BNL saving best on its schedule for last week as Stars prepare to visit 3A No.3 Silver Creek

Makaya Jackson and the Stars (6-14) will battle 3A No.3 Silver Creek (17-2) on Tuesday night.

By Justin Sokeland

WBIW.com

BEDFORD – At the conclusion of a difficult schedule that ranks among the state’s toughest, Bedford North Lawrence has saved one of the best for last.

The Stars will start the final week of the regular season with a road trip to battle one of the top teams on the docket, indeed one of the best in any class, with a journey to Class 3A No.3 Silver Creek on Tuesday night. The Dragons, who have never conquered the Stars in seven previous meetings, will have extra motivation as they celebrate Senior Night, seeking to spew the flames of vengeance.

Silver Creek (17-2) owns a 10-game winning streak, and the Dragons are just now returning to full strength after wading through injuries and illnesses to key personnel. They are starting to peak, just in time for BNL.

“I feel good about us,” Silver Creek coach Scott Schoen said. “You want to be playing your best basketball at the end of January, and I feel like we’re really getting there. We haven’t played with a full deck, but it’s really helped us. Our other kids have had to step up and play more of a prominent role.“

The Dragons feature one of the premier interior players in 6-2 junior Brooklynn Renn, who’s averaging 18 points despite missing five games with a foot injury. She gets plenty of firepower support from junior guard Emma Schoen (17.0) and senior guard Lydia Wright (9.0), but everything revolves around Renn in the paint. Defenses collapse on her, and she’s surrounded with deadly shooters. Silver Creek shoots 41 percent from long range.

“When she gets the ball, she demands so much attention,” Schoen said. “It opens up shots. They know they will get open shots. A lot of things revolve around her, because it’s Brooklynn and she’s a really good player. But I’m excited because these other kids realized they can do this.

Silver Creek junior Brooklynn Renn is one of the top players in the 2026 class in Indiana.

“We’re shooting the ball and defending. Defensively, we’re really starting to figure out trusting each other. We’ve become pretty good.”

BNL faced a similar dilemma against Brownsburg and 6-6 center Avery Gordon, a Purdue recruit. The Stars swarmed her and limited her to 11 points, but the Bulldogs buried 12 treys and crushed the Stars 68-21.

“With Renn, and they have a supporting cast that’s really good, there are no kids you can hang off and help,” BNL coach Greg Burton said. “They have talent all over the place. We saw that at Brownsburg, where we tried to take Gordon away and they hit threes on us. We have to figure that out.”

BNL’s seven-game streak at Silver Creek’s expense includes a sweep of two battles last season. The first was a brutal 31-28 clash at BNL Fieldhouse. Chloe Spreen had 19 points in a defensive war. In the sectional rematch, Spreen had 20 points while sisters Madisyn and Trinidy Bailey totaled 12 each for BNL during a 60-41 triumph. Renn was a wrecking crew with 29 points and 12 rebounds.

The Stars (6-14) will feature sophomore Miley Sherrill (10.3 points), senior Tori Nikirk (up to 6.5 after a run of double-digit games) and senior Katie Godlevske (who’s up to 5.8 after scoring 12 during the win against Orleans). BNL’s record has not dropped Schoen’s guard or lowered his respect level.

“They have a culture of winning,” he said. “If you can hang onto that, those kids play with a lot of pride. We’ve never beaten them, we’ve had some good battles and also had our brains kicked in. We know it will be a good tune-up for us going into the sectional. They will be prepared and play hard.”

BNL coach Greg Burton and the Stars are coming off a win over Class A No.6 Orleans.

BNL at SILVER CREEK

When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

Records: BNL 6-14; Silver Creek 17-2, ranked No.3 in Class 3A

Sagarin ratings: BNL 63.01; Silver Creek 88.93

Last meeting: Last season, the Stars swept two games from the Dragons. BNL won the regular-season battle 31-28 as Chloe Spreen scored 19 points. In the sectional semifinal rematch at Floyd Central, BNL thumped the Highlanders 60-41. Spreen had 20 points for the Stars, while Brooklynn Renn totaled 29 points and 12 rebounds for Silver Creek.

Previous game story: New Bailey trick for old sectional dog

Game notes: BNL leads the series with Silver Creek 7-0. The Dragons won the Class 3A state title in 2021.

BNL statistics

Starting lineups

Bedford NL Stars

F – Miley Sherrill 5-9 So.

F – Makaya Jackson 5-8 Sr.

G – Trinidy Bailey 5-7 Jr.

G – Tori Nikirk 5-6 Sr.

G – Jordynn Blann 5-2 So.

Silver Creek Dragons

F – Brooklynn Renn 6-2 Jr.

G – Lydia Wright 5-7 Sr.

G – Katy Rooney 5-2 Sr.

G – Hannah Senn 5-8 Sr.

G – Amira Estephan 5-7 Sr.