The Bloomington South vs. Columbus North girls basketball game was rescheduled twice due to Indiana’s unpredictable weather. When the game was finally played last Tuesday, it would decide the 2018-2019 Conference Indiana champions.
In the end, the Panthers were ready for the test, as South won the game 57-54, finishing the season undefeated in Conference Indiana and winning the Championship.
The South girls basketball team has consistently been one of the top 20 teams in the state, with big wins over No. 7 Jeffersonville and No. 9 Castle. The sharpshooting duo of Addy Blackwell and Lauren Conner have led the Panthers to their best season in over 10 years and their first conference championship since 2012. Blackwell has been averaging 15.95 points per game, and Conner has been averaging 11.1 respectively.
Blackwell, a senior, was recently nominated for the McDonald’s all-american game. She is one of 10 girls nominated from the state of Indiana.
Blackwell’s last home game was definitely one to remember. She shot 54.5 percent from the field in the win. “Our mindset going into the game was to make sure we came out strong to show that we can compete,” Blackwell said. “We came out attacking, and we made smart decisions down the stretch to maintain the lead.”
“After the game we were pretty excited, because it was our first (conference) win since 2012. We were proud to break that trend and start something new with our program here at South.”
Columbus stayed in the game despite the Panthers success from 3 point land thanks to the Lomax sisters. Freshman Tessa scored 14 points, and her older sister sophomore Nadia scored 22 points respectively. The Bulldogs had a solid season up to this point with a 16-6 record, and they are ranked just outside the top 20 in the state. They will play Shelbyville in the first round of sectionals.
