By GREG MENGELT
As expected, 10-time defending sectional champion Bedford North Lawrence and upstart Jennings County will meet in Tuesday’s sectional championship game at Jeffersonville’s Johnson Arena.
BNL (22-2) blitzed Floyd Central in a 61-16 victory. The Highlanders, whose season ends with a 9-13 mark, had played well coming into Monday’s sectional semifinal, but the Stars’ pressure never allowed the Highlanders to be in the game.
In the first semifinal, Jennings County (17-6) pulled away from Seymour (11-11) for a 46-26 victory after being tied with the Owls at 19-apiece at halftime.
Bedford beat Jennings County 50-34 on Nov. 30, but Stars’ head coach Jeff Allen is concerned about the Panthers’ size.
“They have size on us. That’s a big thing for us,” he said. “That’s always a concern when we play them. We basically play a bunch of guards. Hopefully we can pressure the basketball and make it hard for them to score.”
BNL enters Tuesday’s title game on a 6-game winning streak, while the Panthers struggled down the stretch, losing three of their final four regular-season games.
“BNL is BNL,” Jennings head coach Kristi Sigler said. “They’re guard-oriented, very fundamentally sound. They make plays. We have to make plays and be able to defend them.”
BNL DOMINATES HIGHLANDERS
Floyd Central came into Monday’s semifinal confident. The Highlanders’ won their final two games, upsetting Jennings County before beating Providence 61-25 in the regular-season finale. BNL, on the other hand, struggled against host Jeffersonville in the first round last Tuesday and trailed through three quarters.
But the Stars were dominant from the start and controlled the contest all night. In the first quarter, Bedford’s Madisyn Bailey — second cousin of former BNL and Indiana University star Damon Bailey — had five steals in the first quarter. The Highlanders, who turned the ball over eight times in the first period, only had one basket — a 3-point play by 6-foot-2 junior Callie Celichowski that cut the Stars’ lead to 6-3 — in the first period.
Bedford scored the next 12 points to lead 18-3 after one quarter and pushed the advantage to 34-4 with 3:15 left in the second period. After leading 43-9 at the break, the Stars increased the lead to as many as 45 points on three occasions.
“We were okay at 8-3, but then we missed some free throws, they got some offensive rebounds, then they hit about four or five 3s,” Floyd Central head coach Randy Gianfagna said. “Then it was pretty ugly after that.”
Keegan Kaiser, who had a very good senior year, led the Highlanders with six points. Celichowski added four points and a team-best five rebounds. Senior Peyton Kochert had a pair of steals in the fourth quarter.
“We played well the last month of the season and tonight was just a buzzsaw,” Gianfagna said. “(Bedford) played like a 10-time sectional champion.”
Sophomore Chloe Spreen led the Stars with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Bailey, a sophomore, added 12 points, six steals, three rebounds and three assists. Junior Karsyn Norman finished with 12 points and senior Carlee Kern had 11.
BNL forced 21 Highlanders turnovers — 13 in the first half — and committed just eight, only two of which came before halftime. The Stars had 17 steals.
WOODARD HELPS JENNINGS ADVANCE
Sophomore Juliann Woodard took control in the second half and helped Jennings County pull away from Seymour.
Woodard had seven points and three assists as the Panthers outscored Seymour 21-6 in the third quarter. The 6-foot Woodard controlled the pace and the glass and finished with contest with 11 points and nine rebounds, both game highs.
Seymour led 17-15 late in the second quarter before Woodard scored in the post to tie the game at 17 at the break. It was 19-19 early in the third when Woodard led a game-changing 19-4 run.
“We came out in the second half ready to play,” Sigler said. “We talk virtually all the time about dealing with adversity and I thought our kids responded.”
Sophomore Alivia Elmore and junior Megan Vogel scored eight points apiece and senior Kali Thompson added seven for the Panthers, who beat Seymour 70-42 in the regular season.
The Owls were paced by junior Brooke Trinkle, who had seven points in the defeat. Seymour scored just nine points after halftime.
CLASS 4A JEFFERSONVILLE SECTIONAL
MONDAY’S SEMIFINALS
JENNINGS COUNTY 46, SEYMOUR 26
Jennings Co. 11 6 21 8—46
Seymour 11 6 6 3—26
Jennings County (17-6): Juliann Woodard 11, Madelyn McIntosh 3, Kali Thompson 7, Alivia Elmore 8, Megan Vogel 8, Alexis Carson 2, Lily Ernstes 7.
Seymour (11-11): Kendrick Sterling 3, Madison Schrader 2, Journee Brown 4, Brooke Trinkle 7, Kendall Sterling 4, Greer Henry 6.
3-point field goals: Jennings County 2 (Thompson, Elmore); Seymour 2 (K. Sterling, Trinkle).
Free throws: Jennings County 7-13, Seymour 4-4.
Team fouls: Jennings County 6, Seymour 13.
BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE 61, FLOYD CENTRAL 16
Floyd Central 3 6 3 4—16
Bedford NL 18 25 13 5—61
Bedford North Lawrence (22-2): Chloe Spreen 18, Karsyn Norman 12, Mallory Pride 2, Hadley Teague 5, Carlee Kern 11, Ella Turner 3, Madisyn Bailey 12.
Floyd Central (9-14): Keegan Kaiser 6, Samara Miller 3, Kendall Brown 3, Callie Celichowski 4.
3-point field goals: BNL 8 (Kern 3, Bailey 2, Spreen, Norman, Teague); Floyd 2 (Kaiser, Brown).
Free throws: BNL 11-15, Floyd 3-13.
Team fouls: BNL 12, Floyd Central 9.
