By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
AUSTIN – At first, Bedford North Lawrence couldn’t miss from deep on the court, then struggled to convert from Strap range (that would be, according to Norman Dale, “under the basket all by yourself”). There’s got to be happy medium someplace.
The common denominator of this road victory was defense. While BNL’s offense fluctuated like the stock market, the constant was the ability to keep Austin from creating chaotic tempo and stay locked in front of the dangerous scorers. The Eagles had limited options.
After a fast start got the Stars a lead they would never surrender, BNL went into steady shutdown mode while conquering Class 2A No.10 Austin 45-34 on Tuesday night. Miley Sherrill paced a balanced scoring attack with 14 points as BNL (15-6) spoiled Austin’s Senior Night festivities.
BNL made its first three treys during a quick burst to a 14-5 advantage, then figured out how to keep the Eagles (14-8) from flying too high. Austin scoring star Brynn Owens, who’s bearing down on the school record for career points, was chased into frustration as the Eagles were held under the 35-point mark for only the third time this season.
Owens, who’s now just one point behind former Miss Basketball Jodie Whitaker for second place on the Austin list of legends, scored 20 points, but she had to launch 23 shots to get there. BNL senior Trinidy Bailey earned the assignment of shadowing one of the top scorers in the state.
“That’s the whole thing, she’s a kid who’s going to get hers,” BNL coach Chase Spreen said. “You have to make life as difficult as possible. You won’t hold a kid like that to zero. I thought we did a good job of limiting her, Trinidy did a good job of staying in her face. She still made a lot of tough shots, you have to tip your cap to her.
”Efficiency was the thing. We felt, if we got her to a high volume to get her numbers, that would do well for us.”
BNL clicked like a clock during the early stages. Jordan Blann and Bailey dropped 3-pointers, Sammie Nusbuam worked free for two layups, and Sherrill banged home another bomb for the first separation. The Stars maintained their lead with transition layups by Sherrill and Blann, but Owens swished a halfcourter at the halftime buzzer, cutting the margin to 22-18.
The Stars started the third quarter with another burst of excellence as Nusbuam gathered a lob for a layup and Bailey drilled an open trey from the key for a 29-19 edge. Sherrill opened the fourth quarter with 3-point play, and Blann’s quick-release trey from the left wing was a final dagger.
”We got into a rhythm early on,” Spreen said. “Then we let them speed us up some because they changed their zone looks. I think the kids did a good job of staying composed, even though we didn’t stay in a rhythm. We got some good looks and finished when we needed. I feel like, if we make shots at the rate we’re capable of, we’ll beat some good teams.”
“We knew they were a good 3-point shooting team, but we didn’t want to play man against their back cuts,” Austin coach Jared Petersen said. “Playing a zone against a team that can shoot it, we tried to run them off the line. But they got some looks early and knocked them down.”
Bailey and Blann both added 10 points and Nusbuam finished with 8. Paige Burton grabbed 9 rebounds as the Stars recorded a huge 34-21 advantage in that stat. And there were plenty of board chances. Austin shot a miserable 28.6 percent (12 of 42).
“Credit Bedford,” Petersen said. “They did a great job defensively. We wanted the tempo to go one way, and they wanted another. I think they won. They handled the press, and we didn’t get the game going fast like we wanted. That favored them.”
Owens finished with 20 points but was only 8 of 23 from the field. Ally Davidson added 11 points. They were part of the senior class honorees. BNL rose above that emotional edge.
”They love their girls basketball in Austin, and we respect that,” Spreen said. “We knew it would be a battle. We were concerned. The kids did a good job of being mentally tough.”
”They played a better game and were the better team tonight,” Petersen said.
BNL will continue its late-season crusade against ranked opponents, visiting Class A No.3 Orleans on Saturday.
BEDFORD NL STARS (45)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
23 Sammie Nusbaum, f 0-2 4-9 0-0 6 2 8
22 Miley Sherrill, f 1-3 4-15 5-5 4 1 14
32 Trinidy Bailey, g 2-4 3-8 2-2 8 2 10
21 Jordan Blann, g 2-5 4-7 0-0 5 0 10
11 Paige Burton, g 0-0 0-1 1-2 9 1 1
12 Elahdy Ray 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
24 Caroline Sheldon 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Totals 5-14 16-42 8-9 34 6 45
AUSTIN EAGLES (34)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
13 Ally Davidson, f 2-6 3-8 3-4 1 1 11
23 Jasmine Acuna, c 0-0 0-1 0-0 7 4 0
22 Brynn Owens, g 3-9 8-23 1-4 5 2 20
12 Jayleigh Schepman, g 0-1 0-2 0-0 0 3 0
31 Reese Johnson, g 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
41 Braelly Stagnolia 0-1 0-3 1 2 3 1 1
30 Maggie Mosley 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
2 Emma Ousley 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 1 2
24 Kylee Spellman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
35 Abree Foga 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
1 Aubrey White 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
3 Adalynn Mullen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 5-18 12-42 5-10 21 12 34
Bedford NL 16 6 9 14 – 45
Austin 12 6 8 8 – 34
Turnovers – BNL 16, Austin 12
Field goal percentage – BNL 16-42 (.381): Austin 12-42 (.286)
Free throw percentage – BNL 8-9 (.889); Austin 5-10 (.500)
