By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – If Bedford North Lawrence’s scrimmage performance was on the ballot, or up for a vote, the eyes would have it.
According to every opinion poll, the Stars didn’t look good during the IHSAA-sanctioned workout against Columbus North. It’s difficult to earn style points when the ball and the basket are polar opposites, refusing to connect. It’s hard to make the argument when getting swept in all four quarters. Fortunately, a glorified practice session doesn’t count on the win-loss record.
The Bull Dogs dominated the second quarter and posted one-possession advantages in the other three. When the totals were combined, North recorded a 43-32 triumph in the final preseason scrimmage on Tuesday night in BNL Fieldhouse.
BNL’s struggles in the eye test can be traced to that ugly second period, when the Stars didn’t score for the final 10 minutes, when they missed four point-blank layups, when they air-balled treys. Overall, they shot a dismal 12 of 41 during the entire session.
“We didn’t hit a layup, we didn’t hit a jump shot,” first-years BNL coach Greg Burton said. “That looked awful.”
There were good moments. BNL rushed to an 11-4 lead in the fourth quarter before faltering when the second unit finished the final minutes. In fact, the Stars had a lead at some point in every quarter. But the shooting woes, combined with 19 turnovers, overshadowed everything.
“We just didn’t hit anything,” Burton said. “We hit shots in practice, so I don’t think that will be a long-term issue. At least I hope not. But we have to make up for it at the other end, and that’s what I’m most upset about. We have to be more sound defensively.”
The quarters, with a 12-minute running clock and no attempted free throws until the final minute of each, were divided by defensive structure. In the first, with man-to-man dictated, the Stars got treys from Miley Sherrill and Paige Burton while taking an 8-4 lead, but Addy Wheatley’s late bomb gave North a 9-8 edge.
Sherrill started the second (with a zone mandated) with a trey, then North scored the next 10 points. In the third, with pressing allowed, Burton’s layup and Katie Godlevske’s corner trey got the Stars off to a 5-2 lead before North countered with six straight points.
Same scenario in the final frame. Sherrill scored twice, Godlevske buried a bomb, and Tori Nikirk converted a steal into a layup for the 11-4 lead. But North’s Ava Wilson broke free for a layup at the buzzer to end that period with a 16-14 edge.
Sherrill finished with 10 points and Burton added 8 for the Stars.
“It’s getting closer to what I am expecting – not what I’m wanting, but what I expected,” Burton said. “I was begging for an energy level, and it got better late. We’re still out of shape, which is not good. So we can improve in every area.
“I want to win everything we do. But if we had made our layups and won that, the girls wouldn’t be taking it seriously. So it’s better that it’s eye-opening, and didn’t count against our record. I think we needed it. That’s exactly what we needed.”
The Bull Dogs, with expected starter Miley McClellan still recovering from a summer injury, are coming off an 11-13 season. They will use this scrimmage success as a springboard into their season opener at Franklin on Saturday, and put it in the memory bank for a rematch with the Stars during the regular-season tournament at Scottsburg in December.
“We have stuff we can see, that we need to work on,” North coach Brett White said. “That was our main goal. It’s nice to win those quarters, but it was more about getting on the floor, get some nerves out and see things to work on.”
BNL will start the campaign against Mooresville (a 56-55 winner over Southport in its opener on Tuesday) on Friday.
Columbus North 43, BNL 32
Columbus North – Avery Johnson 6, Kaylie Harmon 10, Addy Wheatley 7, Kenna Conrad 7, Paige Terry 4, Emma Beaver 2, Ava Wilson 7
BNL – Miley Sherrill 10, Paige Burton 8, Tori Nikirk 4, Katie Godlevske 6, Trinity Schmeichel 1, Harryson Hayes 2, Elise Williams 1
