By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Her name was Lola, she was a show-stopping girl who had to be a star and shot down the Stars.
With Scottsburg’s fate in her hands, with 8.4 seconds left in overtime, senior guard Lola Fouts went the length of the court, weaving as she dribbled across a crowded floor, and dashed to the baseline for a running, fading floater that swished. Heartbreak at the Copacabana for Bedford North Lawrence.
Fouts’ last-second dagger was the lethal wound as the Warriorettes escaped with a thrilling 43-41 victory over BNL on Friday night. Scottsburg superstar Ellie Richardson scored 22 points, with a perfect second half, as the Warriorettes (ranked No.11 in Class 3A) avoided their first 0-3 start in 10 years with their first win of the season.
Basketball and passion were in fashion during Scottsburg’s hot-spot comeback from a double-digit deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation. After BNL’s Katie Godlevske hit a huge 3-pointer to create a 41-41 deadlock, the Warriorettes set up a final play, with Richardson as the intended target.
She never touched it. Fouts improvised, adapted and overcame with a remarkable shot that stunned the Stars.
“Man, what a shot,” BNL coach Greg Burton said. “I thought we defended it well. We couldn’t help off and try to take that away. She made a tough shot. I don’t know how many times she makes that out of 10. It can’t be many. But she hit it.”
Scottsburg coach Carrie Daniels had every reason to count on Richardson, a Western Carolina recruit. She was sensational in the second half, hitting all seven of her shots, including two buckets that powered the Warriorettes to a 41-37 lead in the overtime. After a Trinidy Bailey free throw, a Scottsburg turnover, and the clutch Godlevske bomb, everyone in BNL Fieldhouse knew who was likely to take the final shot.
“We didn’t even talk in the timeout about what we would do if she didn’t get the ball,” Daniels said with a laugh. “Every team is going to key on Ellie. Lola is the next. Other players have to step up and make shots.”
Scottsburg’s best rally could be traced back to its worst moment. When the bench was whistled for a technical foul with three minutes left in the third quarter, when BNL’s Miley Sherrill converted the two free throws for a 31-19 lead, the Warriorettes were in trouble.
But from that point, BNL managed only three field goals until the Godlevske trey.
“The kids responded on the defensive side,” Daniels said. “We talked about, if we were going to win, we had to defend, we had to get stops. We dug a hole.”
Scottsburg closed to 31-25 at the end of the third on a Richardson drive, then pulled even at 31-31 on Richardson’s trey from the key and Fouts’ bomb from the corner. Sherrill momentarily stopped the run with a baseline jumper, but Richardson attacked again and Fouts hit another from the baseline for Scottsburg’s first lead with 3:55 left.
Bailey’s tough drive through traffic was followed by Addison Elliott’s floater. Sherrill made a sharp back cut for a layup off a Bailey pass with 1:01 left, and the Stars got the last possession. After a timeout with 13.2 seconds left, Paige Burton popped free for a wing trey that rimmed off.
That set the stage for the tense overtime and the heroic finish by both teams. Scottsburg just happened to get the last chance.
BNL threatened to bury the Warriorettes early, blasting to an 18-4 lead with three minutes left in the first half. The Stars led 21-12 at the half, and that’s when Richardson took control, showing why she should be an Indiana All-Star candidate.
“I really didn’t want to lose,” Richardson said. “I picked up my intensity and energy.”
“She’s such a competitor,” Daniels said. “In her mind, she was not losing this ballgame. She was that determined.”
Scottsburg (1-2) had only three scorers. Fouts finished with 12 points and Elliott added 9. That was it. That was enough.
“We talked about matching their physicality,” Richardson said. “We picked up our intensity and we were more confident.”
“She’s tough,” Burton said. “That’s a kid you can’t guard with just one person, and that’s where we came up short in the second half. We weren’t alert to know where she was at all times.”
Sherrill paced BNL (1-2) with 10 points while Tori Nikirk and Jordynn Blann added 8 each. BNL was only 6 of 28 from long range and reverted to previous shooting numbers (12 of 43 overall). The Stars were 5 of 22 in the second half until the Godlevske shot that later got overshadowed.
“Katie made a huge shot,” Burton said. “She sat a little bit, and she comes in ready to play, she knew exactly what we were doing and hit a massive shot. That’s a tough spot.
“We were trying to hunt matchups too much instead of just playing. We could have been more aggressive and just played our game. We focused too much on that instead of just scoring. The amount of fight and grit was good to see. As long as we keep showing that, I like where we are. But it does stink to lose.”
BNL will visit Mitchell on Saturday night.
SCOTTSBURG WARRIORETTES (43)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
35 Addison Elliott, f 1-4 4-8 0-0 5 2 9
22 Brooklyn Moon, g 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 3 0
2 Ellie Richardson, g 2-6 9-13 2-2 9 1 22
14 Addison Eldridge, g 0-4 0-4 0-0 0 1 0
30 Lola Fouts, g 2-4 4-11 2-2 4 1 12
44 K.K. Grogan 0-0 0-3 0-0 5 2 0
3 Elyse Amick 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 5-17 17-39 4-4 26 10 43
BEDFORD NL STARS (41)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Miley Sherrill, f 0-6 3-11 4-6 4 0 10
32 Trinidy Bailey, f 1-5 2-9 1-2 6 2 6
12 Tori Nikirk, g 2-6 2-7 2-4 5 3 8
23 Katie Godlevske, g 2-7 2-7 0-0 2 1 6
20 Paige Burton, g 0-1 1-3 1-2 5 2 3
30 Makaya Jackson 0-0 0-1 0-0 6 2 0
21 Jordynn Blann 1-3 2-5 3-4 0 4 8
11 Trinity Schmeichel 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 6-28 12-43 11-18 30 14 41
Scottsburg 4 8 13 12 6 – 43
Bedford NL 10 11 10 6 4 – 41
Turnovers – Scottsburg 12, BNL 12
Technical foul – Scottsburg bench
Field goal percentage – Scottsburg 17-39 (.436); BNL 12-43 (.279)
Free throw percentage – Scottsburg 4-4 (1.000); BNL 11-18 (.611)
