The Owls and Stars squared off Thursday night in a girls basketball game on the hardwood.

Arriving at Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium with an 8-1 record this season, Bedford North Lawrence is coming off a state championship in 2022.

On Nov. 25, Lawrence North caused the Stars’ lone season defeat.

The Owls, who have lost their past two games to Brownstown Central and Jennings County, were currently 5-4, but they were eager to get back in the win column.

With their ninth victory of the year, the Stars defeated the Owls 64-42 to demonstrate why they have been a Class 4A strength in girls basketball.

“We’ve had a difficult run of games,” Owls coach Jason Longmeier said. “We battled at times tonight, but we have to execute our offense and defense better. Despite getting some good looks, we were unable to get the ball to fall. We went 2 of 18 from 3, while they shot 9 of 19. There it is, the point differential.”

When the game began, the Owls received the tip, but the Stars forced a turnover to get the ball and were fouled when trying to make a shot.

Bedford went ahead 2-0 right away after making both free throws. Journee Brown then opened scoring for Seymour with an easy layup after Kendall Sterling’s superb pass set her up nicely.

Within the first 3 minutes, the Stars jumped out to a 12-4 advantage. They wasted no time.

As she has been the entire season, Chloe Spreen was dominant for Bedford. With 25 points at the end of the game, she led all scorers. Bedford created space by using screens frequently, which resulted in open 3-pointers throughout the duration of the game.

“Their screen game is good, and we didn’t do a good enough job getting through screens tonight,” Longmeier said. “They got too many easy looks both at the rim and from 3. Journee was very good for us tonight. We just didn’t get her the ball enough,”

Brown led the way for Seymour with 17 points.

At the end of the first quarter, the Stars had a 16-8 advantage.

A run by Seymour in the second quarter brought the margin down to six points, but with less than 2 minutes left in the first half, the Stars called a timeout. They then went on to dominate the first half, leading 31-17 at the break.

In addition to the Owls’ uncharacteristic turnovers, Bedford’s deep ball was spot-on, giving them a double-digit advantage.

The second half began with the Lady Owls having possession, but Bedford scored the first points. The Stars’ defense continued to force turnovers and cause problems for Seymour.

Emmy Munson then scored the first basket for the Owls of the second half with Brown scoring the next possession for Seymour.

Bedford then hit a 3, still hanging onto a 15-point lead at 36-21. Spreen then added another 3, and the Stars continued to pour it on, ending the third quarter leading 46-25.

The Stars outscored Seymour 18-17 in the fourth quarter with the game in hand.

The Owls fell to 5-5 on the season. They will now prepare to face off with Madison at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at home.

“Saturday is a game that we have to get,” Longmeier said. “It’s against a good opponent, but we have to learn from these past two games and carry that over to the games that we have coming up. Madison will present us with some problems, but we should be able to attack them with our inside game.”

The Owls JV team was overmatched by the Stars, trailing 34-24 after the end of the third quarter. The teams traded baskets in the fourth quarter, but Bedford still held the advantage and won 46-31.

Stars;64

Owls;42

Bedford;16;15;15;18;—;64

Seymour;8;9;8;17;—;42

Seymour (5-5): Journee Brown 7 3-3 17, Sophie Skidmore 3 3-3 9, Kenzie Gagner 3 0-0 8, Kendall Sterling 1 2-2 4, Emmy Munson 1 0-0 2, Claire Marshall 1 0-0 2, Jaidyn Nichols 0 0-0 0.

3-pointers: Bedford 9, Seymour 2 (Gagner 2)

Rebounds: Bedford 25, Seymour 13 (Sterling 5, Brown 2)

Assists: Bedford 14, Seymour 8 (Sterling 7)

Steals: Bedford 5, Seymour 2

Turnovers: Seymour 11, Bedford 6

Fouls: Seymour 10, Bedford 9