Announcement
Lady Golden Bears shoot down Spartans
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| Shelbyville guard Riley Achenbach (24) drives the baseline past Southwestern’s Brooke Hommel during the first half of their game Friday night at William L. Garrett Gymnasium in Shelbyville. (Steve Bush photo) |
By Jeff Brown
Sports editor
Shelbyville needed one of its best team performances of the Amanda Norris era to knock off a road-weary Southwestern squad Friday night at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.
Ashley Bush recorded her second double-double of the season and Chelsey Skipton came up just short of a triple-double in Shelbyville’s 64-46 win over the Spartans, who were playing their third road game of the week.
“We have so much fun as a group. We constantly try to find something to smile about... something to joke about,” said Norris, Shelbyville’s third-year coach. “This is a team that plays extremely well when they’re playing hard and having fun.
“This is a huge win for us. It’s a great feeling to be undefeated, and especially undefeated at home. We haven’t started a season off like this yet.”
Shelbyville is 2-0 for the first time since the opening week in 2006. And its 64-point output is the most in Norris’ short tenure.
Bush had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and helped keep Southwestern center Oda Shackelford in check. The 6-foot-1 sophomore center for the Spartans (2-2) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
Skipton racked up 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while staging several one-on-one battles with ultra-quick Southwestern point guard Annie Thomas, who had seven points, five assists and three steals but struggled shooting from the field – as did most of the Spartans.
Southwestern opened the week with a win Tuesday at South Decatur. On Thursday, the Spartans suffered their first loss of the season at Indianapolis Chatard. And while Shelbyville came out firing on all cylinders after halftime Friday, the Spartans visibly slowed down.
“It was our legs. The kids felt like they were wading through quicksand while trying to guard some very good players,” said Southwestern coach Bill Taylor. “Mentally, it wears on you too when your perception is you’re not getting the benefit of a few calls. And the shots stop falling.”
Southwestern hit just 28 percent of its shot attempts, and was a dismal 3-of-20 from the 3-point line.
Shelbyville proved much more effective hitting 44 percent of its shots, and a much more respectable 4-of-12 from the arc.
The Spartans trailed 10-5 midway through the first quarter before a 9-0 run bolstered their confidence. The Golden Bears answered back with scores from Skipton and Bush to tie the game at 14-14 at the first break.
A 7-0 run by Southwestern that included a 3-pointer from Tayler Britton made it 21-14, but again Shelbyville stood tough and fought back to tie the score at 26-26 by halftime.
“We’ve preached for years that we have to weather all storms,” said Norris. “It always makes you a little bit nervous as a coach to not know how the girls are going to respond. But this year, they’ve done a phenomenal job of coming out fighting when their backs are up against the wall. They’re not going to take it anymore.”
The first four minutes of the third quarter was owned by Shelbyville. A 15-0 run was started by a drive and score from Skipton and finished with a Raven Hibbard 3-pointer. And in that stretch, Shackelford collected her third and fourth fouls which relegated her to the bench.
“I’ve never seen the girls lay on the gas as they did in the third quarter,” said Norris. “It was good to see us come out and unload on somebody. That’s a good sign for this program.”
Shelbyville led 48-35 after three quarters, and Southwestern never got the lead under double digits in the fourth quarter.
Katelyn Smith continued her solid start. The Southwestern guard had 14 points and five steals. The senior is averaging 11.8 points per game this season after scoring a total of 43 points over 21 games last season.
“I couldn’t be happier with any player,” said Taylor. “I have so much confidence in her. I’m glad to see her have some confidence. Last year, she would hesitate on things. This year, she is taking charge and being a leader.”
Southwestern continues its busy stretch to start the season with a home contest tonight against Trinity Lutheran (1-1).
Shelbyville stays at home this week with contests against potential sectional foe Columbus North (2-0) on Tuesday, and Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Pendleton Heights (4-0) on Friday.
“This next week starts one of the toughest four-week stretches that our program could possibly have,” said Norris.
Ashley Bush recorded her second double-double of the season and Chelsey Skipton came up just short of a triple-double in Shelbyville’s 64-46 win over the Spartans, who were playing their third road game of the week.
“We have so much fun as a group. We constantly try to find something to smile about... something to joke about,” said Norris, Shelbyville’s third-year coach. “This is a team that plays extremely well when they’re playing hard and having fun.
“This is a huge win for us. It’s a great feeling to be undefeated, and especially undefeated at home. We haven’t started a season off like this yet.”
Bush had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and helped keep Southwestern center Oda Shackelford in check. The 6-foot-1 sophomore center for the Spartans (2-2) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
Skipton racked up 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while staging several one-on-one battles with ultra-quick Southwestern point guard Annie Thomas, who had seven points, five assists and three steals but struggled shooting from the field – as did most of the Spartans.
Southwestern opened the week with a win Tuesday at South Decatur. On Thursday, the Spartans suffered their first loss of the season at Indianapolis Chatard. And while Shelbyville came out firing on all cylinders after halftime Friday, the Spartans visibly slowed down.
“It was our legs. The kids felt like they were wading through quicksand while trying to guard some very good players,” said Southwestern coach Bill Taylor. “Mentally, it wears on you too when your perception is you’re not getting the benefit of a few calls. And the shots stop falling.”
Southwestern hit just 28 percent of its shot attempts, and was a dismal 3-of-20 from the 3-point line.
Shelbyville proved much more effective hitting 44 percent of its shots, and a much more respectable 4-of-12 from the arc.
The Spartans trailed 10-5 midway through the first quarter before a 9-0 run bolstered their confidence. The Golden Bears answered back with scores from Skipton and Bush to tie the game at 14-14 at the first break.
A 7-0 run by Southwestern that included a 3-pointer from Tayler Britton made it 21-14, but again Shelbyville stood tough and fought back to tie the score at 26-26 by halftime.
“We’ve preached for years that we have to weather all storms,” said Norris. “It always makes you a little bit nervous as a coach to not know how the girls are going to respond. But this year, they’ve done a phenomenal job of coming out fighting when their backs are up against the wall. They’re not going to take it anymore.”
The first four minutes of the third quarter was owned by Shelbyville. A 15-0 run was started by a drive and score from Skipton and finished with a Raven Hibbard 3-pointer. And in that stretch, Shackelford collected her third and fourth fouls which relegated her to the bench.
“I’ve never seen the girls lay on the gas as they did in the third quarter,” said Norris. “It was good to see us come out and unload on somebody. That’s a good sign for this program.”
Shelbyville led 48-35 after three quarters, and Southwestern never got the lead under double digits in the fourth quarter.
Katelyn Smith continued her solid start. The Southwestern guard had 14 points and five steals. The senior is averaging 11.8 points per game this season after scoring a total of 43 points over 21 games last season.
“I couldn’t be happier with any player,” said Taylor. “I have so much confidence in her. I’m glad to see her have some confidence. Last year, she would hesitate on things. This year, she is taking charge and being a leader.”
Southwestern continues its busy stretch to start the season with a home contest tonight against Trinity Lutheran (1-1).
Shelbyville stays at home this week with contests against potential sectional foe Columbus North (2-0) on Tuesday, and Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Pendleton Heights (4-0) on Friday.
“This next week starts one of the toughest four-week stretches that our program could possibly have,” said Norris.
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