By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
EVANSVILLE – Without a Pride, with a lot of pride, with a future Indiana All-Star reaching another career mark of excellence, Bedford North Lawrence bounced back in spectacular fashion. Can’t keep a good team down, even with a starter down.
The No.5 Stars, rubbing the ointment of victory on their first-loss wounds, got their mojo back, and senior guard Karsyn Norman joined exclusive company as BNL roared past 3A No.8 Gibson Southern in the opening game of the Evansville North Showcase on Friday night.
Norman, bound for Butler, totaled 21 points – including her 1,000th career point – while propelling the Stars to an impressive 73-43 triumph over the Titans. Norman, with a delicious back cut that led to a stop-and-spin short jumper for her historic bucket, became only the ninth player in program history to reach that mark.
For a while, any personal achievements were secondary. BNL (7-1) was seeking a little redemption following a crash-and-burn loss to Zionsville, and the absence of senior forward Mallory Pride (home with an illness) caused some angst.
Any worried was unfounded. BNL started the second quarter with a 9-0 explosion to a double-digit lead, Emma Brown shouldered some scoring load, and Norman went to work with 11 points in the third quarter, including the beautiful move for the M point (that’s Roman numerals for those who failed that test in junior high) as the Stars ripped to a 52-29 advantage.
First things first. BNL flexed some muscle and speed to overpower the Titans.
“Great team win,” Allen said. “We always talk about the next one up, with Mallory being home, with Emma Brown not feeling great. The team really stepped up. It was a good win over a really good program.”
Next, the Norman conquest of history. The list of previous Stars to reach 1,000 is a who’s-who of BNL greats – Jorie Allen, Dominique McBryde, Marla Inman, Jenna Allen, Chloe McKnight, Tracey Sargent, Brittani Rizzi, Kristen Pritchett. That’s royalty.
“That’s a short list,” said Allen, with two daughters on that honor roll. “It’s quite an accomplishment, with the tradition we have. She’s done nothing but work hard. What a pleasure to coach. And we’re not done yet. I hope she adds to that.”
Norman was clueless about her pursuit, and didn’t quite grasp the moment of the announcement until her family broke out a handful of Fatheads to celebrate.
“I had no idea, no clue,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a big accomplishment. It means a lot. It’s a big honor.”
Back to the game. BNL found its footing early in the second quarter. Norman ignited it with a steal for a layup, then she went coast-to-coast with a rebound. Brown scored twice in transition, the last for a 3-point play, and Gibson Southern (4-2) was gasping for breath to keep up.
“We were a little careless with the basketball, taking rushed shots,” Allen said. “Once we got calmed down, focused on getting stops and getting out running, we were pretty good.”
“They’re a great team,” Gibson coach Kyle Brasher said. “A couple of shots of ours didn’t fall, and if you’re not going to hit shots against a team like that, they’ll make you pay. Transition defense hurt us at times.”
Norman capped her scoring with her third-quarter blitz, and she added 9 rebounds. Chloe Spreen, unstoppable in the paint, had 15 points, while the most notable production (especially with the Pride absence) came from Brown (11 points) and Madisyn Bailey (9 points). Katie Baumgart came off the bench for 6 points and 6 boards.
“I’ve talked to Emma and Madisyn, I expect that every night,” Allen said. “We needed it without Mallory. And it was a big win. We wanted to get back to the level we were playing before we stumbled.”
“It was a good bounce-back win,” Norman said.
Gibson Southern, still waiting for star Gabby Spink to return from injury, was paced by Chloey Graham with 16 points. Ava Weisheit totaled 12 points and 10 boards, although BNL held current scoring leader Alexis Tucker (averaging 18 as Gibson was totaling 66 points per game) to only 7.
BNL will return to action on Saturday, hosting New Albany.
BEDFORD NL STARS (73)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Chloe Spreen, f 1-1 6-10 2-2 2 3 15
40 Bella Jackson, f 0-2 0-2 1-2 4 2 1
24 Madisyn Bailey, g 1-6 4-11 0-0 4 4 9
20 Emma Brown, g 2-3 4-5 1-1 1 3 11
21 Karsyn Norman, g 1-4 10-24 0-0 9 1 21
32 Trinidy Bailey 0-2 1-3 2-3 5 0 4
3 Katie Baumgart 0-1 3-4 0-0 6 1 6
50 Emma Crane 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
12 Tori Nikirk 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
23 Katie Godlevske 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 3
44 Ellie Tillett 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 7-21 30-61 6-8 35 14 73
GIBSON SOUTHERN TITANS (43)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
4 Alexis Tucker, f 0-0 2-3 3-8 4 3 7
33 Ava Weisheit, f 2-4 4-13 2-4 10 2 12
41 Chloey Graham, g 2-6 6-10 2-2 3 2 16
3 Ally Malone, g 0-1 0-4 0-0 2 1 0
14 Lauryn Adamson, g 0-0 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
20 Nola Ravellette 0-1 0-2 0-0 2 0 0
5 Lydia Maurer 0-2 1-3 1-2 2 1 3
30 Jenna Loyd 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
25 Halle Evans 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
10 Brylie Kern 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
24 Melia Reid 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 1
Totals 4-14 15-38 9-18 28 9 43
Bedford NL 13 18 21 21 – 73
Gibson So. 9 10 10 14 – 43
Turnovers – BNL 7, Gibson Southern 13
Field goal percentage – BNL 30-61 (.492); Gibson Southern 15-38 (.395)
Free throw percentage – BNL 6-8 (.750); Gibson Southern 9-18 (.500)
