By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
NEW ALBANY – Sammie Nusbaum blamed her only miss on sweaty hands. Given she was otherwise perfect, she will get a pass. And she collected a lot of those during a no-sweat victory.
Perhaps the Sagarin computer needs to recalibrate. The pregame prediction of Bedford North Lawrence’s demise proved quite inaccurate and quite motivational. The Stars, dragging from back-to-back losses, struggling to score of late, solved both those issues with one of their best performances of the season. That’s what playing well looks like.
Nusbaum, surprisingly unaccounted for in the midst of New Albany’s trapping and swarming, exploded for a career-high 25 points as BNL bounced the Bulldogs 63-40 on Saturday afternoon. Miley Sherrill added 16 points as the Stars (6-3 overall) won their second Hoosier Hills Conference road test.
No matter what the Bulldogs (1-8 overall, 0-1 in the league) attempted to disrupt BNL’s flow, it did not work. The Stars, with crisp ball movement and purpose to their attack, usually cracked the equation with a pinpoint pass to Nusbaum in the paint. She knew what to do from there, converting her first nine shots until the late, last bomb rimmed off. Somebody get that girl a hand towel.
“She had a day,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “That’s Sammie. She’s a kid who has proven, if she gets some room, she can score. And she’s smart.”
The Stars were smart enough to find her. She ignited a 12-0 run in the second quarter as BNL took control, then opened the second half with three buckets as BNL blasted to a 38-20 advantage and cruised home from that point.
The first burst was a master class in execution. Nusbaum worked loose for a layup, Trinidy Bailey slashed the lane for a bucket, Jordan Blann found an open corner for a bomb, and Sherrill swished another trey – after the soft underbelly of the defense had been probed – as the Stars raced to a 22-11 lead.
The next burst in the third quarter was a Nusbaum highlight package. Jumper from the key, boom. Scoop layup in the post, count it. Post up for her favorite baby-hook move, yes. That eruption gave the Stars plenty of comfort room, and they finished off the 13th straight win over New Albany with a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to their largest lead at 56-30.
“It started for us defensively,” Spreen said. “We put a lot of emphasis on being engaged on the defensive end, communicating better and rotating better. These kids need to understand, when they do those things, it feeds into the offensive end of the floor. It picks up their urgency.
“We tried to put them in spots that would allow them to make plays. Trinidy and Miley did a good job of making good decisions, and we got the ball in the middle of the floor. Once we got it there, we had to make plays and attack.”
“They left the middle wide open, and my teammates really looked at us,” Nusbaum said. “They got the ball to us.”
The free-flowing offense was a welcome sight. BNL posted its season high in points and recorded its best output since hitting 71 against Columbus East two years ago. The Stars shot a blistering 60 percent (21 of 35) and didn’t miss a free throw (13 of 13). Blann and Elahdy Ray added 8 points each.
Gracie Matheny paced New Albany with 15 points while Claire Webster finished with 10. But they needed volume shots to reach those totals. The Bulldogs, whose Sagarin rating had been boosted by strength of schedule (even without positive results), were guilty of seven turnovers during BNL’s second-quarter surge and hit only 2 of 13 treys until the final frame.
“Communication was the biggest thing,” first-year New Albany coach Kelsy Taylor said. “I really believe we beat ourselves. We did not play like New Albany girls basketball. It was a lack of focus. Basketball is a game of communication, and we lacked in that area.
“It was a lack of heart. Basketball is a game of heart. If we don’t know the scouting report by the third quarter, we’re in trouble. If you watch someone score the same way every time, that’s not dedication to the game. That’s a give-up mentality, and I don’t teach that, don’t coach that. I’m glad it happened in early December and not going into the sectional.”
BNL (which has conquered New ALbany 29 times in the last 31 meetings) and Jennings County are now the only unbeaten league teams (with Columbus East yet to start the HHC grind). “That’s a goal for us, and we know how hard it is,” Spreen said.
“They were predicted to win, so this means a lot,” Nusbaum said. “Our conference is always out to get us, no matter what.”
“Everyone just shows up for the conference,” Taylor said. “Everyone will play their best game. It’s a little more serious, and whoever is not taking it the most serious usually ends up losing. That happened to us. Conference play is hard.”
BNL will continue the league battles on Tuesday when the Stars host Jeffersonville.
BEDFORD NL STARS (63)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Sammie Nusbaum, f 2-3 9-10 5-5 4 2 25
22 Miley Sherrill, f 2-4 5-7 4-4 4 2 16
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 0-0 2-2 0-0 4 3 4
21 Jordan Blann, g 2-5 2-5 2-2 2 0 8
11 Paige Burton, g 0-2 0-3 0-0 0 1 0
12 Elahdy Ray 2-4 2-5 2-2 2 0 8
24 Caroline Sheldon 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
31 Audrey Hoffman 0-0 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
44 Annie Watson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
20 Bella Warren 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Totals 8-19 21-35 13-13 22 8 63
NEW ALBANY BULLDOGS (40)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
33 Emily Spainhour, f 0-3 2-6 0-0 4 1 4
32 Jaelynn Huggins, c 0-0 0-3 2-2 2 1 2
5 Gracie Matheny, g 4-9 5-12 1-2 3 3 15
4 Claire Webster, g 0-6 4-13 2-2 3 1 10
3 Tori Bailey, g 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
44 Chloe Bekol 0-0 2-4 0-0 4 3 4
10 Bailey Belden 1-4 2-5 0-0 0 2 5
14 Alyviah Lewis-Redd 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
22 Emma Kennell 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 5-21 15-43 5-6 18 12 40
Bedford NL 10 17 13 23 – 63
New Albany 9 5 11 15 – 40
Turnovers – BNL 13, New Albany 14
Field goal percentage – BNL 21-35 (.600), New Albany 15-43 (.349)
Free throw percentage – BNL 13-13 (1.000), New Albany 5-6 (.833)
