By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Truth be told, intrasquad scrimmages are approached with more eye rolls and borderline apathy than anticipation. After a full practice session, facing familiar teammates with no secrets among them, there’s no energy for dazzlement or space for the sensational.
It’s basketball’s version of filing taxes. Just get through it, with a smile if possible, with no damage.
Bedford North Lawrence’s public debut, Tuesday evening’s start of the countdown for the season opener, was two quarters with jagged edges and no surprises. The varsity was divided as evenly as possible, and whoever did that was pretty accurate as the Red squad clipped the White 23-21. Like any jewel, there is a lot of polishing to be done before the defending state champions start to sparkle.
And that’s OK. In fact, it would be more concerning if BNL had looked in mid-season form. The goal is peak performance in February, not October. So the passes that were off target, or the shots that missed badly, can be fixed. Of course, there were many highlights. The Stars, after all, are stocked with talent. And this was the only guaranteed ‘win’ on the schedule.
“It’s kind of nice to know you’ve got that one in the bag,” BNL coach Jeff Allen said. “Scrimmages are tough. They’ve been going against each other for weeks. The motivation is the beginning is here. Now we’re rolling. Now you know it’s for real and we’re going full bore.“
The positives – the scoring of Katie Godlevske and Madisyn Bailey – definitely outweighed the negatives (sloppy passes). Godlevske scored 12 points, all in the first 12 minutes as the Red rolled to a 17-10 lead. Bailey totaled 11 points, all in the second quarter when she became the focal point of the White offense. That scoring firepower is also a good sign, when opposing defenses start to swarm Chloe Spreen, one of the leading candidates for Miss Basketball.
The Red scrambled to a 10-5 lead after the first quarter, with Godlevske cashing in a layup and scooping her way to a 3-point play. Bailey drained a trey and added two free throws to power the White to a 10-10 deadlock, then Godlevske scored seven straight points, including a straight-away trey.
“Madisyn and Chloe are going to draw so much attention,” Allen said. “It will be critical for kids to make open shots and be able to make plays. I think they can.”
On the flip side, the Stars were guilty of soft passes, over-dribbling into traffic, and some “ugh” moment turnovers. That happens when everyone knows the plays, when everyone knows the pet moves of their defensive assignment, when a 90-minute practice before the scrimmage caused fatigue.
“Most of us don’t really like this,” Bailey said with a soft smile. “Everyone knows all the plays and it’s hard to play against each other. I thought we did pretty well. We just have to sharpen our passes and take care of the ball.“
Spreen finished with 8 points and freshman Miley Sherrill added 5.
The Stars will now shift to the next phase, the IHSAA sanctioned scrimmage against Scottsburg on Thursday. That workout will reveal much more about BNL’s future.
“It’s so refreshing to play against somebody you don’t know,” Allen said. “Last year (at Scottsburg) we played well in the man-to-man segments but struggled in the zone sequence. So I hope we do a little better. I’d like to see us shoot a little better. That would make me happy.
“Our passing has got to get better. We had too many deflections, too many bad passes. That’s something that has to get better. Some of these kids haven’t been in certain situations, so the execution will get better as we continue to go on.”
BNL will open the regular season at Mooresville on Nov. 3.
BNL INTRASQUAD SCRIMMAGE
RED 23, WHITE 21
Red – Trinidy Bailey 2, Katie Godlevske 12, Chloe Spreen 8, Bella Jackson 1
White – Tori Nikirk 2, Trinity Schmeichel 3, Madisyn Bailey 11, Miley Sherrill 5
