By Noah Dalton
WBIW.com
INDIANAPOLIS – In dramatic fashion, Bedford North Lawrence secured its fifth state championship on Saturday night.
In a game in which they did not manage to hit a single 3-pointer and got outrebounded by nine, including giving up 12 offensive boards, the Stars still managed to find a way to a 46-42 victory, outscoring the Tigers 16-10 in the fourth quarter after trailing the majority of the game.
BNL’s Chloe Spreen finished the game with 20 points to lead all scorers, including back-to-back-to-back clutch baskets nearing the middle of the fourth quarter to keep her team in the game. With 1:50 left in the fourth quarter, Spreen fouled out, meaning the Stars had to lean on someone else to help them close the game out.
That player was senior guard Emma Brown, who scored the team’s final four points in the last 20 seconds of play, including knocking down two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to secure the crown.
In Spreen’s absence following her fifth and final foul, she and the rest of the Stars were confident in Brown’s ability to put Fishers away.
“Emma Brown is a very good player. We’ve all played together since the second grade so I just knew what she was capable of, going out there and doing her thing,” Spreen said. “We all had confidence in her to go out there and make those free throws.”
Spreen said the confidence they have in one another and the chemistry of this team is one of their biggest strengths, helping them to come back from a seven-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat Fishers.
“We’ve all played together since I was in second grade, so we have a great group chemistry. We all, just the bond we have together, we’re so comfortable playing with each other, that’s why we won,” said Spreen. “We’re such a together team and we’re all just supportive of each other, and we go out there and play how we know how to play and play together.”
BNL was prepared to battle a tough, defensive-minded Fishers team, which only allowed 45.3 points per game heading into this matchup.
Regardless of what the Tigers had shown up to this point, Spreen was confident in the Stars’ preparation ahead of this game and the team’s ability to execute when it mattered.
“I knew they were going to be a tough team, but I knew we were more disciplined on the defensive end, not letting them in the paint and stuff,” Spreen said. “So, I’m just proud of us and how, you know, we’ve prepared for everything. So, just to go out there and play how we trained for everything this game is just awesome.”
Senior Emma Crane was nearly speechless following the Stars’ victory.
“It’s crazy,” Crane said. “We’ve all wanted this for so long. We’ve worked so hard all year. It’s surreal that it’s actually happening.”
After struggling in the first half, shooting just 26% from the field and coming out of a second quarter where the Stars only managed to convert one shot attempt, the team entered the locker room at halftime trailing by five.
Despite the deficit, Crane said the team felt a sense of comfort knowing where they each fit in and just needed to use the break to shake some of the jitters that plagued them early on.
“I definitely think we’re a second-half team,” Crane said. “We know our roles and what we have to do, so at halftime we just had to compose ourselves and do what we know how to do.”
