By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – If momentum for the postseason is as important as coaches believe, Bedford North Lawerence is primed for a deep tournament run.
The streaking Stars finished the regular season with a blowout victory over outnumbered North Harrison. Jenna Mullis scored five goals, setting a single-season program record while pushing her impressive freshman total to 25 as BNL cruised to a 9-0 triumph.
That’s 11 straight games without a loss for BNL (10-4-1). The Stars will own the best record in the sectional, and nobody’s hotter. BNL will face Terre Haute South (2-13-1) in the first round. The Stars posted their first winning record since 2017, quite the accomplishment for a freshman-dominated roster.
“I give everything to the girls,” BNL coach Jordan Himmelspach said. “They show up on a daily basis, work hard, and work to improve every day.”
North Harrison (2-12) did not have enough firepower to contend with the Stars. The Cougars started with only 11 players and finished with eight (with minor in-game injuries adding to the infirmary list). They probably needed 13 or more to contend with Mullis, who scored four in the first half.
Pouncing on loose balls in front, Mullis cracked home goals at 30:15 and 28:45, drilled a beautiful spin-and-fire shot at 15:38, then converted a Roslyn Himmelspach pass at 3:35. The Stars had three other shot carom off the cross bar in the half.
“She’s a dog up there, she will fight for them,” Himmelspach said. “She keeps the ball moving to other teammates. She’s willing to give them up and take them at the same time. She’s a great player.”
In the second half, BNL pulled away with goals by Himmelspach (33:12), Mullis (29:20), Elizabeth Miskuf (26:58), Prezley Thurler (18:45) and Abi Bruner (1:51 to trigger the mercy-rule ending).
“With North Harrison playing down, it left some holes we were not used to seeing on the field,” Himmelspach said. “They played great.”
BNL will face Terre Haute South in the sectional at Mooresville.
”They will still be a tough team that will compete well against us,” Himmelspach said. “It’s keeping them motivated to handle business.”
The rest of the sectional bracket includes Terre Haute North (7-7-2) facing Bloomington North (7-9), with that winner to face Mooresville (5-9-2) in the semifinal. Martinsville will tangle with Bloomington South (8-5-3), with that winner to face the BNL-TH South victor on Wednesday.
