SEYMOUR
This week is a crucial part of the schedule for the Seymour girls basketball team.
Looking to gain some early ground in the Hoosier Hills Conference race, the Owls welcomed in Bedford North Lawrence for their second league game in three days.
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On Thursday night, the Owls pummeled the Stars with a 3-point barrage to take a three point lead into the final period only to see their well run dry and lose to BNL 59-49, dropping them to 1-1 in league play.
Through the first three quarters, the Owls were 16 of 29 from the field and 10-for-14 from the 3-point line. Yet once the fourth quarter hit, the Owls were held scoreless until the 2 minute and 56 second mark while the Stars went on a 13-0 run.
Most of that run was done at the free-throw line where they made six straight before the Owls were able to get on the board.
The Stars’ pressure defense wreaked havoc on the Owls late, forcing them into countless mistakes and leading to some easy baskets at the other end. However, the biggest issue against the Stars was the vast discrepancy at the free-throw line. BNL attempted 32 shots from the foul line, making 25 of them, while the Owls never visited the charity stripe once.
“When you’re getting a 25-point difference from the free-throw line it’s a big deal and it’s hard to overcome,” Seymour coach Jason Longmeier said. “If you would’ve told me that would have been the case and it would still be a 10-point game I would’ve told you that you were crazy.”
The Owls were unconscious from the 3-point line in the first half, going 7-for-9 from behind the arc against the Stars.
Sophomore Grace Schrader drained four of those five shots in the opening 16 minutes going 4 of 5 from the 3-point line.
Seymour’s sharp shooting in the first half was sorely needed as double-double machine Grace Meyer was held in check due to two early fouls.
She didn’t sit for very long, however, as her presence was needed to help contain the Star forwards Madison Webb and Haley Deckard.
Ultimately, not having enough quality substitutes also did in the Owls according to Longmeier. While the Stars were able to go nine or 10 deep in the game, the Owls were stuck with their starting five with occasional spells from Brooke Trinkle or Kendrick Sterling.
“They wore us down,” he said. “We logged a lot of minutes with a lot of kids coming off a game two nights ago where they logged a lot of minutes as well. They were able to sub and we’ve got three girls right now that need to have better minutes for us so we can afford to sub.”
Those tired legs is what led to mistakes down the stretch according to Longmeier.
“That’s when a lot of our mistakes really started to happen,” he said.
Schrader led the way for the Owls with 14 points, followed closely by Meyer, who had 13. Aidan Hiester had nine, while Jamya Miller and Alyssa Perry rounded out the scoring with seven and six points, respectively.
In junior varsity action, the Stars won 41-26 and kept the Owls’ scoring chances to a minimum.
It took the Owls until the 2:44 mark of the first quarter to break the scoreless tie, but they were still able to come away with an early lead, 7-6, after a period thanks to a late 3-pointer from Eliza Cash.
BNL reasserted themselves on the defensive with their pressure and kept the Owls off the scoreboard until the 2:34 mark of the second. They coasted the rest of the way to victory.
Cash led the Owls’ JV with 10 points. Kaylee Waskom, Kendrick Sterling and Brooke Trinkle each added four, while Sydney Lush scored three. Lexi Morris rounded out the Seymour JV scoring with a point.
The Owls culminate their trio of conference games against Madison Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Seymour has won five in a row against the Cubs (6-3) including last year’s 46-45 thriller in Madison.