By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Four season-opening wins, three on the road and two by mercy-rule blowouts, have restored Bedford North Lawrence’s cracked confidence and luster. Now it’s time to pinpoint BNL’s possible place in the hierarchy of the state’s elite.
The Stars will face their most difficult challenge when they welcome Bloomington South to BNL Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. The Panthers, 3-0 and ranked No.7 in Class 4A, represent the first possible state power on the schedule. Are the Stars ready to make the jump to another level? They will find out.
South, coming off its best campaign since 2001-02, started this encore with victories over Northview, Gibson Southern and Edgewood. The Panthers have scoring talent and a defensive tenacity, a combination BNL has not yet faced.
The leader is senior Julia Lashley, who scored 22 points in the win over Gibson Southern and added 15 in the 63-25 thumping of the Mustangs last week. Junior guard Annika Smith is also an offensive threat.
”Their length and athleticism is the first thing you see on film, the energy and urgency they play with,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “With Coach (Larry) Winters, it doesn’t matter who he has, his kids play so hard for him. He’s always done things the right way. Now he has a lot of talent.
“Lashley is super talented. It’s not just her height and length, she’s a proven shot maker. You have to make sure you don’t lose her and make life hard on her. They have a handful of other kids. Tatum DeVries (the daughter of the new Indiana University coach) is a good perimeter shooter. Violet Hall is effective, she’s everywhere.”
South won last year’s clash 50-25, ending a 13-game losing streak in the series. Lashley and Audrey Craft both had 11 points, but the real story was BNL’s inability to score. The Stars converted only 8 of 43 shots. South went on to finish 23-3 while winning a regional title.
The Stars will counter with an improved offense and balanced scoring. Trinidy Bailey (13.0), Miley Sherrill (13.5), Sammie Nusbaum (9.5) and Jordan Blann (7.8) all have unique assets in the offensive system, and senior Paige Burton (7.8) is coming off a 12-point performance against Mitchell.
The key statistic will be turnovers. So far, the Stars have limited those to 10 per game. But this will be against a different, more difficult, obstacle. The Panthers have also had an entire week to prepare.
“We have to be ready to go,” Spreen said. “They try to turn you over. We have to take care of the basketball. If we do that, we will give ourselves a chance.”
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH at BNL
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: South 3-0, ranked No.7 in Class 4A; BNL 4-0
Last meeting: Last year at South, the Panthers ended a 13-game losing streak in the series with a 50-25 victory. Julia Lashley and Audrey Craft had 11 points each for South. Miley Sherrill had 9 points for BNL, which converted only 8 of 43 shots.
Previous game story: Revenge served cold for South
Game notes: South’s Larry Winters ranks 15th among active coaches with 369 career wins In 27 seasons. The Panthers went 23-3, and won their first regional since 1987, last season. BNL is 4-0 for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
Starting lineups
Bedford NL Stars
F – Sammie Nusbaum 5-10 Jr.
F – Miley Sherrill 5-9 Jr.
G – Trinidy Bailey 5-7 Sr.
G – Jordan Blann 5-2 Jr.
G – Paige Burton 5-3 Sr.
Bloomington South Panthers
F – Violet Hall 6-1 Sr.
F – Julia Lashley 5-10 Sr.
G – Tatum DeVries 5-8 Jr.
G – Avery Schwartzman 5-8 So.
G – Annika Smith 5-8 Jr.
