By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Every old family house, where kids sprouted like weeds, has the doorway with the pencil etchings, charting the growth spurts of the children over the years. It represents the passage of time.
Bedford North Lawrence stood straight against that door frame, seeing how far up it could reach. The measuring stick was Class 4A No.7 Bloomington South, a defending regional champion. Even on tip-toes, and there was always one kid trying to stretch the truth, the Stars could not quite push that high.
Perhaps in time, the Stars will grow. But on this Tuesday night, the Panthers left their mark on BNL Fieldhouse, clawing to a 57-43 victory. Annika Smith scored 14 points as South (4-0) won back-to-back games in the series for the first time since 2010. BNL (4-1) suffered its first loss under first-year coach Chase Spreen.
Two distinct runs gave South space and separation. The first was an 11-0 burst in the first quarter to take control, the second was an 11-2 blast to a 20-point lead midway through the third. Every time the Stars lost focus, they lost touch with the opponent.
”They’re so good, you can’t make mistakes,” Spreen said. “Because they don’t. They’re so efficient. The girls played their butts off, we competed. We left some things out there, and against a team like that, some mistakes we made, you can’t make if you want to beat them. It’s a very experienced group.”
BNL could not make South uncomfortable, not after the early surge. Smith had a big role in that run with a trey from the key and two free throws, and Alaina Maki stroked a 15-footer to cap it with a 14-6 lead. From that point, the Panthers kept stretching up and away. They hit three treys in the second quarter while roaring to a 30-18 lead at the half, and the second-half eruption included Smith’s drive through traffic, Julia Ashley’s layup and Avery Schwartzman’s 3-point play for a 42-22 advantage.
”We kind of went cold, we got a little bit tired, and they stepped on the gas,” Spreen said.
South had balance, with six players combining for their eight treys, with Tatum DeVries (the daughter of the new Indiana University coach) adding 12 points.
“We didn’t make shots we normally make, but we made enough to get some separation,” South coach Larry Winters said. “It was one of those nights where the ball didn’t go for us, we had some people force some things. That happens when you play against people you know, and friends. You want to do more than you need to do.
“It’s a win on the road, so we take it for what it was.”
Trinidy Bailey paced BNL with 15 points, hitting four from distance, while Jordan Blann added three bombs and totaled 11 points. The Stars could not make up South’s rebounding edge (with Smith collecting 9) and free-throw advantage (13 of 15, compared to BNL’s 8 of 16). Those little things added up, as did BNL’s 13 turnovers.
”We just have to make sure we understand, as far as the pressure they put on, we have to take better care of the basketball,” Spreen said. “It felt like every single one, when we had a chance to get a stop and some momentum, they hit a big basket. They capitalize on everything.
“They’re 15 points better than us, we have to get better at some things to beat a team like that.”
South, coming off a 23-3 campaign, is poised for another trophy season, at least the Panthers have that look and pedigree in November. It’s still a long way to February.
“The jury is still out,” Winters said. “Potentially, we have the opportunity to win some games at tournament time. It depends on our situation. No one really cares what you did last year, it’s a new year for everybody. Four games into it, we know we will be a whole lot better.
”So the sky is the limit. We know that and want that, we have to figure out how to get that.”
BNL will visit Seymour for its Hoosier Hills Conference opener on Saturday.
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH PANTHERS (57)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
22 Violet Hall, f 0-1 1-4 1-2 4 2 3
32 Julia Ashley, f 0-4 2-8 0-0 5 0 4
2 Tatum DeVries, g 2-6 3-9 4-4 1 2 12
5 Avery Schwartzman, g 0-2 2-6 3-3 5 1 7
10 Annika Smith, g 2-2 4-5 4-4 9 1 14
12 Alaina Maki 1-3 2-5 0-0 0 2 5
1 Addy Prall 1-1 1-2 0-0 1 3 3
34 Rebekah Arnold 1-2 2-3 0-0 0 1 5
15 Quinnly Fife 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 2 3
4 Amaya Stinson 0-0 0-1 1-2 1 1 1
Totals 8-22 18-44 13-15 29 15 57
BEDFORD NL STARS (43)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Sammie Nusbaum, f 1-1 2-4 0-0 3 4 5
22 Miley Sherrill, f 0-2 1-6 1-4 4 3 3
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 4-7 5-12 1-2 3 3 15
21 Jordan Blann, g 3-7 4-9 0-0 1 0 11
11 Paige Burton, g 0-2 0-3 2-2 2 3 2
12 Elahdy Ray 1-2 1-4 0-2 2 0 3
24 Caroline Sheldon 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 1
20 Bella Warren 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
31 Audrey Hoffman 0-0 0-0 3-4 2 1 3
44 Annie Watson 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 9-20 13-38 8-16 22 14 43
Bl. South 18 12 18 9 – 57
Bedford NL 9 9 11 14 – 43
Turnovers – South 12, BNL 13
Field goal percentage – South 18-44 (.409); BNL 13-38 (.342)
Free throw percentage – South 13-15 (.867); BNL 8-16 (.500)
