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BHS girls lose their 4th straight
BLOOMINGTON -- Sondra Sisson wasn’t saying that Thursday’s game may have been a season-changing one, but the Bloomington High School basketball coach was hoping it could find something to build on. | Photo gallery Instead, the Purple Raiders are searching for answers. Playing without its two leading scorers, BHS’ struggles continued as it lost for the fourth straight time after a 66-54 Big 12 Conference loss to Decatur Eisenhower at the Robert Frank Sports Complex. During the current streak, the Raiders’ average margin of defeat has been by almost 15 points. “I think anybody that comes out of a holiday tournament, once you get your kids back in school and back in the flow of their routine, is ready to turn a corner,” said Sisson, whose team was playing without forward Shaneice Bell (family funeral) and Kendra Gay (finger surgery). “I thought the kids were ready.” The third quarter proved that belief. After allowing the Panthers to close the first half on a 15-0 run, BHS (6-10 overall, 4-2 in the Big 12) opened the third quarter with a renewed sense of confidence. Trailing 38-25, the Raiders scored the first eight points of the half to slice the deficit to 38-33 with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third. “For some reason, every third quarter is always (our) best,” BHS sophomore forward Amanda Hainlen said. “It clicks to us all of the sudden. For some reason, we go at it.” The Raiders outscored Eisenhower 15-4 in the third and entered the fourth quarter trailing by two points. In that span, BHS allowed the Panthers (5-9, 2-3) to one field goal and forced five turnovers. “We always talk about that first four minutes of the (second half) being the statement time, to close the door,” said Eisenhower coach Chris Seider. “We didn’t do it (Thursday). I was nervous about that.” The fourth quarter allowed him to relax. With BHS still remaining within two possessions, the Panthers quietly took control, scoring on their final nine possessions to increase their lead to double digits. Meanwhile, the Raiders scored on four possessions, missed four shots and committed two turnovers. “We come back and then we got down on each other, and we just fall apart,” Hainlen said. Eisenhower remained composed. “I’m very impressed,” said Seider, whose team was paced by Kriza Allen’s 20 points and 16 from Jami Perkins. “That’s been in the past where we have buckled and we have fallen apart flat on our face. We stayed together.” Hainlen scored a game-high 29 points and snared 12 rebounds. Nichelle Harrison tallied a season-high 12 points and six assists. Over its last four games, BHS has been outscored 225-166. This was the first time in that span the Raiders scored more than 50. “This is a winning program and we’re ready for it to continue to go that way,” said Sisson, whose team committed 26 turnovers. “I’m not down on them at all. I’m not disappointed in them. I’m ready to start putting steps together to make sure we take care of business on Saturday (against Champaign Central).” |