By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The internal combustion engine generates power by burning fuel mixed with air. Since the 1880s, it’s been the driving force of the automobile industry. It’s a simple premise. The more the foot pedal is pressed down, the faster the vehicle travels.
Bedford North Lawrence, like so many aggressive drivers, tromped on the accelerator from the starting line, squealing and smoking the rubber off the tires. That created enough energy for the entire trip, even if the middle of the journey got a little sluggish.
With an explosive, fast getaway, the Stars rolled to a 52-35 victory over Columbus East on Tuesday night, an important win in the Hoosier Hoosier Hills Conference race. That outcome, combined with Floyd Central’s thrilling home win over Jennings County, set up a showdown with the Highlanders for a share of the conference title on Saturday afternoon.
BNL (14-5 overall, 4-1 in the HHC) might have been guilty of shifting to cruise control at some point during the win over the Olympians (5-13, 0-4). But the Stars had plenty in the reserve tank as Trinidy Bailey and Miley Sherrill scored 16 points each.
The beginning burnout was BNL’s best moments. The Stars erupted to a 15-4 lead after the first quarter and expanded that to 22-5 before East freshman Bailey Rohde banked in a wild trey. BNL allowed only three baskets in the first half and forced 11 turnovers.
”We had a good start, the kids came out ready to go,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “I felt like we put in on cruise control in the third quarter, and that’s not what we want. We have to be more mature than that, more focused than that to put a team like that away.
“We did a lot of good things on the defensive end. That’s what our constant was tonight.”
That constant was Bailey, who pocketed five steals in the first half. Any Olympian who dared to attack her had the ball taken away. The thefts led to her own offense, as she stroked a wing trey in transition, before turning two steals into power drives to cap the run to the 22-5 advantage.
“That’s just Trinidy,” Spreen said. “She’s always had quick hands. If you show her the ball, she’s probably going to take it. We never have to worry about her from a defensive standpoint.”
“Defense has always been a big emphasis for me,” Bailey said. “I focus on it a lot.”
BNL’s focus popped a clutch in the third quarter. The Stars managed only three buckets in that frame. They recovered with a finishing burst in the fourth quarter. Jordan Blann buried a bomb, Bailey cut back door for a hoop, Sammie Nusbuam converted a long lob into a 3-point play, and Bailey buzzed the lane for a layup and 45-24 lead.
Nusbuam totaled 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Rohde paced East with 10 points, Brelyn Pool added 10, while Ella Anthis totaled 9 points and 11 rebounds. The Olympians had 21 turnovers while suffering their 11th straight league setback.
BNL’s only glitch was 7-of-26 shooting in the middle quarters.
“The first half was really good,” Bailey said. “We just have to keep going and not let off the gas.”
”We need to do a better job of being patient,” Spreen said. “We force things when the primary look is not there. We need more patient possessions against good basketball teams. We got too impatient. We need to be disciplined enough to run something else.
”We have to do a better jog of finishing. We missed a lot of makable shots around the basket, and we have to clean those things up. But we did what we’re supposed to do, and now we have another big one coming up.”
BNL will host Floyd Central, ranked No.11 in Class 4A, with both teams tied with Jennings County atop the league standings. The Highlanders clipped the Panthers 46-45 on a last-second trey by Elise Coleman on Tuesday night.
“That’s really big,” Bailey said. “We have a chance, which is really important.”
COLUMBUS EAST OLYMPIANS (35)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
2 Lola Watkins, f 0-3 1-6 0-0 2 2 2
33 Bailey Rohde, f 1-2 4-6 1-2 3 5 10
32 Brelyn Pool, g 2-5 3-9 2-2 4 3 10
1 Makenzie Cheek, g 0-1 1-6 2-3 1 1 4
3 Ella Anthis, g 0-3 2-6 5-6 11 1 9
14 Krea Martin 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
5 Emma Armstrong 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
42 Madison Gourley 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
10 Brooke Moss 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
4 Renata Montoya 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 3-14 11-34 10-13 27 13 35
BEDFORD NL STARS (52)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Sammie Nusbaum, f 1-4 3-9 3-3 8 2 10
22 Miley Sherrill, f 2-5 5-10 4-4 3 1 16
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 2-3 6-13 2-2 2 0 16
21 Jordan Blann, g 1-4 1-7 0-0 1 2 3
11 Paige Burton, g 0-0 1-1 0-2 4 1 2
12 Elahdy Ray 0-0 0-3 0-0 2 3 0
24 Caroline Sheldon 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 0 3
20 Bella Warren 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
31 Audrey Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
44 Annie Watson 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Totals 7-18 18-46 9-11 28 10 52
Col. East 4 4 11 16 – 35
Bedford NL 15 9 9 19 – 52
Turnovers – East 21, BNL 12
Field goal percentage – East 11-34 (.324); BNL 18-46 (.391)
Free throw percentage – East 10-13 (.769); BNL 9-11 (.818)
