By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
SEYMOUR – Bedford North Lawrence stole one, quite literally. Somewhere on the Seymour police log, there might be a report, identifying the culprits (dressed in red, according to multiple witnesses) who got away with a valuable victory.
Down and a little desperate, the Stars forced two crucial turnovers in the final minute, converting both steals into comeback points, while escaping from the cavernous Owls Nest with a felonious road win in the Hoosier Hills Conference opener. And in Saturday’s broad daylight, too.
The harrowing heist, including the breathless getaway, ended with a 39-35 triumph. Sammie Nusbaum will appear on the most-wanted poster after scoring a career-high 21 points as BNL (5-1 overall) conquered the Owls for the 12th straight time in the series.
It’s not often a road team can go scoreless for seven minutes in the fourth quarter and emerge victorious. But after wasting a six-point lead in the final frame, trailing 34-32, BNL showed some grit. A backcourt trap created a deflection that led to a Trinidy Bailey layup. A halfcourt trap, with Nusbaum and Miley Sherrill combining for the swarming takeaway, led to Nusbaum’s go-ahead free throw. And after the Owls missed on the other end, Bailey’s two free throws with 4.2 seconds left clinched it as BNL beat the posse back to the county line.
“We knew it would be a challenge,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “But our kids played through it and figured out a way to get a win.”
The Owls (2-3) deserve credit for defensive toughness that ignited the comeback. After Jordan Blann’s trey from the key gave the Stars a 32-26 lead with 7:29 left, Seymour didn’t surrender another basket until BNL’s turnover-layup recovery. Kelsea Hunsley scored twice in the lane and Sophie Skidmore spun through traffic for a post basket. Skidmore’s two free throws with 1:07 left capped the run to Seymour’s first lead of the second half.
Most burglaries (ask the guards at the Louvre) require detailed planning, and the first snatch was. The Stars collapsed on the inbound pass in the corner, and a pass back under the basket was tipped away. Bailey got open for the layup and the deadlock. The second theft was not scripted. Nusbaum saw the opportunity to trap when the ball crossed the midcourt line, with Sherrill wresting the ball from Seymour’s Emmy Munson. Nusbaum was fouled, and she put the Stars in front with 21 seconds remaining.
After Hunsley missed a corner bomb, Bailey was fouled and calmly made two at the line. Spreen chose to foul, rather than allow the Owls a chance to force overtime with a 3-pointer, and Munson converted the first. She intentionally missed the second, and Nusbaum added two more free throws with 1.1 seconds left.
“That press flipped the game,” Spreen said. “The kids did a good job of doing what they had to do. That’s just figuring out ways to win. We’ve got a really tough group, from a mental standpoint. They didn’t get down, they didn’t dwell on things. We got back in it, took the lead, and finished it off.”
Seymour controlled the majority of the first half, surging to a 19-12 lead when Munson drilled a bomb midway through the second quarter. BNL responded with Nusbuam’s wing trey, her driving layup, and Bailey’s drive off a back-door cut to create a 19-19 deadlock at intermission. Treys by Sherrill and Nusbaum powered BNL in front in the third quarter. Then came the worrying drought as the Owls rallied.
“I was very proud of the defense,” Seymour coach Nathan Owen said. “Bedford had some shots, but they were one-and-done. That gave us a chance to catch our breath, run what we wanted. We just seem to panic against that pressure. The breakdown at the end was disappointing.”
Nusbaum did a lot of damage. She buried four treys (her teammates were 2 of 13 combined) and hit 7 of 10 shots overall. Her departure with four fouls also coincided with the Seymour rally.
“We play a lot of sharing the ball, and that’s exactly what we did,” Nusbaum said. “They found me when I was open. You got to hit what you have to hit.”
“Thank goodness,” Spreen said. “But that’s not a fluke. She’s a really good perimeter shooter, we found her opportunities to get looks. When she’s open, she shoots it really well. She really stepped up and carried us.”
Bailey finished with 12 points.
Hunsley came off the bench to pace the Owls with 12 points while Skidmore totaled 11. Seymour hammered BNL on the glass by a 31-20 count. The Owls played their gap defense to near perfection, except for the one who got away. BNL has been a model of balanced scoring, but this time a single hero was needed.
“Nusbaum reads the defense well,” Owen said. “She got around us, she worked behind our players.”
“This win was pretty big,” Nusbaum said. “We knew Seymour would be tough.”
BNL will face another short-but-difficult trip to Jackson County on Tuesday when the Stars visit Class 2A No.5 Brownstown.
BEDFORD NL STARS (39)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Sammie Nusbaum, f 4-6 7-10 3-4 2 4 21
22 Miley Sherrill, f 1-6 1-8 0-0 4 4 3
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 0-4 5-16 2-2 6 2 12
21 Jordan Blann, g 1-3 1-4 0-0 4 0 3
11 Paige Burton, g 0-0 0-1 0-0 3 3 0
12 Elahdy Ray 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
24 Caroline Sheldon 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
31 Audrey Hoffman 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 6-19 14-40 5-7 20 15 39
SEYMOUR OWLS (35)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
34 Emmy Followell, f 0-0 1-3 1-2 9 3 3
3 Emmy Munson, f 1-3 2-5 1-2 4 0 6
2 Claire Skaggs, g 0-1 0-1 0-0 3 1 0
14 Abby Otte, g 1-2 1-2 0-0 3 0 3
32 Sophie Skidmore, g 1-5 4-14 2-4 5 3 11
1 Kelsea Hunsley 0-2 4-11 4-4 2 1 12
21 Kennedy Burnette 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
20 Trista Wischmeier 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 3-13 12-36 8-12 31 9 35
Bedford NL 7 12 10 10 – 39
Seymour 10 9 6 10 – 35
Turnovers – BNL 8, Seymour 13
Field goal percentage – BNL 14-40 (.350); Seymour 12-36 (.333)
Free throw percentage – BNL 5-7 (.714); Seymour 8-12 (.667)
