Shelbyville Lady Golden Bears Basketball

Shelbyville forward Susan Kolls works against the defense of Columbus East’s Michelle King Thursday in Columbus. King scored a game-high 19 points, while Kolls scored 8 points in the Golden Bears’ 65-60 win. Photo for The NEWS by SCOTT ROBERSON Golden Bears give gutsy performance By BRIAN HARMON bharmon@shelbynews.com The Shelbyville girls’ basketball team had every reason to quit. Sickness, injuries and a serious height disadvantage plagued the Golden Bears against Columbus East Thursday. But those obstacles weren’t enough to keep the Golden Bears from claiming a 65-60 win. Allison Berger, usually Shelbyville’s starting forward, sat out most of the game with an ankle injury. Point guard and leading scorer Gretchen Haehl took the court with a 101-degree fever. And several of the Golden Bears were feeling the effects of the virus that kept over 300 Shelbyville High School students out of class last week. Columbus East, on the strength of dominant post play, led 52-48 with less than five minutes to play. With Shelbyville center Katie Douglas busy defending the Olympians’ frontline and Haehl rendered largely ineffective by her health, as well as the defense of Columbus East’s Caitlin Watts, the Golden Bears turned to Ashley Matney for inspiration. Matney, a senior shooting guard, made two key steals, sank seven of eight free throw attempts and scored 11 points — all in the fourth period — to help Shelbyville pull away. Shelbyville outscored the host Olympians 17-8 down the stretch to secure the win. “They could have quit ... but they didn’t,” said Shelbyville coach John Fair. “This is my fourth year and this is the most proud I’ve ever been of one of our ballclubs, the way they held together and worked.” Class 3A, No. 4-ranked Shelbyville improved to 5-1 with the win. Class 4A Columbus East fell to 4-4. It was a struggle for the Golden Bears from the beginning Monday. Shelbyville’s first two shot attempts were blocked — one each by the Olympians’ Michelle King (6-foot-1) and Watts — and the Golden Bears missed 10 of 12 field goals in the first period. But as was the case throughout the game, free throws kept Shelbyville ahead. Shelbyville went 6-6 from the line in the first period and led 10-8 at the end of one. In the game, the Golden Bears were 29-38 from the charity stripe, while Columbus East was just 3-7. The Olympians put Shelbyville in the bonus with two minutes remaining in the third period. And 18 of Shelbyville’s final 26 points came from the free throw line. Shelbyville struggled from the field for most of the contest, missing 34 of 54 attempts. The Olympians, led by forwards King and Yates, made 25 of 57 attempts. King led all scorers with 19 points, while Yates (5-10) added 12. The duo scored almost exclusively from the post, as Shelbyville’s starting line-up faced a height disadvantage. Only Douglas (6-0) stands taller than 5-8 among Shelbyville starters. Shelbyville’s Katie Jackson made two consecutive 3-pointers late in the second period to give Shelbyville its largest lead of the game, at 32-22. The Olympians’ closed out the half with a 7-0 run though and trailed just 32-29 at the break. Haehl (22 points per game) was 1-7 from the field in the first half. Fair credited Watts’ defense and Haehl’ fever with limiting the sophomore’s performance. “It was a combination of both, to be honest with you,” he said. “Watts is a good ball player, but Gretchen is out there with a 100, 101 degree temperature playing. And it was obvious that she couldn’t go as hard as she normally does. “But, you know, Gretchen Haehl is Gretchen Haehl. And she’s still pretty good with 101-degree temperature.” Watts picked up her third foul of the game seconds into the third period and Haehl took advantage of her defender’s subsequent absence. She scored a team-high six points in the third period to help keep Shelbyville ahead 44-42 going to the final period despite being outscored 13-12 in the third. Haehl finished with 14 points. Douglas added 11 points and Matney led Shelbyville with 16 points. “It was a big game and we’ve all been sick, so I knew I had to step up,” Matney said. “Coming out in the second half ... when I (made the steal) in the fourth, I knew I had to keep stickin’ to ‘em and I had to play good defense.” Matney’s steal and field goal gave the Golden Bears a 54-52 lead with under five minutes to play and Shelbyville never trailed the rest of the way. Of Matney’s performance, Fair said, “It was a great moment for Ashley Matney. She really stepped tonight and showed what kind of ballplayer she is and what kind of leader she is.” Shelbyville travels to New Palestine (7-2) Saturday. Berger is scheduled for an MRI on her right ankle Tuesday, but is expected to start Saturday, Fair said.