By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
SEYMOUR – All good things must come to an end. That doesn’t mean it will not be painful. For the first time in 14 years, Bedford North Lawrence shed tears of heartache rather than joy. The longest sectional championship run in the state came to its inevitable conclusion.
Floyd Central busted the streak. BNL’s incredible period of dominance, including 40 consecutive sectional victories, came to a valiant close. Keeping it going would have required a major upset and near-perfect performance, and that did not happen. The trophy, the nets and the glory went home with the Highlanders, worthy new champions in Sectional 15.
For the first time since 2010, Floyd claimed a crown, conquering BNL 45-25 during a scratch-and-claw final on Saturday night. Brinley Clark scored 15 points as the Highlanders (23-4) advanced to a one-game regional to meet Gibson Southern.
Floyd’s status as the overwhelming favorite proved correct, although this rematch of a regular-season blowout was quite different. BNL (7-16) got overwhelmed during the January road trip, suffering a 35-point beatdown. But this was February, which has been BNL time for a long time, and the Stars raised their level to challenge the Highlanders.
After a competitive first half, with Floyd clinging to a 15-12 advantage, the Stars had too many empty possessions with turnovers, allowing the Highlanders to gradually pull away.
“We were so much better than the first time we played them,” BNL coach Greg Burton said. “I can’t say enough about the kids buying in. It was working. We just didn’t hit shots. We had too many turnovers, and when we didn’t turn it over we didn’t hit shots. It’s a bad combination.”
Floyd’s zone defense, with its height and length, creates problems. It’s why the Highlanders have allowed only 34.3 points per game this season, one of the best defensive teams in Class 4A. BNL was brilliant and patient in its approach, probing the middle and finding cracks. When the ball movement was crisp, the offense clicked, especially in the early stages. Miley Sherrill, camped in the midst of the zone, scored twice and Makaya Jackson worked inside for a layup as BNL battled to an 8-8 deadlock.
The Highlanders finally created some space with a 7-0 run to start the second quarter, with Clark converting twice. Sherrill answered that with a 4-footer in the lane and Jackson hit two free throws to end the half.
“That’s the difference in a team that’s won 13 straight and a team that hasn’t won one,” FC coach Jerry Hickey said. “We were high strung, a little pumped up, and they were calm and collected. We settled in and won every quarter after that. But it was a slow start.”
Turnovers were BNL’s fatal flaw in the second half. The Stars were guilty of seven during the third, and Floyd took advantage as Clark collected a steal on the press for a layup, drove the lane for a basket, and swished a midrange jumper. Samara Miller’s corner trey gave Floyd its first double-digit lead at 26-15.
BNL briefly got back within 29-20 on Trinidy Bailey’s 3-point play, but the Highlanders scored all their fourth-quarter points at the foul line to keep the Stars from scrambling back.
“We kept fighting through it and made our free throws down the stretch,” Hickey said. “To be the man, you have to beat the man. And they’ve been the man for a long time.”
Clark was the catalyst, and she got plenty of help from Elise Coleman (12 points) and Mia Gianfagna (8, all from the line in the final frame). Floyd owned a 20-5 edge in points from the foul line.
“We talked to Brinley about how hard she played the first time we played them,” Hickey said. “To match that intensity. She really battled through it.”
Sherrill paced BNL with 11 points while Jackson had 7. The Stars finished with 22 turnovers and made only 9 of 28 shots. Their point total was the lowest in BNL’s postseason history since a 23-point effort against Jeffersonville during the 2006 sectional.
“We had to value possessions, we had to limit their possessions,” Burton said. “If this was a game with 60-70 shots combined for each team, we knew we were in trouble. We had to slow down and play smart.
“We had preached that all year, we needed to play our best basketball near the end of the year. And we were. We knew Floyd would be a tall task. I hate that the streak ended. I hate it for these girls, because they worked their tails off.”
Floyd won its seventh sectional title in program history. The rushing of the court was a bit premature, before the customary hand shakes and trophy presentation, but that’s understandable. It had been a while.
“Our kids rushed the court, and I felt bad,” Hickey said. “I had said to act like we’ve been here before. But we haven’t. This is new to us. This was our big goal, and we took care of it.”
Gibson Southern (20-6) advanced to the regional at Boonville with a 47-41 overtime win over Evansville Reitz. BNL will host two regional games (in Class A and Class 4A) on Feb. 15.
BEDFORD NL STARS (25)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Miley Sherrill, f 1-1 5-8 0-0 4 3 11
30 Makaya Jackson, f 0-0 2-2 3-3 4 1 7
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 0-2 1-3 2-3 3 5 4
12 Tori Nikirk, g 0-2 0-4 0-0 1 5 0
21 Jordynn Blann, g 1-3 1-5 0-0 1 0 3
23 Katie Godlevske 0-2 0-4 0-0 0 3 0
24 Elise Willliams 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 3 0
11 Trinity Schmeichel 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
44 Sammie Nusbaum 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
40 Bella Warren 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
31 Carsyn Amburgey 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 2-10 9-28 5-6 16 20 25
FLOYD CENTRAL HIGHLANDERS (45)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
15 Brinley Clark, f 0-1 7-11 1-2 5 1 15
34 Nora Gibson, c 0-0 0-0 0-2 4 1 0
12 Elise Coleman, g 1-4 1-5 5-6 1 4 8
21 Samara Miller, g 2-6 2-6 6-6 3 0 12
4 Ava Hausz, g 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
23 Riley Roberts 0-0 1-4 0-0 5 1 2
30 Ava Casteel 0-1 0-2 0-0 0 0 0
5 Mia Gianfagna 0-1 0-1 8-10 1 0 8
35 Eva Casteel 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
10 Maya Brogan 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
3 Jadyn Drury 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-13 11-29 20-26 22 7 45
Bedford NL 8 4 5 8 – 25
Floyd Central 8 7 14 26 – 45
Turnovers – BNL 22, Floyd Central 15
Technical foul – BNL bench
Field goal percentage – BNL 9-28 (.321): Floyd Central 11-29 (.379)
Free throw percentage – BNL 5-6 (.833); Floyd Central 20-26 (.769)
ALL SECTIONAL TEAM
Elise Coleman, Floyd Central
Brinley Clark, Floyd Central
Trinidy Bailey, BNL
Miley Sherrill, BNL
Samara Miller, Floyd Central
Gracie Matheny, New Albany
Claire Webster, New Albany
