Shelbyville Lady Golden Bears Basketball

Sports Thursday, February 15, 2001 Last Updated: Thursday, February 15, 2001 at 10:52 AM One down, two to go By JEFF BROWN Wednesday, February 14, 2001 at 4:11 PM GREENFIELD — Like a sniper locked in on its target, Shelbyville focused in and waited for its prey to flinch. The Cougars were patient though. Slowing the pace of the game early, Greenfield-Central led until midway through the second quarter in girls’ state tournament sectional action Tuesday. Then the Cougars flinched and the Golden Bears fired. Shelbyville (18-3) outscored Greenfield-Central (13-7) 45-29 over the last 21 minutes to advance in Class 3A Sectional 26 action in Greenfield, 55-39. With the victory, the Class 3A No. 9-ranked Golden Bears move on to face Whiteland Friday at 6 p.m. in the Greenfield-Central Sectional semifinal game. Franklin and Rushville will play in the other semifinal game with the two winners meeting Saturday for the championship. Shelbyville has consistently beaten teams down this season with an attacking full-court press but the team added a new wrinkle to the scouting reports — beware the team’s half-court defense, too. “They shut us down — plain and simple,” said Greenfield-Central coach Shari Doud. “Their pressure on us defensively was phenomenal. We struggled to execute. They smothered our point guard and we struggled to get to spots.” Not early in the game, though. The Cougars continued to find ways to break the Golden Bears’ pressure and find open looks at the basket. Spotting the open cutter allowed Greenfield-Central to score two layups in the last two minutes of the first quarter for an 8-5 lead. And when Ellen Hamilton — the Cougars’ top scorer (20 points per game) — scored a layup on a perfectly-executed back door play, Greenfield-Central led 10-8. Finally, Shelbyville point guard Gretchen Haehl had enough of the Cougars’ zone defense that had the 5-foot-10 Hamilton cheating from the top of the zone over to Sarah Laird’s side of the floor. Laird — Shelbyville’s leading scorer this season and best 3-point shooter — was having trouble getting an open shot with the long-armed Hamilton jumping at her every time she took aim. So Haehl started attacking the lane. The freshman drove past the first line of defense and hit a 15-foot jumper as she was knocked to the floor. Haehl converted 1 of 2 free throws on the Golden Bears’ next possession to give her team the lead, 11-10. She then buried a 3-pointer less than one minute later to get Shelbyville the momentum. A Susan Kolls steal at half court and subsequent layup pushed the lead to 16-10 with three minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the first half as the Cougars hadn’t scored in two minutes. Laird hit a soft-jumper in the lane to keep the tide rolling and Doud finally called timeout. It was too late, though, as the Cougars would never regain the lead. The Golden Bears maintained a six-point lead, 22-16, at the break. They built the advantage to 13 on the strength of center Katie Douglas’ six third-quarter points, and then remained calm as Hamilton hit three 3-pointers in the final quarter to help her team make a final push. While Hamilton was playing mad-bomber from the 3-point arc, Shelbyville salted the game away at the free throw line. The Golden Bears were 11 of 12 from the charity stripe (92 percent) in the fourth quarter and finished the game 12 of 14 (86 percent). Although Hamilton finished with a game-high 23 points, the defense limited the scoring of her teammates. Only Maggie Johnson scored more than four points — she had six on 3 of 6 shooting from the field — for the Cougars. “Hamilton got a lot of shots but I thought we defended her well in the second half,” said Shelbyville coach John Fair. Hamilton was 8 of 18 from the field including 3 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc. The rest of the Cougars managed just 17 shots and hit only six of them. Shelbyville was led in scoring by Gretchen Haehl. The freshman scored 15 points and had five assists. Laird finished with 13 points, three assists and three steals. Susan Kolls came off the bench to get a team-high six rebounds. The Golden Bears have a similar challenge ahead of them Friday. Whiteland will be looking for revenge and also brings a top-flight scorer into the game. Junior Megan Liffick is averaging 22.4 points per game — 14th best in the state — and scored 28 in her team’s win over New Palestine Tuesday.

