest of all the Devils. But the more they pressed, the more BNL punished. And the wave was unstoppable. BNL didn’t allow a field goal until the 1:27 mark of the second quarter, and by then the margin was 39-4. The Devils had that glazed-eyes look of a car-wreck victim.
BNL coach Jeff Allen could only smile wryly and shake his head in amazement for the wrath his team wrought.
“I didn’t expect that at all,” Allen said. “It was our night, not their night. Sometimes it happens that way.”
Jeffersonville’s scramble style and pressure played perfectly into BNL’s strike zone, and the Stars didn’t miss. They started 13-2 in the first four minutes, roared to a 20-4 lead after the first quarter, then scored the first 19 points of the second.
It was too easy at times. They scored in transition, off Jeff’s 15 first-half turnovers or off the 27 straight missed shots before Maranda Mason mercifully ended the streak with a steal for a layup.
“We made things difficult for them in the halfcourt, got them out of rhythm, got out and scored and got them on their heels,” Allen said. “We thought, if we could sit down in the halfcourt, keep them in front of us, we could make it difficult for them. We did a good job of that. We have a lot of speed. If we can push the ball up the floor, we like to do that. It turned out pretty well.”
The running clock, mandated by the IHSAA rules, wasn’t formally in play until the second half, which didn’t take long. First-year Jeffersonville coach Cory Norman took it in stride. The sun will come up tomorrow.
“At some point, you have highs, you have lows,” Norman said. “For every time you have a high, there will be a low some day. Tonight was our low. Not the end of the world. It happens. On certain nights, we’re good at what we do. Tonight we were not.
“In the locker room I didn’t smile, but I didn’t tell them they messed up, either. It was a minor setback.”
Minor, with BNL’s major power overwhelming the Devils in every phase. There’s no way to sugarcoat any Jeff numbers. The Devils were 0-for-20 from long range and shot 15 percent (7 of 46) overall. They were quick on the trigger, which only fueled BNL’s fire.
Spreen added 11 rebounds, and Norman’s only misses were from distance (9 of 13 total, all the makes from layup range). Mallory Pride and Emma Brown added 7 points each. Maybe this will impress the poll voters.
“We executed, moved the ball, made some shots when we needed,” Allen said. “We always talk about ‘one more’ as far as passing. We did a really good job of that.”
Brooklyn Carter paced Jeffersonville with 6 points.
BNL will return to action on Nov. 26, facing Zionsville in the Sneakers for Santa Shootout at Brownsburg.
BEDFORD NL STARS (65)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Chloe Spreen, f 2-5 8-17 2-3 11 2 20
22 Mallory Pride, f 0-0 1-7 5-6 5 1 7
24 Madisyn Bailey, g 0-2 0-5 1-2 7 5 1
20 Emma Brown, g 1-2 3-4 0-0 1 2 7
21 Karsyn Norman, g 0-3 9-13 4-4 3 0 22
3 Katie Baumgart 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
12 Tori Nikirk 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
50 Emma Crane 0-0 1-2 0-0 3 0 2
32 Trinidy Bailey 0-0 0-0 2-2 5 0 2
40 Bella Jackson 0-0 1-2 2-2 0 0 4
44 Ellie Tillett 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
23 Katie Godlevske 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-12 23-49 16-21 41 10 65
JEFFERSONVILLE RED DEVILS (21)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
24 Myah Johnson, f 0-1 2-6 0-0 7 4 4
3 Sophie Reese, g 0-6 1-11 0-0 2 1 2
5 La’Kyra Johnson, g 0-1 0-7 0-0 3 1 0
14 Brooklyn Carter, g 0-3 1-6 4-4 6 0 6
15 Maranda Mason, g 0-4 1-9 1-2 2 2 3
4 Elle Marble 0-4 0-10 2-4 1 0 2
21 Averielle Baker 0-0 0-3 0-0 9 2 0
23 LaQaya Gold 0-1 1-4 0-2 0 4 2
22 Allanae Boothe 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 2 2
25 Emma Eaton 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Totals 0-20 7-46 7-12 36 17 21
Bedford NL 20 23 8 14 – 65
Jeffersonville 4 4 7 6 – 21
Turnovers – BNL 12, Jeffersonville 18
Field goal percentage – BNL 23-49 (.469); Jeffersonville 7-46 (.152)
Free throw percentage – BNL 16-21 (.762); Jeffersonville 7-12 (.583)
