By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence added another name to its remarkable roll call of royalty. All of a sudden, the list is getting crowded. That doesn’t make it less special. And it’s rather appropriate for Chloe Spreen to become the 10th name on the register. On the 10 scale, that’s where her game is headed.
With a signature post move, with two dribbles and an electric spin to discard a defender, Spreen joined exclusive company, recording her 1,000th career point, the most memorable highlight of a blowout victory over New Albany on Saturday afternoon.
Spreen finished with 30 points, powering BNL (8-1) to a devastating 71-31 win over overmatched New Albany. Karsyn Norman added 14 points as the Stars improved to 2-0 in the Hoosier Hills Conference while extending New Albany’s misery with its 10th consecutive loss.
Following a 28-0 explosion in the first half, that story became secondary. After Norman reached that career mark less than 24 hours earlier against Gibson Southern, the focus shifted to Spreen as she bore down on history like a police offer in pursuit of a criminal. With 41 seconds left in the third quarter of a running-clock runaway, she finished the chase.
Spreen joined the great names in BNL history – Jorie Allen, Dominique McBryde, Marla Inman, Jenna Allen, Chloe McKnight, Tracey Sargent, Brittani Rizzi, Kristen Pritchett and now Norman – on the still-short list of the program’s 1,000-point scorers. That directory of basketball divas includes Miss Basketballs, All-Stars and Mental Attitude Award winners. Rare air indeed.
“It’s a lot of people who worked really hard,” Spreen said. “I know the work we’ve put into it, and the time. So being on that list is huge. It’s a huge honor. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, and coaching staff.”
Consider for a moment that Spreen is still a junior. She got to 1,000 in 61 games. If BNL continues its current arc of success, she will climb into the stratosphere and challenge those at the very top.
“As a junior, that list shrinks every further,” BNL coach Jeff Allen said. “It’s pretty remarkable, especially to have two kids do it. We’ve been blessed to have really good basketball players over the last decade. Chloe works hard at her game, she’s a great teammate, she wants to win. I’m excited that she’s reached that milestone. And she will continue to climb up that ladder.
“Her game has matured. She’s a year older, it’s understanding the game, and her work ethic is tireless. She really cares, she cares about wins and losses. It’s not about her, it’s how we do as a team.”
How did BNL do as a team? The final margin was 40, and it wasn’t that close. Could have been far worse, but for a running clock, for the removal of full-court pressure, and for the late appearances from those deeper on the bench. The Stars had 49 points at halftime.
Any doubt was removed during a brutal burst. BNL’s lead was 10-9 midway through the first quarter. What followed was a clinic in ball pressure, in transition offense, in ball sharing for easy breakaways. The Stars went on an amazing 28-0 run, finally broken by a free throw from New Albany’s Madi Wood with 4:07 left in the half, and most of the buckets were layups. BNL triggered the running clock (the mandated 35-point margin) late in the second quarter, although it doesn’t officially begin until the second half.
“We played at our level,” Allen said. “We talk about that all the time. Sometimes it’s not about who the opponent is, you’re playing against yourselves.
“I told the kids I was really proud of them, because they came out and did that. That’s a game you could win and not feel real good about it, but I feel good about what we did. We played hard, there was no slippage whatsoever.”
BNL, with senior starter Mallory Pride still sidelined with an illness, didn’t miss a beat. Madisyn Bailey added 13 points, and the Stars had only 1 turnover during the first three quarters. Spreen’s history-making bucket gave BNL a 65-19 lead after the third.
Maizy Smith paced the Bulldogs (1-10 overall, 0-1 in the HHC) with 9 points while Alaina Walker totaled 8. New Albany finished with 31 turnovers, 20 during the first half that fueled the BNL blast.
That got lost in the moment. Spreen took center stage, although she was quick to credit teammates. How cool was it that BNL had someone accomplish that on back-to-back nights?
“I know we couldn’t have done it without each other,” Spreen said. “We worked hard for this. We’ve been playing together for a long time.”
BNL will return to action on Thursday, hosting league rival Seymour (7-0) in a key conference clash.
NEW ALBANY BULLDOGS (31)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
21 Sophia Corley, g 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 0 3
23 Journey Howard, c 0-0 1-5 0-0 4 1 2
2 Alaina Walker, g 0-0 4-5 0-0 7 0 8
5 Maizy Smith, g 1-5 3-11 2-2 7 1 9
14 Grace McBride, g 1-3 1-6 0-0 2 1 3
25 Cheyenne Palmer 0-0 1-2 0-3 6 0 2
12 Reese Stiles 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 2 1
20 Madi Wood 0-0 1-3 1-2 0 2 3
Totals 3-8 12-32 4-9 28 7 31
BEDFORD NL STARS (71)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Chloe Spreen, f 1-3 12-18 5-5 1 0 30
40 Bella Jackson, f 0-0 1-1 0-0 3 0 2
24 Madisyn Bailey, g 1-4 5-10 2-2 4 0 13
20 Emma Brown, g 0-2 3-8 0-0 1 1 6
21 Karsyn Norman, g 0-1 6-13 2-3 5 0 14
3 Katie Baumgart 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 1 2
32 Trinidy Bailey 0-0 1-2 0-2 1 0 2
50 Emma Crane 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
12 Tori Nikirk 0-1 0-2 0-0 1 2 0
44 Ellie Tillett 0-0 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
23 Katie Godlevske 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
11 Haleigh Canada 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 2-12 30-58 9-12 22 7 71
New Albany 9 3 7 12 – 31
Bedford NL 29 20 16 6 – 71
Turnovers – New Albany 31, BNL 6
Field goal percentage – New Albany 12-32 (.375); BNL 30-58 (.517)
Free throw percentage – New Albany 4-9 (.444); BNL 9-12 (.750)
