Shelbyville Lady Golden Bears Basketball

The Shelbyville girls’ basketball team suffered its first of two losses this season on Dec. 17 to Columbus North, 60-57. So, when Shelbyville coach John Fair learned that Southport — the team scheduled to play the Golden Bears Tuesday — beat Columbus North this weekend, he knew his squad would be in for a battle. He was right. The Cardinals traveled to Shelbyville and, despite their 6-6 record, gave Shelbyville all it could handle. The Golden Bears survived, however, and won 55-43. “I knew they were better than their record,” Fair said after watching his own club improve to 13-2 on the year. “I knew that they had some kids who had been sick with pneumonia and when I saw that the Stevens kid and Bowling kid both played at Columbus North, I knew it was going to be tough.” Fair was referring to Elizabeth Stevens and Sarah Bowling, who combined for 31 points in the Cardinals’ 68-66 win over Columbus North. Those two players, along with Starr Jackson, made for a tall (all 5-foot-10), physical presence that gave the Golden Bears fits Tuesday. Shelbyville, usually a man-to-man defensive team, was forced to switch a 2-3 zone early in the first period after it had trouble keeping up with the athletic Cardinals. Southport knifed its way through the Shelbyville defense early on, but was unable to convert several easy scoring opportunities. The Golden Bears’ zone forced the Cardinals to make the outside shot and the visitors continued to struggle on the offensive end. The Cardinals were 4-of-14 from the field in the first period and shot just 30 percent (17 for 56) in the game. “Their athleticism was what really got us,” Fair said. “You could tell that they were a little bit quicker than us, a little bit stronger. And that if we stayed in man-to-man, they were going to beat us.” The Golden Bears led 20-14 after the first period and 33-25 at halftime, despite committing 11 turnovers. For much of the contest, Gretchen Haehl, Shelbyville’s 5-5 point guard was guarded by Stevens or Jamie Mason (6-0) and the Golden Bears’ leading scorer had trouble converting on the offensive end. She was also on the receiving end of some of the most blatantly physical defense the Golden Bears’ standout has seen this year. “It was a physical game, but our team has to get used to that,” Fair said. “Teams are going to grab and hold and deny Gretchen. They’re going to be as physical as they need to be to frustrate her ... teams are going to start hitting her, and that’s what Southport did.” Haehl (18.7 ppg) missed 8 of 11 field goal attempts and finished with 10 points, nine of which came in the first half. “They came in and manhandled her in the third and fourth quarter,” Fair added. “And our team has to know that we’re going to need someone other than Gretchen to dribble the ball. The refs aren’t always going to give us the call.” The officials on hand Tuesday weren’t calling much of anything. Despite the aggressive nature of the game, just six fouls were called in the first half. Before the fourth period, when Southport began to foul in an attempt to keep Shelbyville close, the teams had been whistled for just 14 fouls combined. Stevens went down late in the second period after being undercut below the Shelbyville basket and was ineffective the rest of the way. She shot 0-for-5 from the field in the first half and didn’t take another shot in the game after that. Late in the contest, Jackson was whistled for an intentional foul after taking Susan Kolls to the floor by grabbing her waist and not letting go until Kolls hit the ground. Shelbyville was never able to break away from the Cardinals, but consistent play from Katie Douglas helped the Golden Bears maintain a decent lead. Douglas sank 9 of 10 field goal attempts in the game and finished with a game-high 18 points. Shelbyville led 44-33 after the third period and the Cardinals never got within seven points the rest of the way. Douglas (seven rebounds) and Haley Wise (eight rebounds) controlled the boards for Shelbyville, while Ashley Matney added 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Bowling finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals. Jackson added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Shelbyville (5-0 in Hoosier Heritage Conference play) travels to Mount Vernon (6-8 overall, 3-1 HHC) Saturday (Scouting Report, B1). A win over the Marauders will clinch at least a share of Shelbyville’s first-ever HHC title. Back to search results....