By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – With so much emotional upheaval and pregame turbulence, with victory over an overmatched opponent a forgone conclusion, perhaps a slippage of Bedford North Lawrence’s intensity level was expected. Even forgiven. After all, everything was a mess, from the usual lineup and rotations to the tear-smeared mascara following the Senior Night introductions.
Letdown? With the postseason on the horizon? Not a chance.
After the traditional celebration of the five seniors, the No.6 Stars got back to business. No nonsense, no softness. Punch the time clock, punch out the final foe of the regular season. Senior Night is an exercise in looking back over the swift stream of time, wondering where four years went, but this team is looking forward, hoping to play the next four games on the same home court.
BNL closed the book on the scheduled 2022-23 campaign with a 62-19 victory over winless Martinsville on Thursday night. Four Stars scored in double figures as the Stars (20-3) posted another runaway win, with a running clock for the entire second half, and immediately reset the focus for next week’s Class 4A sectional.
“We’re not done yet,” BNL senior guard Karsyn Norman said. “Hopefully we still have four more games to win here.” That would take the Stars deep into the state tournament.
But before that hard work begins, this easy triumph had to be completed. The Artesians (0-24) were the unfortunate victims for the celebration of the upperclassmen. BNL just has too much firepower, and it showed during a 23-1 finish to the first quarter, during an 18-0 run to cap the first half.
Norman triggered the first blast with all of her 12 points, Madisyn Bailey had 10 points during the second-quarter destruction. Martinsville had 21 of its 30 turnovers during the opening half.
“We played pretty sharp,” BNL coach Jeff Allen said. “I thought we played hard, tried to execute, we stayed with our level of play. As a coach, that’s what you hope for, going into next week. It’s not about the opponent you’re facing, but how you’re playing. The kids did a really good job.”
BNL’s senior class (Norman, Emma Brown, Mallory Pride, Katie Baumgart and Emma Crane) comprised the starting lineup, and they played the first 5:30. When the Stars inserted Chloe Spreen and Madisyn Bailey back into their normal spots, BNL’s energy level surged and the margin exploded.
Spreen finished with 13 points, Bailey had 12 and Pride totaled 11. Every senior scored.
“Those kids have been solid of the bench all year, so it’s not surprising they would start together and do really well,” Allen said. “They epitomize what we stand for. We work hard, we play hard, we believe in being high-character people. Those five represent that. I’m proud to have known them, proud to have coached them.”
Slippage? BNL had only 6 turnovers. “It was a no-nonsense attitude,” Allen said. “That’s a great thing to see.”
The second half was anticlimactic and rapid. Allen took out his normal three senior starters with 5:22 left, hugging each when they left the court.
“It was nice to celebrate us,” Norman said. “The four years went by really fast.”
“I just had so much fun,” Pride said. “We did pretty well., We had different groups in there, he was throwing things at us. We had to make it work. It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”
Now the situation gets a lot more serious. BNL will face Jennings County in the opening game of the sectional on Tuesday.
MARTINSVILLE ARTESIANS (19)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
24 Mya Lewis, f 2-5 3-6 0-0 2 0 8
1 Marina Rautenkranz, g 0-0 1-3 2-2 3 4 4
3 Holly Galyan, g 0-6 0-8 3-4 2 2 3
5 Paycee Lewis, g 1-2 1-3 0-0 4 1 3
10 Maci Dorsett, g 0-1 0-2 1-2 2 3 1
30 Chloe Jones 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
20 Trinity Jones 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
2 Emma Potter 0-2 0-2 0-0 3 0 0
22 Brookelyn Schweitzer 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 3-16 5-25 6-8 29 12 19
BEDFORD NL STARS (62)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
3 Katie Baumgart, f 0-2 1-3 2-2 2 0 4
50 Emma Crane, f 0-0 1-1 1-2 2 1 3
22 Mallory Pride, f 1-2 4-8 2-3 2 1 11
20 Emma Brown, g 1-4 1-5 0-0 2 2 3
21 Karsyn Norman, g 2-4 4-8 2-2 1 0 12
2 Chloe Spreen 0-1 4-9 5-7 6 1 13
24 Madisyn Bailey 0-1 6-8 0-0 2 0 12
44 Ellie Tillett 0-0 0-2 0-0 0 2 0
12 Tori Nikirk 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
32 Trinidy Bailey 0-1 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
23 Katie Godlevske 0-3 0-4 0-0 0 0 0
40 Bella Jackson 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
11 Haleigh Canada 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 4-15 23-50 12-15 21 7 62
Martinsville 6 3 5 5 – 19
Bedford NL 26 20 8 8 – 62
Turnovers – Martinsville 30, BNL 6
Field goal percentage – Martinsville 5-25 (.200); BNL 23-50 (.460)
Free throw percentage – Martinsville 6-8 (.750); BNL 12-15 (.800)
