By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
GALENA – In the pursuit of perfection, if that’s attainable, Bedford North Lawrence offers Exhibit A to the court of opinion.
For eight devastating minutes, the Stars dished out cruel and usual punishment. They refused to surrender points, and senior star Madisyn Bailey didn’t miss. Nor did BNL turn the ball over during the entire first half. Judges? Close enough for a verdict.
The Stars started the defense of their Class 4A sectional championship, and the quest for a 13th consecutive crown, with a masterpiece in the first half. They blitzed overmatched and understaffed New Albany with 25 straight points en route to a first-round victory in Sectional 15 on Wednesday night.
Bailey was sensational, scoring 18 first-half points, while sparking BNL (18-4) to the expected runaway win over the Bulldogs. Chloe Spreen totaled 20 points as BNL posted a 58-24 triumph, advancing to face Silver Creek (18-4) in the semifinal round on Friday night. No.5 Jennings County (22-3) will meet Jeffersonville (13-9) in the first semifinal, and those winner will collide in the final on Saturday night.
The explosive run was fueled by New Albany turnovers and terrific BNL shooting. That always equals a huge advantage, even if holding a team scoreless for an entire quarter is rare. BNL coach Jeff Allen credited the defense for that burst, although it could be argued Bailey’s perimeter splashes were just as important. Both would be correct.
“Our defense,” Allen said as the first witness. “We have to have really good defense, and we have to rebound. In the first half, we were excellent defensively. We were locked in, everybody was doing what they needed to do.
“That’s what wins. You’re going to score, you’re going to have days you can’t score and shoot the ball well. But if you can defend like that, you have a chance. It was everybody. They knew their job and did it well. We’ll have to have more of that.”
The second period started with BNL’s 12-5 lead. Bailey popped a trey to trigger the burst, followed by Spreen’s drive and Miley Sherrill’s rush through traffic for a layup. Spreen dumped a pretty 12-foot turnaround for a 21-5 lead midway through the frame.
There was more to come. Bailey went coast-to-coast with a rebound, then swished another bomb. Spreen stepped through defenders for a layup, Bailey launched another dagger from deep, Spreen scored off a steal, Tori Nikirk converted a rebound, and Bailey finished the death blow with a gliding layup for a 37-5 difference at the half.
Bailey didn’t score again, but she didn’t have to. She hit 7 of 8 shots in the first half.
“When she is scoring, it makes it a lot easier for us to put points on the board, that’s for sure,” Allen said. “Glad to see that.”
Over the last five games, Bailey is now averaging 17.4 points and shooting a crisp 55 percent during that span. She couldn’t have picked a better time to heat up.
“Seeing one go down gives you confidence for the next one,” she said.
BNL already owned an 86-30 win over New Albany (3-21) during the regular season. But there was nothing taken for granted.
“It’s the sectional,” Bailey said. “Everyone will be playing you hard. We had to come out with the same intensity we did the first time. We’re just taking it one game at a time. This will give us more confidence for the next one.”
The Bulldogs, with only eight players on the roster and missing their head coach (Shelby Gliebe) on maternity leave, were too shorthanded. They also were guilty of 24 turnovers, although they never allowed BNL to start the running clock for the mercy rule (a 35-point margin). Emily Spainhour had 10 points.
“We wanted to play Friday,” Allen said. “We knew we had to play well tonight and get through it. Could we have played badly and got through this game? Maybe. But it wouldn’t have set the tone very well.
“I was really pleased with what we did. The defensive end tells the story. We have to carry that over.”
Sherrill added 9 points. BNL extended its amazing streak to 37 straight sectional wins.
Silver Creek 60, Floyd Central 51: The 12th-ranked Dragons avenged a regular-season loss to the Highlanders, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to post their 12th straight win.
The Highlanders (13-11) owned a 45-36 lead when Silver Creek stormed back with a 9-0 run. The Dragons took their first lead of the game at 48-47, then claimed the advantage for good on Kiki Grant’s driving bucket with 2:17 left.
From there, the Dragons took over. Grant scored again for a 52-49 edge with 52 seconds left. She later hit four clutch free throws to push Silver Creek out of danger.
“It was our press, taking the action to them,” Silver Creek coach Scott Schoen said. “We have a tendency to stay back when we want to take the action to them. When you’re down nine, you’re playing for your life.
“It’s the tournament. None of them are easy. Floyd is a good team, the biggest team in the tournament. So I’ve learned to enjoy winning, because none of them are easy.”
Emma Schoen paced the Dragons with 22 points while Renn totaled 21. Elise Coleman scored 18 points and Nora Gibson added 16 for Floyd Central.
NEW ALBANY BULLDOGS (24)
3s FGs FTs R F PTS
5 Maizy Smith, f 0-1 3-8 1-3 7 1 7
33 Emily Spainhour, f 2-2 4-7 0-1 7 0 10
3 Tori Bailey, g 0-2 1-5 0-0 0 1 2
12 Reese Stiles, g 1-5 1-6 0-0 3 4 3
21 Sophia Corley, g 0-0 1-2 0-0 3 0 2
14 Grace McBride 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
44 Rihanna Marshall 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-10 10-28 1-4 26 6 24
BEDFORD NL STARS (58)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Chloe Spreen, f 0-4 9-18 2-5 2 1 20
22 Miley Sherrill, f 1-1 3-4 2-2 0 1 9
24 Madisyn Bailey, g 4-5 7-12 0-0 3 2 18
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 1-3 1-3 0-0 4 0 3
12 Tori Nikirk, g 0-1 1-2 0-0 1 0 2
20 Bella Jackson 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
23 Katie Godlevske 0-4 1-5 0-0 3 1 2
11 Haleigh Canada 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
30 Makaya Jackson 0-0 1-4 2-2 1 0 4
21 Paige Burton 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
50 Harryson Hayes 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
40 Trinity Schmeichel 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 6-19 23-49 6-9 21 6 58
New Albany 5 0 13 6 – 24
Bedford NL 12 25 12 9 – 58
Turnovers – New Albany 24, BNL 3
Field goal percentage – New Albany 10-28 (.357); BNL 23-49 (.469
Free throw percentage – New Albany 1-4 (.250); BNL 6-9 (.667)
SILVER CREEK 60, FLOYD CENTRAL 51
Silver Creek (18-4) – Emma Schoen 22, Katy Rooney 2, Kiki Grant 10, Brooklynn Renn 21, Jazmyn Robby 3, Lydia Wright 2
Floyd Central (13-11) – Ava Hausz 3, Elise Coleman 18, Brinkley Clark 10, Samara Miller 4, Nora Gibson 16