Shelbyville in search of a rare tourney title By Steve Hanlon Indianapolis Star February 14, 2001 GREENFIELD, Ind. -- It sat there in the locker room like it had all year long, this little beacon to the past. A trophy with the year 1979 on its base greeted the Shelbyville Golden Bears on Tuesday night as they opened the Class 3A Greenfield-Central Sectional. The ninth-ranked Bears drew the host Cougars in the opening game, and a big crowd had come in hopes of seeing an upset. And with 4 minutes left in the first quarter, Greenfield-Central led 5-2 and Shelbyville's freshman sensation, Gretchen Haehl, had two fouls. Shelbyville, the only ranked team in the field, is the favorite despite the fact the Bears haven't won a sectional since 1979. "I prefer coming in as the underdog," said Shelbyville senior guard Sarah Laird after she scored 13 points in the Bears' 55-39 win over the Cougars. In the second game, Whiteland got past New Palestine 49-43. "We have a lot more pressure on us," Laird continued. "I looked up at the scoreboard and we hadn't scored yet. I couldn't believe it. Finally, we started taking the ball to the basket and hitting our shots. "We're a young team and this is a new experience. Come Friday, we'll be more accustomed to this." Trailing 8-5 after one quarter, Haehl picked up the pace of the game by scoring nine second-quarter points as Shelbyville (18-3) pulled to a 22-16 lead at the break. That lead grew to 37-24 after three quarters as the Bears' pressure defense continued causing havoc for Greenfield-Central (13-8), which had 29 turnovers. But in the fourth quarter, Greenfield sophomore Ellen Hamilton scored 11 of her game-high 23 points. And on her third 3-pointer in the period she got the hosts to within seven with 2:40 remaining. "She's a heck of a player," said Shelbyville coach John Fair. Fair said Greenfield-Central controlled the tempo for the entire game. But Shelbyville helped its cause by going 11-of-12 from the line in the fourth quarter. "This proves that we can win playing our half-court offense and our half-court defense," said Fair, who pulled off his team's full-court press at the half. "We just knew our depth and talent would wear them down. And in the end, we hit our shots. We're shooting over 70 percent from the line as a team." Haehl led the Bears with 15 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. In the second game, Whiteland's Megan Liffick was 9-of-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and scored a game-high 28 points in leading the Warriors (10-11) over the Dragons (10-11). "We did play a good, controlled fourth quarter," said Whiteland coach Allen Weems. "We spread the floor and we had two, three kids step up tonight and all of our kids played hard." New Palestine was led by freshman Gabrielle Allison's 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Ashley Buses scored 10. And what about Friday's matchup against Shelbyville at 6 p.m. for Whiteland? "We have to control the basketball," Weems said. "The first time we played them we had 35 turnovers. If we don't do that, we have a chance." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact Steve Hanlon at (317) 865-4903 or via e-mail at steve.hanlon@starnews.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game 1 GREENFIELD-CENTRAL (39) -- Hamilton 8-18 4-6 23, Titus 0-1 0-0 0, Shoop 2-4 0-0 4, Collins 1-1 2-2 4, Bodkin 0-5 2-3 2, M. Johnson 3-6 0-0 6, Miller 0-1 0-0 0, J. Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Faenzi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-37 8-11 39. SHELBYVILLE (55) -- Gr. Haehl 4-9 5-6 15, Matney 1-3 0-0 3, Laird 4-12 3-4 13, Ross 0-3 2-2 2, Douglas 4-5 0-0 8, Kolls 3-8 0-0 6, Gw. Haehl 2-3 2-2 6, Wise , Berger , Coy. Totals: 19-54 12-14 55. 3-point shooting -- Greenfield-Central 3-11 (Hamilton 3-6, Bodkin 0-2, Johnson 0-3), Shelbyville 5-10 (Gr. Haehl 2-3, Matney 1-2, Laird 2-4). Rebounds -- Greenfield-Central 20 (Shoop 6, Hamilton 4, Bodkin 4), Shelbyville 28 (Gr. Haehl 4, Douglas 4, Kolls 4). Assists -- Greenfield-Central 10 (Bodkin 6), Shelbyville 9 (Gr. Haehl 5, Laird 3). Turnovers -- Greenfield-Central 29, Shelbyville 9. Steals -- Greenfield-Central 5 (Hamilton 3), Shelbyville 8 (Gr. Haehl 3). Total fouls -- Greenfield-Central 15, Shelbyville 16. Fouled out: None. Technicals -- None. Officials -- Scott West, Phil Vidito

Sectional 26 Greenfield-Central (6 teams) Tuesday Feb 13 First game at 6PM: Game 1 – Greenfield-Central vs. Shelbyville. Game 2 – New Palestine vs. Whiteland. Friday Feb 9 First game at 6PM: Game 3 -- Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. Game 4 – Franklin vs. Rushville. Saturday Feb 17 7:30 Game 5 -- Championship: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4.

