By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – During her decorated Bedford North Lawrence career, Carrie (Mount) Roelle was one of the most beloved players, a point guard and blonde dynamo who epitomized the spirit and energy of the program, capturing the imagination of an adoring fan base. She will never be forgotten as one of the heroes of a dynasty.
Now she will be immortalized as a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Roelle will join former BNL teammates and her head coach, in the home of Hoosier legends, as a member of the 23rd women’s induction class. The 2025 honorees, with 16 additional members that includes 1998 Miss Basketball Kelly Komara, will be officially added to the Hall during ceremonies on April 26.
Roelle was the spark plug for BNL’s feared machine. The Stars went 96-6 during her four-year career, including a remarkable run of 54-1 during her final two seasons. That culminated with BNL’s state championship in 1991. She averaged 10.4 points, 7.3 assists and 6.1 steals as BNL went 29-0 and cemented its status as a state power, and she won the coveted Mental Attitude Award. Roelle was also an Indiana All-Star who later played two seasons at Indiana University. But first and foremost, she was the face of the Lady Stars, setting a standard for decades of success to follow.
“It is definitely an honor,” Roelle said. “I was surprised. When I found out, what I thought about was all the coaches, my teammates I’ve had over the years. That’s why I’m in. One person alone, it’s hard to do all by yourself. I’m very thankful for all the time coaches spent with me, all my teammates who were supportive.
“This might be cliche, but growing up with that team we had, I played with some of those girls since the fifth grade. We were a true unit in basketball. We worked together. It wasn’t a bunch of individuals. So at work, I will bring up looking at something from a team perspective, working from the strength of individuals. That all stems from the way I was coached and the team we had.”
Roelle finished her career with 874 points, but winning was her best talent. The Stars claimed four Hoosier Hills Conference titles, four sectional crowns, three regionals and two semistates during her tenure. She also logged two career triple-doubles, and did it the hard way since rebounds are not a key stat for a 5-foot-nothing guard (even when measuring the 80s hairstyle). Roelle logged 17 points, 11 assists, 11 steals against Washington as a junior, then totaled 19 points, 13 assists and 10 steals against Sullivan in the regional final as senior.
She set BNL records for single-game assists (13), career assists (211) and career steals (178) during her time on the court. She was ahead of her time, especially on the defensive end.
“I thought our defense was ahead of its time,” Roelle said. “Defense creates offense, and that was the case when we played. We made a lot of points off our defense. And the other thing was I started running the offense we would run in high school in the fifth grade. Bob Breedlove taught us that. That helped us a lot.”
Roelle, now an attorney in Evansville and a former assistant coach at Castle, will be reunited with teammates Amy (Walker) Sundt and Marla (Inman) Eltrevoog, and late coaching legend Pete Pritchett, in the Hall. BNL will undoubtedly add to that list in future years.
“Mr. Pritchett was a great coach,” Roelle said. “Just look at his record. He definitely could have coached at the collegiate level, no questions asked. I’m glad he didn’t. It was the way he coached us. He never made me afraid to make a mistake. The way he coached with positivity – now, did he get on us sometimes? Yes. It was not all unicorns and butterflies. But the way he did it was different. And he got the most out of us.”
She is one of the program’s 12 Indiana All-Stars, and one of the school’s 12 Mental Attitude Award winners (including six for girls basketball). The Lady Stars won three straight of those from 1990-92, a mark that might never be equaled.
“I have such fond memories,” Roelle said. “The bus rides, the car rides, the fun we had in the locker room, the fun in practice. It was just so much fun. The memories of riding on the fire truck when we came back from winning the state, it’s just something people don’t get to experience.
“The fan support we had, it was the entire community. Bedford is a unique community, it was a wonderful place to grow up. The support was just unbelievable. I remember watching the 1983 team in the state championship and thinking I wanted to do this some day. I wanted to be on that floor.”
