By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Plop, plop. Fizz, fizz. What a relief that was for Bedford North Lawrence.
After a two-game road stumble caused some ulcers and heartburn, the No.11 Stars feasted on the best comfort food there is – a victory. Winning is still the prescribed cure for most problems, and BNL vented some frustration with a blowout triumph that calmed everybody’s stomach issues.
Plop, shots were falling. Fizz, Columbus East’s offense dissolved into gas bubbles of turnovers. The Stars were back to normal with a 71-35 conquest of the Olympians on Tuesday night. Chloe Spreen and Madisyn Bailey were the offensive forces as BNL (15-4, 4-1 in the Hoosier Hills Conference) bounced back with a mercy-rule win that restored confidence from several viewpoints.
Spreen, showcasing her abundant skills and adding more highlights to her Miss Basketball candidacy, totaled 22 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in a hard-working performance. Bailey had a career-high 22 points, putting her recent slump in the rear-view mirror with her second straight quality-and-quantity combination. That’s the duo everyone expected. And that’s the kind of dominance the defending state champions needed at this late-season juncture.
“That’s a good win for us at a good time,” BNL coach Jeff Allen said. “Sometimes it just takes having a game where you feel good and have some fun. That gets you back on track.”
BNL’s back-to-back losses didn’t go down well. And a third straight setback would have been cause for great concern. But the Stars never trailed, took control with a quick 12-0 run, started the second half with eight straight points, and triggered the last-minute running clock while allowing no field goals in the fourth quarter.
The Stars probably weren’t as worried about the skid as everyone else. “We did go through a rough patch last year, too,” Spreen reminded. “And we got it together. I think we’ll be fine.”
They were certainly fine this time. The early burst was courtesy of four consecutive treys from Tori Nikirk, Miley Sherrill and Bailey for a 16-4 advantage, and the margin never dropped into single digits after that takeoff. That doesn’t mean everything was perfect, because after Spreen scored off an inbound set and Bailey dove through the lane for a basket and 27-12 lead, BNL flatlined a little as East (4-13, 1-3) crawled back to 33-20 at the half.
“Defensively, there were still things I wasn’t happy with early on,” Allen said. “We addressed them at halftime, and the kids responded. We were much better in the second half.”
Spreen’s power basket in the lane off a long lob, her trey from deep, and Bailey’s layup got BNL to a 41-20 lead early in the third. In the fourth quarter, Spreen was a slasher and dasher in the paint, scoring three times (including a beautiful reverse layup off a baseline drive) as the difference exploded into the 30s. Nikirk’s steal and layup started the running clock with 1:25 left.
Much better.
“I think we got better, that’s the goal,” Allen said. “When things broke down, we were trying to create and dish to our teammate, which is another thing we’re getting better at. It was growth. I wanted to see us get better and play well, and I thought we did that.”
Bailey’s last two games (19 points at Castle) matched her offensive output of the previous seven, when she was a mysterious 11 of 52 from the field. That was the anomaly. She hit four treys, all without a dropoff on the other end.
“It was frustrating during the games. But I wasn’t think about it during the next game,” Bailey said. Then she revealed her true motivation. “I really don’t like losing.”
“When you see the ball go in the basket, sometimes that’s all it takes,” Allen said. “That basket continues to narrow as you miss shots, everybody’s been there when you just can’t buy one. It was a tough time for us, with the competition we were playing.”
Sherrill added 14 points, hitting 5 of 6 shots. Her opening barrage created some space for the others. Spreen and Bailey have been hawked by two (or more) defenders when they work into the lane.
“We’re expecting that, especially this far into the season,” Spreen said. “We’re both getting two or three people on us when we drive. I knew they can make those shots. It was a good game for us to get going and see the shots fall.”
“I challenged all three of those kids to step up and do more,” Allen said. “We’re capable of playing at a higher level, I know we are because I’ve seen it.”
East’s demise was 27 turnovers. Messiah Trapp had 13 points and Jenna Guse added 10. After Trapp crafted a gorgeous bucket with a spin through traffic for a 50-32 difference, the Olympians didn’t make another shot.
“That’s a credit to the kids,” Allen said. “It’s tough losing basketball games, but sometimes it teaches you lessons and makes you better. Hopefully we’ve learned some lessons.”
BNL will complete the conference schedule on Saturday, hosting Floyd Central. The Highlanders suffered a 67-44 loss to Jennings County on Tuesday as the Panthers clinched at least a share of their first league title since 2002.
COLUMBUS EAST OLYMPIANS (35)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
21 Caroline Frost, f 0-0 1-2 2-2 5 1 4
15 Messiah Trapp, f 0-0 5-7 3-5 6 4 13
4 Jenna Guse, g 0-1 5-9 0-0 2 2 10
11 Victoria Cuhadar, g 0-0 0-1 0-0 2 1 0
24 Madelyn Poe, g 0-1 1-3 0-0 2 1 2
34 Savanna Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 3 0
1 Kenzie Cheek 0-1 1-4 0-0 2 1 2
5 Kimberly Carothers 0-2 1-3 2-2 3 1 4
Totals 0-5 14-29 7-9 24 14 35
BEDFORD NL STARS (71)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Chloe Spreen, f 1-3 9-22 3-4 10 2 22
22 Miley Sherrill, f 3-4 5-6 1-2 2 3 14
24 Madisyn Bailey, g 4-6 8-14 2-3 1 2 22
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 0-2 2-5 0-0 7 1 4
12 Tori Nikirk, g 1-5 2-6 0-0 1 2 5
20 Bella Jackson 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
23 Katie Godlevske 0-0 2-2 0-0 0 0 4
11 Haleigh Canada 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
30 Makaya Jackson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
40 Trinity Schmeichel 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
50 Harryson Hayes 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 9-20 28-55 6-9 24 10 71
Columbus East 10 10 12 3 – 35
Bedford NL 18 15 20 18 – 71
Turnovers – East 27, BNL 10
Field goal percentage – East 14-29 (.483); BNL 28-55 (.509)
Free throw percentage – East 7-9 (.778); BNL 6-9 (.667)
