By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BICKNELL – After such a smooth beginning to the trip, Bedford North Lawrence’s handling of an impressive lead was like driving too fast on a slick road. One wrong move, a crash was bound to happen. The Stars swerved off course, from the fast lane to the ditch.
In three frustrating minutes, the Stars squandered a lot of good work, as Class 2A No.3 North Knox finished the third quarter with a momentum-shifting run, then pulled away late for a 46-40 victory over the Stars on Monday night.
The Warriors (7-1) erased a nine-point deficit with their first burst, then held BNL (2-4) to only one field goal during the final crucial span in the fourth quarter. Jade Richter, relegated to a reserve role, came off the bench to score 14 points as North Knox extended its current winning streak to seven straight.
BNL was cruising in command, rumbling to a 29-20 lead after Trinidy Bailey sailed through traffic in the lane for an 8-footer. North Knox then switched to a 1-3-1 defense, and BNL’s offensive transmission fell apart. Soft passes and turnovers fueled the North Knox run.
Richter was the catalyst. After hitting two free throws, she swooped into a passing lane for a steal and three-point play. Lexi Primus added two more at the line, and Brooklyn Sturgeon went baseline-to foul line with a rebound for a 15-footer that gave the Warriors a 30-29 lead, their first advantage since midway through the first quarter.
BNL had seven turnovers, and only one basket, during the third quarter.
“I should have called timeout and calmed us down,” BNL coach Greg Burton said. “I had a lot of faith in what we could do, trying to fix it on the fly, and it kind of snowballed on us. That’s on me.
“We lost our aggressiveness. We kept reversing it, started throwing lollipops and didn’t go to the ball. That’s what happens against good teams. They got turnovers, layups, and you get beat.”
The Stars had chances in the fourth quarter. Miley Sherrill’s layup powered BNL to a 35-34 edge with 3:35 left, but that would be the last time in front. Sherrill’s 10-footer on the baseline got BNL within 39-37 with 1:59 remaining, but the Stars couldn’t get a key stop on one end, and couldn’t convert on the other, to keep pace.
Richter was the key. She had 9 points in the second half, all of those in an eight-minute span.
“Jade was a beast,” North Knox coach Steve Meuer said. “I didn’t start her in this game, and she proved to me she needed to be in the lineup. It will happen on a given night, when the main scorers are not hitting. With this team, what’s so nice, is someone steps up when someone else is not playing well. Jade took it upon herself to be that person.“
BNL’s best moments came in the second quarter, when the Stars erupted for an 8-1 run to a 21-12 lead. Sherrill’s layup, Bailey’s tough drive through defenders, and Katie Godlevske’s sharp back cut for a layup were the highlights of that burst, and Bailey swished a wing trey for BNL’s biggest lead at 24-14.
In the third, Jordynn Blann’s two free throws and the Bailey drop shot in the paint powered the Stars to the 29-20 lead. Then came the wreck.
“I liked the way we played for the majority of the game,” Burton said. “It’s getting better. We got better as a group. We just need to put it together for 32 minutes. We were closer, but not close enough to get it done.”
Bailey, who had been battling an ankle injury during the preseason scrimmages, finished with a season-high 12 points and Sherrill totaled 11. Makaya Jackson grabbed 7 rebounds in her first start. “Trinidy had not been herself,” Burton said. “She was fantastic all summer, and I knew it was coming. It was good to see.”
Baylee McClure added 9 points while Alex McKinley and Primus totaled 8 each for the Warriors. North Knox was a miserable 1 of 15 from lone range, but BNL’s 16 turnovers gave the Warrriors multiple chances.
“We were satisfied with shooting threes, and that was not going well for us at all,” Meurer said. “Usually we can count on our defense, when we are not shooting well, to get us above float. We didn’t have either one going for us in the first half.
“They are very physical. We had not seen that physical of a team this year. We had played teams that stayed off of us, but they got in our grill, and we didn’t handle it well at all in the first half. In the second half, we did a lot of nice things.
“In the 1-3-1, you can leave people wide open. So I was a little nervous. But we did slow them down. That helped change the game.”
The Stars will begin Hoosier Hills Conference play on Saturday, hosting New Albany.
BEDFORD NL STARS (40)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Miley Sherrill, f 0-1 4-8 3-5 6 2 11
30 Makaya Jackson, f 0-0 1-3 3-6 7 4 5
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 1-2 4-10 3-4 8 4 12
12 Tori Nikirk, g 0-3 0-6 0-0 2 5 0
21 Jordynn Blann, g 1-4 1-7 2-2 2 0 5
20 Paige Burton 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 4 0
23 Katie Godlevske 1-4 2-7 0-0 2 4 5
11 Trinity Schmeichel 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
24 Elise Williams 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
50 Harryson Hayes 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
44 Sammie Nusbaum 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
31 Caroline Sheldon 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
40 Bella Warren 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-14 13-42 11-15 31 23 40
NORTH KNOX WARRIORS (46)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
12 Alex McKinley, f 0-3 2-8 4-4 4 3 8
15 Baylee McClure, f 1-2 4-10 0-0 5 2 9
22 Brynna Collins, g 0-5 2-7 0-1 6 1 4
11 Lexi Primus, g 0-1 2-4 4-4 2 3 8
24 Brooklyn Sturgeon, g 0-3 1-6 1-4 6 2 3
41 Jade Richter 0-0 3-4 8-11 3 1 14
1 Millee LeRoy 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
Totals 1-15 14-40 17-24 29 13 46
Bedford NL 8 16 5 11 – 40
North Knox 6 10 14 16 – 46
Turnovers – BNL 16, North Knox 14
Field goal percentage – BNL 13-42 (.310); North Knox 14-40 (.350)
Free throw percentage – BNL 11-15 (.733); North Knox 17-24 (.708)
