With its star fouled out, Bedford North Lawrence finds a way to win Class 4A state title
INDIANAPOLIS – Coach Jeff Allen had a feeling Saturday night’s IHSAA Class 4A state championship game between his Bedford North Lawrence Stars and Fishers would go down to the wire.
Allen was right, except he forgot to envision his top player would foul out with less than two minutes remaining, his team wouldn’t convert a 3-pointer all game and there would be two ties in those final 120 seconds.
“What a great basketball game,” Allen said. “Our kids just hung around, hung around, hung around and figured out a way to get it done.”
Thrust into the spotlight, Stars senior Emma Brown found a way in the clutch. Brown converted a go-ahead layup with 19 seconds left to break a 42-all tie and later buried a pair of free throws to secure a 46-42 victory.
IHSAA girls basketball state finals: Scores, highlights, stats and photo
Brown’s heroics locked down Bedford North Lawrence’s first girls basketball state title since 2014, third in 4A and fifth overall (1983, 1991, 2013, 2014).
Stars junior Chloe Spreen had a game-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while Mallory Pride added 11 points. Sharpshooting senor Karsyn Norman, who was named the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award winner for 4A, had two points and shot 0-for-7 from 3-point distance.
The Stars (27-3) were 0-for-11 from long range but went 12-of-16 from the foul line and shot 42.5% from the field.
Spreen put the Stars up 40-39 with 2:01 remaining with an and-1 conversion, but she fouled out 11 seconds later, which put the pressure on her teammates.
“If you would have told me Chloe was going to foul out, and we were going to win, I’d probably say, I don’t know about that?,” Allen said. “What a remarkable job by our kids to just figure out how to get it done.”
Brown filed in after Madisyn Bailey sank a pair of free throws to put Bedford up 42-40 in the game’s final minute. Fishers junior Talia Harris tied the score with her team-high 15th point, but the Tigers couldn’t slow Brown from 15 feet.
Brown’s free throws made it a two-possession game with 3.7 second left.
“I was nervous, and it was weird because I could see my reflection in the backboard, so I was trying to focus on the goal, but I just kept seeing everything going on and tried to block it all out,” Brown said. “I knew if I hit the two or even one that it would take so much stress off because the most they could have done was tie it.
“It was very stressful, especially when Chloe went out. Our next play was for Chloe to get the ball and go to the basket. With all her three-point play finishes, it was nerve-racking when she went out. Even more so than it had been.”
The game showcased nine ties and five lead changes with Fishers’ largest lead at four points in the second quarter and BNL's at seven points in the third.
Fishers (26-3) held the lead for nearly 20 minutes, and the Tigers had possession in the final seconds but an illegal screen turnover put the Stars in control.
“We’ve all played together since I was in second grade. We have a great team chemistry. Just the bond we have together and the confidence, it got us here and it’s why we won,” Spreen said. “We’re such a together team, and we’re all so supportive of each other. We go out there and play together. That’s what makes us, us.”
Being at the right place at the right time is Brown’s identity.
“She’s done that about half a dozen games this year in big games. She’s not a stat stuffer, but she’ll come up with a play in a big game with a huge play,” Allen said. “She’s done it all year long, and that’s just a credit to her and what she does on the floor. She’s just a great teammate.”
Mental Attitude Award recipients
1A: Linzie Wernert, Lanesville
2A: Amber Tretter, Forest Park
3A: Brea Garber, Fairfield
4A: Karsyn Norman, Bedford North Lawrence
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: Bedford North Lawrence beats Fishers for title
