By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Surgeons with scalpels, fishermen with a fillet knife, carpenters with saws, knights with swords. Bedford North Lawrence’s second-half offense was razor sharp.
After suffering through the dullest of scoring droughts, when a double-digit lead was whittled away like soft wood against a carver’s blade, the Stars cut through a tangled zone with sensational, perfect execution. Slicing and dicing with great movements and decisions, BNL recorded a statement victory, once again defying a predicted loss (according to the Sagarin computer) with an impressive triumph.
Once the Stars mastered the art of attacking Jeffersonville’s spread 3-2 zone, they were almost perfect while posting an impressive 55-46 win on Tuesday night. Sammie Nusbaum and Trinidy Bailey scored 17 points each as BNL (7-3) improved to 3-0 in the Hoosier Hills Conference with a signature performance.
BNL just needed work on the whetstone. When the Red Devils first switched to their zone in the first half, it caused great confusion and consternation. The Stars went scoreless for 10 minutes as an early 16-4 advantage vanished. Then they figured it out. Zones are softest in the middle.
After trailing by eight early in the second half, BNL recovered with efficient, ruthless movement. The Stars didn’t miss a shot in the fourth quarter. Nusbaum and Bailey combined to miss only once in the entire second half. It was a textbook operation. BNL went from flunking the course to a doctorate degree in zone dissection.
“The kids knew what they had to do,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “No matter how much you practice certain things, nobody will be as good at it in practice as when you go up against it. It took our kids some time to find a rhythm, really understand where our scoring opportunities could come from against it. They did a great job of adjusting and just finishing plays.”
Jeffersonville (3-6, 1-2) started the final frame with Alicia Mangrum’s trey for a 40-36 lead. Then BNL started cutting. Bailey stepped into an open trey. Nusbaum crashed to a layup off a Miley Sherrill feed, then cut behind the defense for another layup off a Bailey find. Sherrill, the instigator in the middle of the zone, found Bailey for a layup, then drove through traffic for a 3-point play.
Bailey waved away a screen on the left wing and bolted past a defender to bang home a 10-footer. Sherrill bounced home a short jumper in the lane. Seven shots, seven buckets, a 52-46 advantage that Sherrill clinched with late free throws. The Stars were sharper than a two-edged sword, dividing the soul and spirit of the Red Devils.
“We got the ball in the middle and started attacking,” Sherrill said. “We were making the right plays. We just kept sharing it.”
That great finish was almost equaled by BNL’s fantastic start. While the Devils were misfiring, the Stars were hot, and all five starters contributed to the fire. Sherrill swished a 15-footer, Paige Burton cashed in a tough drive, Jordan Blann buried a bomb, Nusbaum swooped inside for a rebound basket, Bailey converted an inbound set for a 16-4 lead.
“I wasn’t worried,” Jeffersonville interim coach A.J. Moye said. “Early in games, basketball in general, it’s a game of ebbs and flows.” And the former Indiana University standout was correct. After BNL’s ebb came the Jeffersonville flow, a devasting 19-0 run.
Makenna Taylor did the most damage, making five straight shots during a personal heat-check explosion. Kelis Dansby chipped in a 3-point play, and Taylor ended the burst with a trey as the Devils erupted to a 23-16 lead before Bailey finally scored with 1:15 left in the half.
The Devils took their biggest lead when Maizy Smith dropped a 10-footer in the lane and Dansby turned a steal into a layup for a 27-19 edge. That’s when BNL adjusted and exploited.
“Whoever got it in the middle had to make a play,” Spreen said. “Miley did a great job, Trinidy did a great job. We missed a lot of makable shots in the second quarter. The only difference was we finished plays.”
Sherrill added 12 points, 10 in the second half after hitting only 1 of 6 shots in the first. Bailey was 5 for 5 in the final two quarters, Nusbaum hit her last five shots. BNL also had an important advantage in rebounding (27-22), and half the Jeff boards came in the second quarter.
“Miley’s a tough player, plays hard and plays to win,” Moye said. “Chase is an amazing coach. He makes amazing adjustments.”
“In the past, Miley had balled up when she had a bad play,” Spreen said. “She would let that affect her. But she made play after play down the stretch. That’s what I’m proud of, her responding. She did a great job of playing through it.
“It’s a great win. We knew what we were going against from a talent standpoint, the job we had to do defensively. I’m so proud of what they accomplished defensively. To hold that team to 46 was outstanding.”
Taylor paced the Devils with 17 points while Dansby totaled 11.
“It might be the best win,” Sherrill said. “We knew this would be a tough one. We just had to stay composed. We didn’t let them pressure us, we made the right passes.“
Jeffersonville slipped to 1-2 since Taylor Sykes resigned as head coach on Dec. 1.
“These girls are in a tough situation,” said Moye, who added the coaching title to his role as the athletic director, just to get the Devils through the season. “They just lost their head coach, they’re learning new stuff on the fly, in real time. Love the progress. We have to get better, we have to get better quickly.
“It’s challenging. I don’t like losing, I don’t approve of losing, I will never be a human being who understands losing. At the same time, I’m grateful to help influence, help drive, help motivate these young women. I just want to get us better.”
BNL solidified its place atop the HHC, but there’s still a long way to go to the title.
“Our goal wasn’t 3-0 in the conference, it’s to win the conference,” Spreen said. “They need to be proud of what we’ve done, but we can’t get complacent. That’s why we’ve gotten so much better.”
BNL will now take an unusual extended break, returning to action on Dec. 20 at Owen Valley.
JEFFERSONVILLE RED DEVILS (46)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
5 Maizy Smith, f 1-4 3-9 0-0 3 3 7
33 Kiya Boatright, f 0-0 1-1 0-0 4 3 2
13 Alicia Mangrum, f 1-6 2-10 0-0 5 0 5
1 Kelis Dansby, g 0-2 4-12 3-5 2 2 11
4 Makenna Taylor, g 3-9 7-15 0-0 3 4 17
14 Marlee Williams 0-0 1-1 2-2 4 2 4
2 Jazlyn Bryant 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 5-21 18-48 5-9 22 14 46
BEDFORD NL STARS (55)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Sammie Nusbaum, f 3-5 7-10 0-0 10 2 17
22 Miley Sherrill, f 0-4 4-13 4-5 6 4 12
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 2-3 7-12 1-2 7 4 17
21 Jordan Blann, g 1-4 2-5 0-0 1 1 5
11 Paige Burton, g 0-0 2-3 0-0 1 3 4
12 Elahdy Ray 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Totals 6-16 22-43 5-7 27 15 55
Jeffersonville 9 14 14 9 – 46
Bedford NL 16 3 17 19 – 55
Turnovers – Jeffersonville 9, BNL 12
Field goal percentage – Jeffersonville 18-48 (.375); BNL 22-43 (.512)
Free throw percentage – Jeffersonville 5-9 (.556); BNL 5-7 (.714)
