Shelbyville Lady Golden Bears Basketball

DEFENSE WAS THE KEY!! The foursome of Ashley Matney,Megan Eiler, Sara Laird and Allison Berger pressured Reidman all over the floor!! Monday, November 13, 2000 Last Updated: Monday, November 13, 2000 at 12:21 PM SHS girls’ deep bench helps get win By JEFF BROWN Monday, November 13, 2000 at 4:20 PM The Shelbyville Golden Bears girls’ basketball team has a preseason state-ranking (Class 3A No. 10), a talented freshman class that will see significant varsity minutes this season and a deep bench with which to wear opponents down. That deep bench was on display in Shelbyville’s season-opening 68-55 win over Greensburg Saturday at Garrett Gymnasium. Eight players scored for the Golden Bears, four reached double-figures while 11 players took turns harassing the Pirates, including 2001 Indiana Miss Basketball Candidate Sara Riedeman, into an up-tempo physical game that eventually wore down the Class 3A, 11th-ranked Pirates. Riedeman, who averaged 24.9 points per game last season, did score her points. But being whistled for her fourth foul four minutes into the third quarter changed the complexion of the game. Without the Pirates’ star guard, who has signed a letter-of-intent to play at Western Kentucky University, the Golden Bears were able to step up the pressure and force several turnovers and poor shots that allowed Shelbyville to take control of the game. Sluggish first quarter play by Shelbyville allowed the Pirates to take a 17-11 lead at the end of the first eight-minute period. But junior Susan Kolls came off the bench to provide the spark that got the Golden Bears rolling. The junior forward scored her first two points at the end of the first quarter on a baseline jump shot. Kolls swished another baseline jumper to open the second quarter and get the Golden Bears within four at 17-13. Those back-to-back points started a 9-0 run for the Golden Bears. “I thought Kolls was great tonight,” said Shelbyville assistant coach Jim Sleeth, who was coaching the varsity in the absence of head coach John Fair who was serving a one-game suspension for being ejected from Shelbyville’s final game last season. “She has been practicing great all month. “She very easily could have started for us tonight but we wanted Ashley Matney (the team’s best defender) to start and guard Riedeman. We thought Kolls would give us that spark off the bench. And she came in and got us going.” Shelbyville outscored Greensburg 14-7 in the second quarter to take a 25-24 lead at halftime. The Golden Bears started the third quarter on a 9-2 run and then Riedeman was called for a charge giving her four fouls and relegating her to the bench for the rest of the quarter. “We knew before the game we had to stop Riedeman,” said Sleeth. “Getting that fourth foul on her was big (for us). I was disappointed in the first half when she got her second foul that we didn’t take it after her. With her out of the lineup, they didn’t have a ball-handler or a go-to person.” Sleeth kept the pressure defense on the Pirates, a press made more deadly when 11 players can rotate into the lineup keeping fresh players on the floor at all times. In the first seven minutes of the third quarter, Greensburg scored just four points while Kolls drained a 3-pointer to push the Golden Bears lead to 44-28. Riedeman returned to the floor to open the final quarter and drained a 12-foot jump shot in the lane to cut the lead back to 10. With the basket, Riedeman became Greensburg’s all-time leading scorer with 1,193 points. She would add 8 more points onto that record on the way to a game-high 22 points but the Pirates were forced to start fouling to keep Shelbyville close. That strategy didn’t pay off. The Golden Bears calmly sank 15-of-22 fourth-quarter free throws, including six from Kolls who finished with 14 points in the game and also grabbed five rebounds. Senior Sarah Laird was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final quarter and finished the game with a team-high 16 points. Senior Jenni Ross scored 11 points while freshman Gretchen Haehl scored 10 points, recorded four assists and had five steals in her first varsity game. Sleeth was impressed with the freshman’s performance at the point guard position. “I thought Gretchen handled the ball well,” said Sleeth. “She had a couple of careless turnovers but she will learn from that. “She is going to be handling the ball for us 90 percent of the time and she has to adjust to varsity players, who are good defenders, guarding her.” Shelbyville next travels to Columbus Saturday to face Columbus North.