By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Winning a Hoosier Hills Conference championship, with the league history graced by great teams that later hung state banners to match the conference trophy, requires the best shot. Bedford North Lawrence took its worst.
With a share of the crown as a reward to the winner, No.11 Floyd Central dominated a showdown with a shutdown. The Stars, taking dead aim, missed the target. By a lot.
Struggling to convert shots at an unfathomable, interminable rate, BNL watched the foreign legion celebrate on its court, as the Highlanders claimed their prize with a 50-25 victory on Saturday afternoon. Elise Coleman, bound for Western Kentucky, scored 12 points as Floyd (18-2, 5-1 in the league) won its 15th consecutive game and posted back-to-back HHC titles for the first time in program history. Jennings County could still earn the other half of the trophy with a win over Columbus East in its conference finale.
While Floyd posed for team photos for its considerable accomplishment, and honored head coach Jerry Hickey for his 200th career win, the Stars (14-6, 4-2) were in janitorial mode – cleaning up a mess of missed shots. The shooting stats were inexplicable. BNL managed only seven baskets against Floyd’s zones. In this case, size (with the Highlanders clogging the court and extending their reach of influence with multiple six-footers) definitely did matter.
“I mentioned the phrase ‘defense travels,’ and it does,” Hickey said. “It’s just hard to go against the length of our zone. You can’t simulate that in practice. We’re hard to score against.”
BNL can offer no argument. The Stars failed to record a field goal for the first 9 minutes, then blanked from the floor for the final 10 minutes. They were 7 of 37 overall, 1 of 18 from long range. So it’s rather amazing to consider BNL was down only single digits early in the second half, trailed by a manageable 12 with 5:44 left. Then totaled only one point in the fourth quarter.
“You have to credit them, they had a lot to do with that,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “I thought there were times we executed well and didn’t finish. You have to finish to beat a team like that.”
While BNL missed its first six shots, Floyd took off for a lead it would not relinquish. Coleman and Ava Casteel buried bombs, Brinley Clark tipped in a miss at the first-quarter buzzer, and Riley Roberts worked inside for a post bucket to highlight Floyd’s 12-0 run. Coleman and Clark ripped back-to-back treys for a 21-5 advantage.
That’s when BNL finally found some footing. Miley Sherrill dropped a 15-footer while absorbing a foul, Paige Burton snuck inside undetected for a layup, and Sherrill dashed to a layup that got BNL back within 21-12. When Trinidy Bailey posted inside for a basket and Sherrill added two free throws to start the third quarter, BNL was hanging around at 26-19, and a title seemed within reach.
Fool’s gold, that claim. After Sammie Nusbaum chased down a steal and powered in transition for a basket with 2:12 left in the third, the Stars trailed 34-21. Little did they know it would be the final basket. They could manage only two free throws the final 10 minutes.
“I’m not disappointed in our lack of execution, or being lackadaisical with the ball,” Spreen said. “I’m disappointed in not finishing possessions and keeping it a tighter game. To beat a team like that, we have to execute well and finish. We’re capable of beating a team like that, we just have to perform better on the offensive end.“
Casteel added 10 points and Lakan Jerke came off the bench for big moments and 9 points for the Highlanders. Floyd made 9 treys.
”It’s the dumbest statement in the world, but if you make shots, you’re pretty good,” Hickey said.
“This is one of the best conference in Indiana, no matter what. We know how good it is. It feels good. We know that’s a good team (in BNL), so this is a good win.“ And the 200 milestone? “It means I’ve had a lot of good players,” he said. “When things go well, they make me look smart.”
Sherrill paced BNL with 9 points while Bailey added 7. There were few highlights. BNL now knows the challenge ahead if it wants to compete for a Class 4A sectional title.
”They will be the favorite in the sectional,” Spreen said. “The kids need to understand, to beat a team like that, we can’t leave so many things out on the floor.”
BNL will look to bounce back during a road trip to Austin on Tuesday.
FLOYD CENTRAL HIGHLANDERS (50)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
12 Elise Coleman, f 4-7 4-10 0-0 3 2 12
15 Brinley Clark, f 1-3 3-8 0-0 6 3 7
22 Riley Roberts, c 0-0 2-4 1-1 3 4 5
30 Ava Casteel, g 3-4 3-5 1-2 2 1 10
5 Mia Gianfagna, g 0-2 1-4 2-3 1 0 4
35 Eva Casteel 0-1 0-1 0-0 3 2 0
3 Jadyn Drury 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
32 Lakan Jerke 0-0 3-4 3-4 3 1 9
10 Maya Brogan 1-1 1-2 0-0 1 0 3
4 Maddie Jones 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
45 Hudson Holt 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
31 Lyla Jenks 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 9-20 17-40 7-10 27 13 50
BEDFORD NL STARS (25)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Sammie Nusbaum, f 0-2 2-7 2-4 0 0 6
22 Miley Sherrill, f 0-3 2-10 5-5 4 2 9
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 1-3 2-5 2-2 4 2 7
21 Jordan Blann, g 0-6 0-7 1-2 3 1 1
11 Paige Burton, g 0-0 1-3 0-0 6 2 2
12 Elahdy Ray 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
24 Caroline Sheldon 0-3 0-3 0-0 1 0 0
31 Audrey Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
44 Annie Watson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
20 Bella Warren 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 1-19 7-37 10-13 22 9 25
Floyd Central 12 14 11 13 – 50
Bedford NL 3 12 9 1 – 25
Turnovers – Floyd Central 12, BNL 11
Field goal percentage – Floyd Central 17-40 (.425); BNL 7-37 (.189)
Free throw percentage – Floyd Central 7-10 (.700); BNL 10-13 (.769)
