By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – By the time Bedford North Lawrence reaches the finish line for the regular season, there will be no doubt about preparation and toughness. Facing a backloaded schedule during the final 14 days of the 2025-26 campaign, the Stars will discover their ability to withstand, and hopefully survive, multiple severe tests.
BNL’s final five games include five ranked teams, in the various class polls, all with impressive records, a run that started with Saturday’s showdown battle with 4A No.11 Floyd Central for a share of the Hoosier Hills Conference title. That outcome will be filed under lessons for future reference.
Next on the brutal list is 2A No.12 Austin (14-7), which features one of the prolific scorers in the state. BNL (14-6) will be in bounce-back mode for a road trip on Tuesday night.
The difficulty of the stretch run is actually seen as positive. BNL has never backed down from a challenge, nor should it. Programs with its tradition and resume of championships will compete with anyone, at any time.
“We’ve always wanted to play good teams,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “We’re not going to back away from playing teams that are ranked, no matter who that might be. The whole goal is to get yourself ready for the sectional. In order to win a sectional, you have to beat a really good team – or multiple good teams in a single week. We look at it as something that will prepare us for that.”
The Eagles fit that criteria. Brynn Owens will demand BNL’s best from a defensive standpoint. She’s among the state leaders at 26.0 points per game, and she’s already joined elite company in Austin’s proud history. She has scored 2,074 career points, the third player in program history to reach that level. The other two – Katy McIntosh with 2,195 and Jodie Whitaker with 2,095 – aren’t just famous names in Austin, they are legends in the state. McIntosh led the Eagles to the 2010 2A state title, while Whitaker was the Mental Attitude Award winner and Miss Basketball in 1985.
“She’s a nice player,” Spreen said. “She scores at a very high level. The thing that gets lost on her is how involved she gets her teammates (while also averaging 6.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists). She draws a lot of attention, and she does a good job of seeing the floor. They have some nice pieces around her, some kids who can really shoot.”
Austin looks to reveal weaknesses with full-court pressure and extended trapping zone defenses. If that sounds familiar, that’s similar in style to Floyd Central’s philosophy.
“They try to speed you up,” Spreen said. “If you let them do that, that plays to their advantage. If you take care of the ball, that’s one of the first things to prioritize, you can give yourself a chance to get in the halfcourt and execute. They pick up very similar to Floyd, which is good timing for us.”
The flip side of that outlook is BNL didn’t handle the Floyd defense, scoring only 25 points. Austin does not have the same size and length. So that 50-25 setback might serve immediate dividends.
”Things didn’t go our way,” Spreen said. “We will review it and prepare ourselves better for next time. It wasn’t our best effort, especially from an offensive standpoint. Floyd had a lot to do with it.”
BNL at AUSTIN
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: BNL 14-6; Austin 14-7, ranked No.12 in Class 2A
Sagarin ratings: BNL 74.70; Austin 75.69
Last meeting: Austin conquered BNL 56-54 in the 1984 semistate
Game notes: Austin won the 2010 Class 2A state championship. Austin senior Brynn Owens is the third player in program history to score over 2,000 career points.
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.
Austin Eagles
F – Braelly Stagnolia 5-10 Fr.
F – Ally Davidson 5-9 Sr.
C – Jasmine Acuna 5-8 Sr.
G – Brynn Owens 5-7 Sr.
G – Jayleigh Schepman 5-4 Sr.