Sarah Laird leads the way with 29 points. Sports from Shelbyville News Thursday, February 08, 2001 Last Updated: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 at 12:38 PM SHS girls lethal at Morristown By BRIAN HARMON Wednesday, February 07, 2001 at 4:01 PM MORRISTOWN — Shelbyville Golden Bears 94, Indiana Pacers 89. Those are the respective point totals of the Shelbyville girls’ basketball team and the Pacers Tuesday night, and it should give you an idea of just how lethal the local girls’ basketball team can be. High school girls’ teams just aren’t supposed to score that many points, but the Shelbyville squad has made a season out of dismissing that notion. Tuesday night against Morristown (8-10), the Class 3A No. 8-ranked Golden Bears started slow, but found their groove in the second half and won going away, 94-54. Sarah Laird scored a career high 29 points for the Golden Bears (17-3), who registered their second-highest point total of the year, as well as their second largest margin of victory, in their final regular season game. Shelbyville defeated Oldenburg 99-20 on Nov. 21. The Golden Bears begin sectional play Tuesday at Greenfield-Central against the host Cougars. It was also Morristown’s worst defeat of the year, both in points allowed and margin of defeat. Along with scoring the highest point total in her four-year varsity career Tuesday, Laird set a school record for most 3-point shots made in a career. Laird hit four 3-pointers on the night, the second of which gave her 104 career 3-pointers, breaking the previous mark of 103 set by Charity Purcell in the early 1990s. “It felt pretty good,” Laird said of breaking the record. “I wanted to get it out of the way early (in the game) and not worry about it.” The record breaking 3-pointer came in the second period. Shelbyville, which scored 80 or more points for the sixth time this season Tuesday, found itself ahead by just four points at halftime against the Yellow Jackets, 38-34. Shelbyville coach John Fair wasn’t surprised at the good effort provided by the host Morristown squad, which was playing its final home game of the regular season. “Morristown always plays us hard,” Fair said. “Every year, it’s close at halftime, but I’ve never gotten on the kids (at halftime) before. Tonight, I decided that was enough. We ripped into the kids at halftime ... I don’t think there was a single player we didn’t get on about playing better (in the second half).” It worked. Shelbyville, behind its patented full-court press and balanced, deep-scoring attack, rolled the Yellow Jackets in the final two periods. Besides outscoring the Yellow Jackets 56-20 in the second half, Shelbyville forced 21 turnovers and made 20 of 36 field goal attempts. In the final period, when things really started to get out of hand, Laird and teammate Megan Eiler combined for 21 points, as the Golden Bears outscored Morristown 32-9 in the fourth period. Shelbyville led 62-45 going into the final period. Eleven players scored on the night for Shelbyville. Eiler finished with 12 points, as did Susan Kolls, who also registered six steals. Ashley Matney scored 10 points for Shelbyville, while teammates Gretchen Haehl (7 points, six steals, five assists), and Katie Douglas (seven points, 10 rebounds) also put in strong performances. Megan Lane (16 points, nine steals) and Kayla Tarrh (13 points, six rebounds) paced Morristown. Yellow Jacket senior Shari Nolen, likely playing in her final home game, summed up the evening best: “It’s kind of not fun playing Shelbyville on Senior Night.” Morristown travels to Edinburgh Thursday in its regular season finale, then plays the Lancers again Tuesday when sectional play begins at Southwestern.

Sports Monday, February 05, 2001 Last Updated: Monday, February 05, 2001 at 12:51 PM Lady Bears aren’t afraid of Arlington By JEFF BROWN Monday, February 05, 2001 at 4:01 PM INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Arlington is an intimidating looking team during pre-game warmups. And for one quarter Saturday, they were just plain intimidating the Shelbyville Golden Bears. But Shelbyville’s girls’ basketball coach John Fair kept telling his team, “It’s just a matter of time.” He hoped. Because when Arlington’s Natalie Johnson scored with four minutes, 48 seconds left in the second quarter, the score was tied, 30-30. Finally, though, Shelbyville’s talent and depth took over the game. The Golden Bears closed the quarter with an impressive 23-3 scoring run. They followed that with an 18-8 scoring advantage in the third quarter and settled for an 85-55 win. With a different starting lineup and two meaningless games in terms of conference titles left on the schedule, Fair was able to experiment with some new facets the Golden Bears may utilize in the sectional. With senior Jenni Ross dealing with a sore knee, Fair turned to freshman Gwen Haehl to start. And with the sheer size of the Lady Golden Knights, Fair went with freshman center Haley Wise in the starting lineup as well. For the first time this year, Shelbyville started three freshmen and a sophomore along with senior Sarah Laird. And with such a young squad on the floor, Fair believed anxious energy had a lot to do with the way the team started. “We had two kids out there that had never started before and I thought they were a little nervous,” said Fair. “But we knew it would just be a matter of time. Arlington played hard but we sustained and came away with a nice victory." Early in the game, it took the hot shooting hand of Laird to keep the Golden Bears in the game. She hit a 3-pointer at the 5:44 mark in the first quarter for Shelbyville’s first points of the game. Two minutes later, Laird hit another 3-pointer that tied the score at 12-12. In the second quarter, Laird hit back-to-back 3-pointers that once again tied the score at 28-28 and set the Golden Bears up for their scoring outburst. Laird would finish with a team-high 16 points, all scored in the first half. Fair tried to limit her playing time in the second half due to a sore calf muscle that has been bothering Laird. Three other Golden Bears scored in double figures as well. Allison Berger came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points. Ashley Matney, another Golden Bear fighting nagging injuries, also came off the bench and scored 12 points. Douglas scored 11 points. Ashley Coy led the Golden Bears with five rebounds. Natalie Johnson and Erica Sharp each scored 12 to lead Arlington. Shanda Smith had a game-high 10 rebounds while 6-foot-3 Katina Smith had eight of Arlington’s 11 blocked shots in the game. Shelbyville will finish its regular season tomorrow at Morristown.