By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Stepping out of the long, dark shadow being cast in the lane, Chloe Spreen found the glare of the spotlight. And she got hot, creating daylight and distance from the large, looming threat.
Bedford North Lawrence’s superstar normally works her magic while attacking the basket, driving relentlessly with speed and sinister intent. But that path to success was blocked by the most formidable of space-swallowing defenders. Inside was not a great option, so she went outside.
Spreen buried three straight bombs during a personal spree that powered the No.7 Stars to a 46-42 victory over Brownsburg on Saturday night. Spreen scored 24 points as BNL (10-1) managed to cut down its biggest obstacle.
With Brownsburg star Avery Gordon, a 6-foot-6 center destined for Purdue, lurking underneath, Spreen found much more room on the perimeter. She scored 11 straight BNL points, including three jumpers from long range, that thrust the Stars to a double-digit lead. Then she capped the win with four free throws in the final minute. Just typical Miss Basketball stuff.
And her considerable contribution was necessary. BNL’s other offensive threats were spotty at best. The Stars were locked in a one-possession struggle when Spreen erupted. Trey from the wing. Another trey, another splash. Then the third, although it was banked in. Still counted. Her final bucket in the flurry was a beautiful 12-footer fadeaway for a 38-28 lead.
“There were times we didn’t get through screens and she had open shots,” Brownsburg coach Debbie Smiley said. “But for the most part I thought a lot of her offense was contested. She was making plays, making shots. Credit to her. She just took over the game, hit some big shots.”
Until that point, the game focus centered on Gordon, with good reason. Not only did she command two or three defenders in the paint, she was a thought-altering, shot-altering force on the other end. Every defensive possession, every offensive set, was done with her in mind. Gordon, one of the state leaders in scoring and rebounding, finished with 18 points and 8 boards. Call that a BNL win.
“It’s really a tough thing, for a team of guards like us, to do,” BNL coach Jeff Allen said. “We tried to execute what we wanted, tried to be in the right spots, and played extremely hard. But there’s just some things you’re going to have a hard time overcoming. And 6-6 is one of them. She’s just a really good post player.”
Gordon’s best attribute is her ability to catch high lobs to the post, keep the ball above the defenders, and score from close range. That was usually done with a defender in front, one to the side, and one behind. “I definitely feel it,” Gordon said. The only way the Stars could disrupt her was to annoy her with traffic at her feet. She was 8 of 17 from the floor, and three of those baskets were offensive rebounds.
“They got her in positions where she caught it kind of funny and rushed her shot,” Smiley said. “Sometimes it’s a lot harder when you have smaller people underneath you.”
BNL spent so much energy on the defensive end that it left little for the other. BNL only trailed once, but could not pull away. The first separation came at 16-8 when Spreen (a lob in the lane) and Bella Jackson (a layup off a sharp Madisyn Bailey pass) started the second quarter with buckets. Gordon erased most of that with a post power move and a rebound score, and Emma Hendricks closed the half with a basket that cut BNL’s lead to 23-22.
Then Spreen got hot. Gordon scored twice to get the Bulldogs within 40-34, but Spreen found Trinidy Bailey for a layup (BNL’s only basket of the fourth quarter) and made the four late free throws to finish it. Spreen finished with four treys and 7 rebounds.
“It’s a good thing she did,” Allen said. “We didn’t get a lot of scoring from other places.”
“My goal was to make it difficult for her to drive,” Gordon said. “She got hot in the third quarter and messed us up.”
Madisyn Bailey finished with 7 points while Miley Sherrill (who gave up 9 inches in her assignment on Gordon, and spent most of the night closer to her than the Secret Service around the president) added 5. BNL launched more than half its shots from long range, another indication of the Gordon influence.
“You have to make a decision,” Allen said. “What am I going to do? Kick it or go around her? She affected our offense, too. Our decision making was not great at times. We played hard and competed, but I don’t know how smart we played. We could have played smarter.
“You have to work really hard to contain her. And she changes the scope of how you run your offense.”
“We wanted to pull her out if we could,” Spreen said. “It was going in there without fear. It takes the whole team to stop her.”
Hendricks scored 11 points and added 9 boards for Brownsburg (5-6). One way to take some attention away from Gordon in the paint was to make perimeter shots, but the Bulldogs did not score from the 3-line until the last 90 seconds.
“We had no sense of urgency to take that shot,” Smiley said.
BNL will return to action on Thursday, hosting Silver Creek.
BROWNSBURG BULLDOGS (42)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
5 Emma Hendricks, g 1-5 4-9 2-3 9 1 11
14 Elle McCullough, g 1-1 1-2 2-2 1 2 5
55 Avery Gordon, c 0-0 8-17 2-4 8 3 18
3 Delaney Steers, g 0-1 1-6 0-1 0 3 2
11 Macy Twomey, g 0-0 1-4 2-2 6 0 4
23 Laniah Walkine 0-0 0-2 0-0 5 1 0
12 Seayona Bradley 0-1 0-2 0-0 0 2 0
44 Loria Snowden 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
22 Morgan Montgomery 0-0 1-3 0-0 0 1 2
Totals 2-8 16-46 8-12 32 13 42
BEDFORD NL STARS (46)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Chloe Spreen, f 4-7 7-17 6-6 7 2 24
22 Miley Sherrill, f 1-3 2-4 0-0 2 2 5
24 Madisyn Bailey, g 2-3 2-4 1-2 3 2 7
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 0-2 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
12 Tori Nikirk, g 1-3 1-4 1-2 1 1 4
20 Bella Jackson 0-0 1-1 2-3 2 1 4
23 Katie Godlevske 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
50 Harryson Hayes 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 8-18 14-34 10-13 21 9 46
Brownsburg 8 14 8 12 – 42
Bedford NL 12 11 15 8 – 46
Turnovers – Brownsburg 13, BNL 12
Field goal percentage – Brownsburg 16-46 (.348); BNL 14-34 (.412)
Free throw percentage – Brownsburg 8-12 (.667); BNL 10-13 (.769)
