By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – With a sweet By and long by, Jennings County sang on the beautiful shore of victory, in a land that’s not been fair. For the first time in 20 years, the Panthers left BNL Fieldhouse without sorrow.
With an unexpected scoring contribution from junior guard Riley Byford, Jennings took a huge step toward defending its Hoosier Hills Conference championship, conquering a long-time nemesis that had long-shot hopes of winning that coveted title. Bedford North Lawrence fired its best shot. The Panthers, living the life of Riley, deflected it en route to a key triumph on Thursday night.
Star guard Mollie Ernstes, who joined the 1,000-point club for her career, did her usual damage, but Byford was the X factor as the Panthers fought off the Stars 65-50, improving to 4-1 in the league race. They can clinch a share of the title with a win over cellar-dwelling Columbus East next week.
That fact, and the history of this series, made the win worth celebrating. Jennings (11-6 overall) last won at BNL during the 2004-05 season, before any of these players on the roster were born. Ernstes scored 23 points and Byford totaled a career-high 20 as Jennings absorbed BNL’s early barrage and rallied from a 7-point deficit in the first half.
Early nerves were understandable. Jennings ended BNL’s two decades of dominance last season with a home win, but the Stars earned revenge in the sectional rematch. That one stung. This win, in a house of horrors of the past, was some payback.
“There’s still a lot of emotion with these kids,” Jennings coach Kristi Sigler said. “But they really responded.”
The catalyst was Byford, probably the fourth offensive option. She was averaging a modest 6.8 points per game, one of the reasons BNL chose to give her room. Ernstes earned all the attention.
“She’s a competitor, and that’s where it starts,” Sigler said. “We’re always asking her, on the defensive end, to do a job. Tonight she saw openings. We told her she could get to the rim, and she took advantage of that. She had an outstanding night.”
BNL (5-13, 3-2 in the league) was equally outstanding for a long period. The Stars bolted in front 7-0, then pushed to an 18-11 lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter. But Jennings answered with a 16-4 run as BNL went almost seven minutes without a basket, then stretched to a double-digit lead when Byford got loose for three buckets during a key surge in the third quarter.
Byford was almost perfect, going 5 of 6 from the floor and 9 of 9 at the line. That’s a full night’s work.
“I don’t know, I just kept shooting and they kept going in,” Byford said. “We beat BNL, and it’s just a great day.”
BNL, which celebrated its Pink Out to honor cancer survivors and donned “blush” colored uniforms for the occasion, had many quality moments. Miley Sherrill hit two treys to power the Stars to their early advantage, and Tori Nikirk swished a corner bomb for the 18-11 edge. After that, BNL stumbled with six turnovers and didn’t record a basket until Makaya Jackson collected and converted an offensive rebound in the final minute of the half.
After trailing 31-25 at intermission, BNL stayed within striking range as Jordynn Blann swished a corner trey and Sherrill got free for a layup off an inbound set. But Ernstes buried two long jumpers and Byford capped the quarter with a wing trey for a 47-35 edge. The Stars just don’t have the firepower to erase that kind of lead, although Katie Godlevske came off the bench to drill two bombs as BNL blasted a 54-35 deficit down to 10. That was a close as it got.
“It’s tougher for us to chase, because we get a little antsy and possessions get a little shorter,” BNL coach Greg Burton said. “We have to play the same way when we’re down, but it’s tough to do that.”
Sherrill paced BNL with 14 points, while Nikirk and Godlevske finished with 10 each. It’s the first time since the win over Bloomington North that BNL had three scorers in double digits. The Stars finished with 15 turnovers and hit 7 of 25 from long range.
“Defense was the big key,” Byford said. “We were able to turn them over. They hit some threes, but besides that, we played pretty good defense.”
“I’m proud of all of them,” Burton said. “I thought this was the most complete game we’ve played, as far as the execution, the focus on being locked in on our jobs. They did what I asked them to do. We had a couple of miscues that got us down, we were playing catch-up, and that’s tough to do against them.
“Maybe it’s crazy since we went through a losing streak, but we are getting better. I’m happy with that. The schedule is just tough right now, and I know that’s no excuse. I’m happy with the progression, we just have to continue it and be playing our best basketball in the sectional. We’re trending that way.”
In addition to the perimeter duo, Etta Young had a strong double-double with 12 points and 12 boards for Jennings. Now the Panthers, who started the season 1-4, are on the brink of winning a second straight league title.
“It means a lot,” Sigler said. “We lost some big pieces and we knew this would be a growing year. People are learning new roles and stepping into a lot more responsibility. Our schedule was stacked, so the strength of schedule has gotten them to grow. That’s been the goal all along.”
BNL unveiled the Miss Basketball banner for Chloe Spreen, now playing for Alabama, prior to the contest.
The Stars will finish out their league schedule when it visits Floyd Central (which is also 4-1 in the league) on Tuesday.
JENNINGS COUNTY PANTHERS (65)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
24 Etta Young, f 0-0 5-8 2-4 12 3 12
2 Avynn Belding, f 1-1 1-4 0-0 3 5 3
31 Mollie Ernstes, g 4-6 8-15 3-6 3 2 23
5 Madelyn McIntosh, g 1-4 2-7 0-0 3 0 5
13 Riley Byford, g 1-1 5-6 9-9 4 2 20
15 Grace McBride 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
14 Addiston Grunden 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 1 2
23 Aniston Kent 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
11 Kaydence Lowman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
12 Claire Hack 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
45 Natalie Ponsler 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 7-13 22-42 14-19 26 13 65
BEDFORD NL STARS (50)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Miley Sherrill, f 2-4 5-8 2-2 2 4 14
30 Makaya Jackson, f 0-0 3-5 1-2 7 3 7
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 0-3 0-4 2-2 2 4 2
12 Tori Nikirk, g 2-6 3-11 2-4 1 3 10
21 Jordynn Blann, g 1-6 2-9 2-2 2 3 7
23 Katie Godlevske 2-6 3-8 2-2 3 0 10
24 Elise Williams 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 7-25 16-44 11-14 21 17 50
Jennings Co. 11 20 16 18 – 65
Bedford NL 14 11 10 15 – 50
Turnovers – Jennings 16, BNL 15
Field goal percentage – Jennings 22-42 (.524); BNL 16-44 (.364)
Free throw percentage – Jennings 14-19 (.737); BNL 11-14 (.786)
