BNL's Karsyn Norman had to make something happen vs. Silver Creek. So she did.

BEDFORD — It began following a loss to Bedford North Lawrence on Jan. 14: A 22-game win streak by Silver Creek that spanned its Class 3A championship run and continued through the first 12 games of this season.

It was an impressive run, one that came to an end Thursday night – against those same Stars.

Fueled by junior Karsyn Norman and buoyed by a strong performance from its supporting cast, BNL overcame an early deficit, then fought off a late rally to down the Dragons, 49-42.

"A lot of stuff really just wasn't working (early on) and there were a lot of broken plays," said Norman, who jump-started a 13-1 run in the second quarter. "I had to make something happen and thankfully I did."

The teams' third meeting was more akin to last season's five-point Bedford North Lawrence victory than its 31-point shellacking in 2019, with both sides weathering feverish charges, before staging their own rally.

Neither side led by double digits and Silver Creek – which trailed by as many as nine in the second half – had a chance to make it a one-possession game in the final 30 seconds, but was unable to capitalize and sustained its first loss of the season.

It's probably a bit premature to brand Silver Creek vs. BNL as a rivalry – "You have to win before it's a rivalry," laughed SC coach Scott Schoen – but it's certainly been a fun, mutually beneficial series.

"They come in every year thinking that this is their year (to beat us)," Norman said with a smile. "Thankfully, every year we show them it's not."

Here are three things to know from Thursday's contest.

Norman does it all

Norman stabilized BNL following a shaky start, accounting for eight points amidst a 20-3 run between the second and third quarters that swung an eight-point deficit to a 28-19 lead midway through the third.

That scoring binge saw Norman help trim the margin to three with a 3-pointer, a steal and an assist to Emma Crane over a stretch midway through the second quarter, then drill the go-ahead triple a few minutes later.

Put simply: Norman was a one-person wrecking crew in the first half.

"She's dynamic that way," BNL coach Jeff Allen said. "She can score in bunches and we need her to do that."

"Karsyn has been taking good shots (in recent games) and getting her feet set closer to the 3-point line," he later added. "She's got a great release and is very athletic. It's a tough combination to guard from a 3-point shooter."

The 5-foot-6 guard was equally impactful on the defensive end, limiting Silver Creek standout Kynidi Mason-Striverson to just 11 points and four field goals.

There were instances when Mason-Striverson used her size advantage to post up Norman, Allen noted, but the junior was very good overall.

"She's a quick guard, stays down in her stance and did a nice job against Kynidi tonight," Schoen added. "Then she hit some tough shots. We were trying to run two at her and get the ball out of her hands as much as possible, but she did a nice job of recognizing and getting the ball to other people."

Silver Creek's patience (and lack thereof for a stretch)

The game started promisingly enough for the Dragons.

Sure they really had to work for their shots on a few possessions, but the visitors stayed patient, swinging the ball around and waiting for an opportunity to pounce rather than forcing the issue.

The result? An early 16-8 lead.

It was a strong start by the Dragons, but Schoen said they strayed away from their patient approach and began forcing shots during the second quarter, which allowed BNL to initiate its run.

"We got out of the gates quick, then Bedford settled in a little bit and we started turning the ball over and taking some ill-advised shots," Schoen continued. "We got away from executing."

Silver Creek returned to form midway through the third quarter. It clawed back and went shot-for-shot with BNL before using a 7-0 run to take a 37-36 lead with about five minutes left in regulation.

Sydney Sierota led the Dragons with 12 points and Emme Rooney added eight.

"Our kids played well overall," Schoen said. "They battled and they competed."

Bedford North Lawrence role players shine

With the Dragons keyed in on their top two players – Norman and sophomore Chloe Spreen – the Stars needed members of the supporting cast to step up.

Those contributions wound up coming from a variety of sources down the stretch.

When Sierota claimed the lead for Silver Creek, Madisyn Bailey retaliated with back-to-back 3-pointers.

Mason-Striverson stemmed the tide with a layup, but her score was negated by a layup by Norman, before Mallory Pride effectively slammed the door with a steal-and-score.

Carlee Kern tallied 11 points, while Pride notched 11.

"They all had their moments where they made plays against that defense where they were left open," Allen said, "and you're going to have to have that when somebody is going to guard you that way. Otherwise, it's going to be a really tough night… I'm proud of my girls for their resilience."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'She's dynamic that way': Karsyn Norman leads BNL past Silver Creek