Shelbyville Lady Golden Bears Basketball

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3A Rank School Votes (1st) Prev. Votes +/- This Week 1 Indpls Cathedral (16-1) 146 (12) 1 +3 2/1 @ Harrison W. Laf. 2/3 Plainfield 2 Wawasee (19-0) 138 (3) 2 +2 2/2 @ Northridge 3 Franklin County (19-0) 110 3 -1 (no games until IHSAA trny) 4 Alexandria (16-1) 82 5 +17 1/29-2/3 County Tournament 5 NorthWood (13-3) 81 4 -1 2/2 @ Concord 6 Plymouth (14-4) 63 6 +7 50 New Prairie 41 2/3 @ Goshen 7 Rochester (17-1) 62 8 +12 2/3 Hebron 8 Shelbyville (14-3) 43 7 -8 48 Franklin 44 2/3 @ Indpls Arlington 9 Jasper (14-3) 40 9 -3 2/1 @ Washington 2/3 Pike Central 10 Evansville Memorial (14-3) 32 10 -6 55 Castle 53 2/1 Mt. Vernon (Posey) Others receiving votes: Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (12-4) 7 Frankfort 5 Washington (13-4) 5 Gibson Southern (13-5) 2 Delta 1

Sports Wednesday, January 31, 2001 Last Updated: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 11:51 AM SHS gets physical to beat Franklin By JEFF BROWN Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 3:50 AM Blood was all that was missing at Garrett Gymnasium Tuesday. A very tall, extremely physical Franklin team visited Shelbyville in a girls’ basketball game that resembled every facet of a hockey game. Bodies on the floor, hard checking in the lane and a team determined to send its two seniors out winners in their home court finale were all on display — even if there wasn’t any ice on the floor. In the end, Shelbyville’s defense tightened down, completely rattled the Lady Grizzly Cubs in the fourth quarter — forcing 11 turnovers (two more than Shelbyville had in the entire game) — and pulled out a 48-44 come-from-behind win with some clutch free throw shooting. Through three quarters of the action, the Golden Bears (15-3) struggled from the field (8 of 37). And when they managed to drive to the basket, there stood one of several Franklin 6-footers waiting to block a shot. The Lady Grizzly Cubs (11-7) blocked eight shots in the contest and altered several more keeping Shelbyville somewhat confused as to what might work in the half-court set. The lack of scoring was hurting the Golden Bears both offensively, of course, but defensively as well. Without a made field goal, Shelbyville’s full court, relentless trapping defense couldn’t be deployed. But the Golden Bears were steadily forcing the Lady Grizzly Cubs into foul trouble and working into a steady rhythm at the free throw line. Trailing 33-26 at the end of the third quarter, the Golden Bears came out to prove they were a little bigger than the Grizzly Cubs — at least in the heart department. It took Shelbyville five minutes and 37 seconds of the fourth quarter to take the lead for the first time in the game. A Sarah Laird’s baseline floater over the Franklin defense put her team up 40-39. After a Franklin turnover, Gretchen Haehl drove to the free throw line and perfectly anticipated the defense collapsing on her. The freshman lobbed the ball over the charging Lady Grizzly Cubs to fellow freshman Haley Wise, who deposited it in the basket for a precarious three-point lead. Franklin had hope after forcing a turnover at mid-court that allowed Laura Bullington to score and tie the game up with 1:26 remaining. Haehl responded with a 10-footer from the left wing that put the Golden Bears ahead for good. From there, Shelbyville just needed to stay calm and rely on a senior to ice the game. After Franklin cut the lead back to one, Laird hit the second of two free throws with 12 seconds left. Ashley Chaney took the inbound pass and threw the ball away keeping Franklin from getting one last shot to tie the game. Laird hit two more free throws with six seconds remaining to provide the final scoring margin. In the final quarter, Shelbyville hit 12 of 14 free throws and finished 20 of 29 for the game. “This is a huge win for us,” said Shelbyville coach John Fair. “This planted the seed that we can beat Franklin (at sectionals). They can beat us too, though. That was pretty evident tonight. It was nice to see from this team that they had heart against a very good team because I questioned it at halftime.” Laird finished her last game at Garrett Gymnasium with a game-high 18 points and a team-high six rebounds. Fellow senior Jenni Ross scored two points in limited action due to nagging injuries. Caron Blotch led Franklin with 11 points. Shelbyville will play its last two games on the road. The Golden Bears visit Indianapolis Arlington Saturday and finish the season at Morristown Tuesday.

