By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence’s standard of excellence never wavers. The competition on the court, while always respected, is not always the toughest opponent. Sometimes it’s the team in the mirror.
The Stars showed their ability to focus on the big picture, rather than stare blankly at the close snapshot, during their emphatic road win at New Albany. Now the challenge is to maintain that concentration for another road trip in the Hoosier Hills Conference.
No.7 BNL (8-1) will continue the chase for the coveted conference title when it travels to Seymour on Thursday night. The Stars, the defending league champions, have won 22 of those mythical trophies in program history, and they are about to reach the midpoint in the latest race.
The victory over New Albany (86-30 on Saturday afternoon) got the Stars to 2-0 atop the standings. There’s still plenty of potential problems ahead, starting with the Owls (5-4, 0-1). That’s why BNL coach Jeff Allen is preaching about consistency as BNL prepares for this test. Everybody wants a piece of the crown, especially a team that’s wearing the state tiara.
“The big thing with this group is consistency,” Allen said. “Hopefully we’re starting to understand that. I’d like to see us get off to a good start. That would enforce that a little more for me, that they’re starting to get that.”
That message was received at New Albany. The Stars roared to a 25-12 lead in the first quarter and were on pace for triple digits until the running clock slowed them down. Allen was seeking momentum for upcoming battles, and that solid performance should provide it.
The Owls, meanwhile, are coming off back-to-back road losses to close rivals. They dropped a 40-35 at Brownstown, then suffered a 66-36 setback to No.8 Jennings County on Tuesday night. That doesn’t mean Seymour isn’t dangerous. They will feature a frontline duo of 6-1 forward Journee Brown and veteran Kendall Sterling.
“That’s a really good duo, an inside-outside combination that’s hard to handle,” Allen said. “Sterling is a college-level player who can create a lot of offense, Brown is very long and has good skills. They pose a problem for anyone defensively. We’ll focus our defense on them and try to make things difficult.
“We have to put pressure on the ball on the perimeter, so they can’t pick us apart and get the ball to those kids in good spots. Pressure will be key for us.”
Of course, the Owls must deal with BNL’s weapons. Chloe Spreen continues to make her case for Miss Basketball while averaging 22.2 points and 6.7 rebounds, while stat stuffer Madisyn Bailey contributes 11.8 points, 5.1 assists and 4.6 steals. Freshman forward Miley Sherrill totals 9.7 points.
Last year, BNL crushed the Owls 64-25. Seymour owned a 12-11 before the Stars went supernova, scoring 26 consecutive points during a nine-minute span. Spreen had 22 points and Bailey added 17, while the Owls were guilty of 26 turnovers.
BNL has won nine straight in the series.
BNL at SEYMOUR
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: BNL 8-1 (2-0 in HHC), ranked No.7 in Class 4A; Seymour 5-4 (0-1 in HHC)
Sagarin ratings: BNL 89.96; Seymour 80.11
Last meeting: Last year at BNL, the Stars blasted to a 64-25 victory. Chloe Spreen had 22 points and Madisyn Bailey added 17. The Owls had 26 turnovers and hit only 7 of 25 shots.
Previous game story: BNL ball hawks swoop
Game notes: BNL has won nine straight games in the series. The Stars rank 44th in the state in scoring (58.0) and 27th in winning margin (21.3).
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Chloe Spreen 5-10 Sr.
F – Miley Sherrill 5-9 Fr.
G – Madisyn Bailey 5-9 Sr.
G – Trinidy Bailey 5-7 So.
G – Tori Nikirk 5-6 Jr.
Seymour Owls
F – Kendall Sterling 5-10 Sr.
F – Journee Brown 6-0 Sr.
G – Emmy Munson 5-8 So.
G – Sophie Skidmore 5-8 So.
G – Jaidyn Nichols 5-5 Sr.
