Shelbyville Lady Golden Bears Basketball

Coming off a hard and exhausting loss at Triton Central Tuesday, Class 3A No. 5-ranked Shelbyville felt it needed to prove something Saturday against the Connersville Lady Spartans. The Lady Golden Bears came out on “fire” and stomped Connersville, 70-56. Point guard Gretchen Haehl connected on 5 of 7 first-quarter shots helping the Lady Golden Bears (17-3) to a quick 10-point lead and simultaneously waylaying the deep post play Connersville possessed. Natalie Roberts was a constant threat down low for the Lady Spartans (7-11). The 6-foot-2 center was effective on both ends of the floor scoring 10 of her team-high 20 points in the first quarter and blocking two shots. The Lady Golden Bears took a 6-point lead into the second quarter where Ashley Matney took charge of the game. The senior guard created offense for herself through defensive stops and steals. The intensity Matney brought on to the court carried over to the rest of the team as they built a 12-point advantage at halftime. The second half started with Matney picking up where she ended the half — scoring on quick layups off steals. Matney ended up scoring a career-high 22 points and grabbing six steals. “I knew I didn’t play well Tuesday night,” Matney said after the game. “So I just wanted to go out there and prove myself to everyone. I didn’t want my one bad game to lead into this one and then maybe on to sectionals. I just knew I had to go out there and get the job done.” Gretchen Haehl finished the fourth quarter the same way she started the game — scoring a seemingly easy 7 points to finish with 19 in the game. Haehl also contributed a team-high six assists and seven rebounds. The Lady Golden Bears are still struggling to put together a complete game. With sectional play just eight days away, Shelbyville coach John Fair knows his team needs to put everything together, and soon. “There were stretches where we would get up 22 and then it’s back to 14,” Fair said. “We got up 17 in the first half and ‘boom’ it’s back to 12. “We are going to have to learn how to play 32 minutes of hard basketball.” Shelbyville has two games left in the regular season. On Tuesday, the Lady Golden Bears play at Franklin. Indianapolis Arlington visits Garrett Gymnasium Thursday.