Sports Monday, January 29, 2001 Last Updated: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 11:51 AM Spartans’ defense shuts out SHS girls By BRIAN HARMON Monday, January 29, 2001 at 3:42 PM CONNERSVILLE — If there is such a thing as a “good loss”, then the Shelbyville girls’ basketball team suffered one Saturday in Connersville. Playing against the Class 4A No.9-ranked Spartans, Shelbyville (14-3) trailed for most of the contest and lost, 60-51. But despite the loss, which was the Golden Bears’ third in their last five games, Shelbyville coach John Fair didn’t view the defeat in a negative light. “Today, I think our kids stepped up and we played well,” Fair said. “This game helped us gauge where we are. “To come in here and take a nine-point loss against a 4A school like Connersville ... I’m not happy with any loss, but playing competition like this will help us down the road.” Fair pointed out that just two years ago in Connersville (14-3), his team suffered a 54-point loss (86-32) and last year lost at home by 14 points to the Spartans. In Saturday’s contest, the Golden Bears fell behind early after sinking just three of their first 11 field goal attempts and making only six field goal attempts in the first half, on 25 attempts. The Golden Bears trailed 15-8 at the end of the first period. Shelbyville’s poor shooting was caused partly by the presence of Connersville’s Missy Taylor (6-foot-3) underneath the basket. Taylor scored a game-high 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and blocked two shots. The Connersville junior center was also continually fouled by the undersized Shelbyville frontcourt and went to the free throw line a game-high 12 times, where she earned 10 of her points. Taylor and Jenny Cooper combined for 21 first-half points and helped Connersville secure a 31-20 halftime lead. The third quarter saw the Spartans continue to dominate, and they held a 42-30 lead with four minutes remaining in the period. That’s when Sarah Laird, Shelbyville’s leading scorer, took over and almost single-handedly brought the Golden Bears back into the game. Laird hit the first of four consecutive 3-pointers at the end of the third period to bring her squad within eight points, 45-37. The senior guard’s third trey pulled the Golden Bears to within five points and suddenly Connersville had a game on its hands, as they led 47-42 with six minutes left to play. Shelbyville got as close as three points before the Spartans’ perimeter defense refocused its energy and shut down both Laird and Shelbyville point guard Gretchen Haehl. Laird scored 18 of Shelbyville’s 31 second-half points, and only two other players scored for the Golden Bears in the fourth period. Laird finished the game with a team-high 22 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Haehl, Shelbyville’s second leading scorer (10.8 points a game) was shut out in the second-half and finished with just one field goal and five points. Shutting down Haehl was one of the keys to the Spartans’ victory, Connersville coach Larry Miller said. “We knew we couldn’t allow them to stand and shoot the ball, which is their bread and butter,” Miller said. “We wanted to try and pressure Haehl and make them pick up the ball. “We (also) knew they would use the full court press and I was wanting to try and use their over aggressiveness against them.” Shelbyville hosts Franklin Tuesday.

The fireworks were sure to fly when two state-ranked teams — not to mention county rivals — hooked up Tuesday. And when all was said and done, it was the bigger school — although the one rated lower in the most recent state polls — doing the celebrating. Class 3A No. 7-ranked Shelbyville used a 26-point third quarter to secure a 70-55 win over previously undefeated Class 2A No. 4-ranked Triton Central at Garrett Gymnasium in front of 2,100 enthusiastic fans for a girls’ varsity basketball game. The Golden Bears (14-2) looked tense early on as the crowd settled in. The Tigers (16-1) remained composed in the face of Shelbyville’s relentless full-court trapping defense and held a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. A 10-foot jumper by Gretchen Haehl and a free throw by Gwen Haehl in the last minute of the second quarter gave the Golden Bears a 25-23 halftime lead. The Tigers surely felt comfortable trailing by just two on the road but the rough, up-and-down style of play featured in the first half was starting to take its toll. Triton Central did manage to tie the score twice in the third quarter but Shelbyville’s point guard was finding her groove. A 2-for-10 shooting performance in the first half hadn’t discouraged Gretchen Haehl. And with her team wearing down a Triton Central team that utilizes just seven players, Haehl was finding more room to operate in the third quarter. Haehl scored the Golden Bears first two points of the third quarter with an open 10-footer near the lane. Shelbyville’s lead increased to five after Haehl hit a baseline 3-pointer at the 6:15 mark. The Tigers kept the lead at three until another Haehl hit a 3-pointer. Gretchen Haehl’s twin sister, Gwen, found herself open at the top of the key and buried a momentum-gathering 3-pointer. Gretchen Haehl followed that with a baseline jumper to push the lead to eight points. The third freshman in the Golden Bears 11-player rotation, Haley Wise, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put the Tigers on life support after a 7-0 scoring run. Gretchen Haehl would hit a 17-footer late in the third quarter and a Susan Kolls baseline drive and score gave the Golden Bears an 11-point lead with eight minutes to go. “I know in the first half, Gretchen hardly touched the ball,” said Triton Central coach Larry Pringle. “In the second half, she’s touching the ball all the time and ripping the net. It was ‘Boom, Boom, Boom’ and it’s over.” Gretchen Haehl added seven fourth-quarter points — for a total of 16 in the second half — to finish with a team-high 22 points. Shelbyville coach John Fair wasn’t surprised to see his point guard have a fabulous game. “Gretchen is so competitive and takes such pride in her game,” said Fair. “When she has a poor game, the next one — she is on fire. She had a poor game against Mount Vernon and then had 23 at Jennings County. She had a poor game at Delta and she was on fire in the second half tonight. You could see her confidence.” Midway through the fourth quarter, Haehl and Triton Central’s top player, Jessie Scherer, started trading baskets. In a span of 51 seconds, both players scored in various ways showing why they may be the county’s top two players. Scherer would finish with 22 points — matching Haehl. The Triton Central junior also ripped down a game-high 11 rebounds. But the surrounding cast around Scherer spent a majority of its time concentrating on breaking the press and wasn’t as effective in the half-court offense. Senior Stephanie Brooks scored 10 points although she was 2-of-7 from behind the 3-point line. Junior Kristy Gates (12 points per game average) and sophomore Audra Blackford (9 points) combined to score just 12 points. Backing up Haehl was senior Sarah Laird, who had 13 points despite fighting the flu. Kolls came off the bench to score six points and grab a team-high seven rebounds. Gwen Haehl finished with 10 points. Senior Jenni Ross added eight points and six rebounds. Twelve Golden Bears played in the game — nine of whom scored. By contrast, only seven Tigers played — six of whom scored.