By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – In the mythical world of Transformers, Primus is the creator of those powerful, form-changing robots. Optimus Prime leads the heroes while defending against the Decepticons. Just in case you have forgotten the backstory of a childhood cartoon favorite.
In the electrical world, transformers distribute power. In the basketball world of North Knox, Lexi Primus is both, a Div. I transformer who changes the voltage and creates the charge for one of the state’s elite teams.
Defending is North Knox’s superpower. The Warriors, ranked No.1 in Class 2A, will visit BNL Fieldhouse on Monday night for a prime-time clash as one of the leading defensive units in the state. Bedford North Lawrence will see if it can transform into a scoring machine.
The Stars (5-2) will face the Warriors (7-0) in a spotlight clash, one of only a handful of games in the entire state. North Knox ranks fifth in Indiana in scoring defense, allowing only 25.7 points per game. The Warriors have not been truly tested, winning by a whopping average of 35.7 (fourth in the state in margin) while finishing five mercy-rule games with a running clock.
“It’s their ball pressure,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “Those kids do a good job, not just with initial pressure, but a great job of communicating and rotating. They make it really difficult. They will come after us quite a bit. We have to handle that.
“They overwhelm teams defensively. When they get an edge on you, and you’re not ready to handle the pressure, they can really turn up the heat and rattle teams. They make teams uncomfortable.”
Primus, who has signed with Lipscomb, is the current generator. She averages 17.4 points and 4.7 steals, and she has plenty of support firepower from senior Baylee McClure (11.0 points, 5.3 assists), senior Jade Richter (9.9) and freshman Caroline Yennes (9.1).
“It starts with Primus. She’s a stud,” Spreen said. “She’s always been impressive. We have to limit her the best we can. McClure is a tough matchup, a pretty smooth lefty that causes problems. We have to locate shooters around them and keep them off the boards. They have a lot of experience, they’ve played a lot of big games together.”
North Knox won last year’s encounter 46-40. BNL rumbled to a 29-20 lead in the third quarter, then squandered all of that in three minutes when the Warriors shifted to a 1-3-1 defense. The Stars, guilty of soft passes and indecision, finished with seven turnovers in the transforming period. Richter paced North Knox with 14 points while Trinidy Bailey led BNL with 12.
BNL cannot afford a similar lapse, nor can it repeat its sluggish start from its last outing. The Stars fell into a 19-0 hole while suffering a 46-34 loss to 2A No.10 Brownstown.
”It’s very important to get off to a much better start,” Spreen said. “You can’t dig a 19-0 hole against anybody, let alone a good team and expect to win. We definitely can’t do that against North Knox. We have to come ready to go.”
Bailey leads BNL in scoring (12.7) and assists (3.9), while Miley Sherrill adds 10.6 points and Sammie Nusbaum totals 9.9. Surprisingly, junior guard Jordan Blann (all 5-2 of her) leads BNL in rebounding at 4.6.
NORTH KNOX at BNL
When: Monday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: North Knox 7-0, ranked No.1 in Class 2A; BNL 5-2
Sagarin ratings: North Knox 85.17; BNL 73.14
Last meeting: Last year at North Knox, the Warriors rallied from a 9-point deficit in the second half to clip BNL 46-40. Jade Richter had 14 points for North Knox, while Trinidy Bailey totaled 12 points for the Stars.
Previous game story: Stars swerve off course
Game notes: North Knox ranks fifth in the state in scoring defense, allowing only 25.7 points per game. The Warriors are also fourth in the state in winning margin at 35.7 points per game.
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.
North Knox Warriors
F – Jade Richter 5-9 Sr.
F – Lexi Primus 5-8 Sr.
G – Baylee McClure 5-8 Sr.
G – Caroline Yeene 5=2 Fr.
G – Millee Leroy 5-7 Sr.
