GBB: Indian Creek’s balance too much for Edinburgh, 64-26

January 6, 2011

Hoosier Authority


By Justin Dodd
IUPUI Student Journalist

TRAFALGAR – On a night where the host Braves wore pink to raise awareness for Susan G. Komen, the “pink-out” turned into a “blowout” Jan. 5 as Indian Creek defeated Edinburgh, 64-26, in a Mid-Hoosier Conference game.

Indian Creek’s defense overwhelmed the Lancers, holding them to 10 or less points in each quarter – including a meager four in the second stanza. No Edinburgh player scored more than six points.

“It was like we regressed four weeks,” said Edinburgh coach Bob White. “We’re definitely going to have to get back to basics.”

The Braves’ solid defense led to points at the other end, too. It seemed every time the Lancers made a mistake, Indian Creek capitalized by scoring a bucket in transition.

“We picked up the defensive intensity, and it led to easy baskets,” said second-year Indian Creek coach Dan Burkman.

Those easy baskets were part of the reason the Braves were able to shoot a sizzling 67 percent in the first half. Three Braves would end up in double figures on the night: 5’5” senior Erica Von Stein (16 points), sophomore Ally Lehman (14), and sophomore Brooke Mathena (10).

“It makes it hard to defend when your team is scoring like this,” Burkman said of his team’s balanced attack.

In addition to the easy transition baskets, Indian Creek posted numerous buckets on back-door cuts to the basket.

“You just don’t see the back-door cut in the girls game that much,” Burkman said.

The uncommon maneuver didn’t go unnoticed by White, either.

“They killed us on the back door – they must have scored 40 points on it,” joked the third-year coach.

Though not much went right for Edinburgh in this game, offensive rebounding wasn’t a problem for the Lancers – particularly in the first quarter. Edinburgh often got two or three shots at the basket, but the Lancers rarely found the bottom of the net.

Five-foot-ten sophomore Jennifer Stinson led the way on the boards with six rebounds at the offensive end and another five on defense. But those offensive rebounds didn’t lead to points for Stinson, who finished with just three.

“After the shots weren’t falling, we folded mentally,” White said. “It changed our mental aspect.”

Indian Creek improves to 7-4 on the season, including a spotless 3-0 mark in the Mid-Hoosier. The Braves will be in action again Jan. 8 when they travel to North Decatur for another conference clash.

Edinburgh falls to 6-5 on the year, 1-3 in Mid-Hoosier play. The Lancers have to wait till Jan. 10 to try to bounce back at home against the Indiana School for the Deaf.