By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The page has been turned, the torch has been passed. For the first time in almost two decades, Bedford North Lawrence will begin a totally new era. The extent of the shift in the time-space continuum of one of the state’s galactic empires is about to be discovered.
BNL, the most successful program in Indiana over the last dozen seasons, will raise the curtain on the next generation when the Stars start the regular season on Friday night. The last two coaching changes during that span were just continuations of the previous regime. Greg Burton will follow in the footsteps of greatness as the new head coach when his team clashes with dangerous Mooresville in an interesting, mysterious debut.
There are so many questions and storylines for the 2024-25 campaign. The Stars, lacking the star power of recent seasons, will start to definitively answer some of those. This opener will reveal the exact length, width and depth of change. They could have picked an easier first opponent, but that’s not the BNL way.
After a summer of adjustments and introductions for the new faces, after two preseason scrimmages that lacked polish and sparkle, the Stars are anxious to see what happens when the glare of the spotlight hits the hardwood.
“I’m excited,” Burton said. “I want to see what we can do against an opponent where it matters. We have a lot of kids who are gamers. When the lights come on, they will give it everything they’ve got.”
Start with the known. BNL bid farewell to another Miss Basketball (Chloe Spreen) and her quiet, heroic sidekick (Madisyn Bailey), and they left with a lot of scoring punch and leadership. The Stars have returning starters with experience, but they must now shine in greater roles, with greater scouting emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses.
The starting lineup will include sophomore Miley Sherrill (the leading returning scorer from last year’s 20-5 sectional champions), senior Tori Nikirk and junior Trinidy Bailey. They will be joined by senior Katie Godlevske and junior Paige Burton. In reality, that’s five guards. That leads to the unknown. Who shoulders the offensive load, who can battle inside against taller, stronger foes? How deep will the bench go?
“All the kids are going to take another step if we want to be successful,” Burton said. “We’ll get there. It will take time.”
The scrimmage against Columbus North on Tuesday, the final dress rehearsal, gave some clues. BNL struggled to make shots during the four quarters against the Bull Dogs. Sherrill led the way with 10 points, Burton added 8.
“It will be someone different every night,” Coach Burton said. “It’s how they’re defending us, who hits shots. Last night it was hardly anyone. But we have a good group of shooters, they will fall. Paige has been good since I’ve been here. She has bought into her role. Sometimes that’s scoring, sometimes that’s getting the ball to who needs it. I love the way she plays.
“We’re still not good at executing. We have to get better in that area. We have to simplify things. I tried to put in a million things at once, so we’re below average at 100 things rather than being good at just a few.”
The Pioneers (1-0) have the advantage of getting their opener out of the way. They conquered Southport 56-55 on Tuesday night. They are replacing four starters from their own 20-5 team, but they had contributions from multiple sources. Freshman guard Makenzie Holtzclaw scored 19 points, 6-2 center Randee Garringer totaled 17 points and 7 boards, and senior Ava Shafer (a Maryville recruit) had 11 points and 9 boards.
“They are always physical, they play at their pace,” Burton said. “They have size and know how to play through it. And they have some kids who can score.”
The Stars dominated last year’s clash, racing to a 24-3 lead in 10 minutes and cruising to a 58-31 win. Spreen had 22 points, Madisyn Bailey added 17 with four treys, and Sherrill totaled 14 points. Mooresville was limited to one field goal until the 2:21 mark of the second quarter.
MOORESVILLE at BNL
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: Mooresville 1-0; BNL 0-0
Last meeting: Last year at Mooresville, the Stars roared to a 24-3 lead en route to a 58-31 triumph. Chloe Spreen had 22 points while Madisyn Bailey added 17 for BNL. Rachel Harshman had 10 points for the Pioneers, who shot only 25 percent.
Previous game story: Stars debut with runaway road victory
Game notes: Mooresville coach Mark Hurt ranks third on the state list of active girls basketball coaches (and 12th in state history) with 469 career wins in 27 seasons. Mooresville’s last road win in the series came in 2010. BNL has won four straight in the series.
Starting lineups
Mooresville Pioneers
F – Addi Ward 5-8 Jr.
F – Ava Shafer 5-9 Sr.
C – Randee Garringer 6-2 Sr.
G – Addi VanWanzeele 5-6 Sr.
G – Makenzie Holtzclaw 5-5 Fr.
Bedford NL Stars
F – Miley Sherrill 5-9 So.
F – Katie Godlevske 5-6 Sr.
G – Tori Nikirk 5-6 Sr.
G – Trinidy Bailey 5-7 Jr.
G – Paige Burton 5-4 Jr.
