By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
GALENA – The best from the new conference champion was a worst-case scenario for Bedford North Lawrence. Floyd Central could not play much better, the Stars could not be much worse.
With a title on the line, the Highlanders were almost flawless while hammering BNL in all phases. Floyd exploded with a perfect start, shut down BNL’s mistake-marred offense during two lengthy runs, and roared to a mercy-rule triumph on Tuesday night.
Floyd, the favorite in Class 4A Sectional 15, converted its first 10 shots, the Stars were guilty of 25 turnovers, and that combination led to the obvious result as the Highlanders smacked BNL 66-31, clinching at least a share of the Hoosier Hills Conference crown. Elise Coleman and Samara Miller scored 18 points each for Floyd, which finished the league race with a 5-1 record and claimed a part of the title for the first time since 2010.
Floyd (16-4 overall) might not have to share it at all, although that would require a huge upset. Jeffersonville, one of the tri-leaders when the night started, suffered a loss at Seymour. Now if Jennings County should stumble at Columbus East on Thursday, the Highlanders would be the outright champions. But they’re not greedy at this point.
“We know we’re probably going to split it, and that’s OK,” Floyd coach Jerry Hickey said. “We’ll take our piece and be happy with it.”
BNL (5-14 overall, 3-3 in the league) offered no resistance to the coronation. Floyd’s amazing start, which produced a 15-0 run to a 21-5 lead, buried the Stars in a deep hole, and they added to their own misery with the tidal wave of turnovers. After the first burst, BNL went scoreless for over 12 minutes as Floyd blasted to a 43-13 lead midway through the third quarter.
For a program built on the foundation of defending and protecting the basketball, the Stars did neither. So for the second time this season, the running clock was triggered.
“It’s tough,” BNL coach Greg Burton said. “We didn’t do a lot to slow them down. When they’re rolling, it’s tough. That’s a good basketball team, and we just didn’t play well.”
Floyd ended the suspense quickly. After Makaya Jackson got free for an interior layup that got BNL within 6-5, the Highlanders dominated the next four-plus minutes before Miley Sherrill ended the icy drought with a shot in the lane. After Tori Nikirk swished back-to-back treys that made its 23-13, the Stars didn’t score again until a Sherrill rebound at 3:45 of the third quarter.
“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize it was that good,” Hickey said. “I knew we were shooting well and playing well. We were due for a game like that. Some of that was having a bad taste in our mouth from last Tuesday (a road loss at Jennings County), and we had to sit on it for a week. We were just ready to play.”
The Highlanders started the running clock on a Miller bucket to begin the fourth quarter, and their largest margin was 40 (at 59-19 and 65-25).
Nikirk paced BNL with 15 points on five treys, but there were few highlights. The Stars had more turnovers than shot attempts until midway through the third quarter. What BNL used to do to overmatched opponents is now done to it. It’s not a good feeling.
“We handled the press, but once we got in the halfcourt (against Floyd’s zone) we rushed a little bit,” Burton said. “We put an emphasis on moving the ball, but we moved it until we turned it over, rather than being aggressive and trying to score.”
Coleman hit her first four shots, and Miller had 10 quick points. She didn’t miss from inside the bonus arc.
“When Samara comes out and shoots like that, plays with that kind of confidence,” Hickey said, “we know we have a chance to be pretty good.”
BNL will look to rebound from its backward-step performance when it hosts Class A No.6 Orleans and celebrates Senior Day on Saturday.
BEDFORD NL STARS (31)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Miley Sherrill, f 0-2 2-10 0-0 5 3 4
30 Makaya Jackson, f 0-0 1-1 0-0 4 4 2
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 0-0 0-1 0-0 2 1 0
12 Tori Nikirk, g 5-8 5-10 0-2 0 1 15
21 Jordynn Blann, g 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 0 0
20 Paige Burton 0-2 0-3 0-0 1 1 0
24 Elise Williams 0-0 1-3 1-2 1 1 3
50 Harryson Hayes 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 1 –
44 Sammie Nusbaum 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
11 Trinity Schmeichel 1-1 2-2 0-0 0 0 5
31 Carsyn Amburgey 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
40 Caroline Sheldon 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 6-15 12-34 1-4 18 12 31
FLOYD CENTRAL HIGHLANDERS (66)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
15 Brinley Clark, f 0-0 3-4 1-2 3 2 7
34 Nora Gibson, c 0-0 2-3 1-1 4 1 5
12 Elise Coleman, g 1-3 8-13 1-2 6 3 18
21 Samara Miller, g 2-4 6-8 4-4 0 0 18
4 Ava Hausz, g 0-1 2-3 0-0 0 1 4
23 Riley Roberts 0-1 2-3 1-2 3 0 5
5 Mia Gianfagna 0-1 1-4 2-4 1 1 4
30 Ava Casteel 0-0 1-2 2-2 2 0 4
35 Eva Casteel 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 1 1
10 Maya Brogan 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
32 Laken Jerke 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
3 Jadyn Drury 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
45 Hudson Holt 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
44 Claire Vierling 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-11 25-41 13-19 23 9 66
Bedford NL 13 0 4 14 – 31
Floyd Central 26 11 14 15 – 66
Turnovers – BNL 25, Floyd Central 12
Field goal percentage – BNL 12-34 (.353); Floyd Central 25-41 (.610)
Free throw percentage – BNL 1-4 (.250); Floyd Central 13-19 (.684)
