Lady Bulldogs' defense deciding factor in 53-40 win over Valparaiso

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
12-16-2015

Crown Point's Hannah Albrecht (11) looks to get the ball to teammate Sydney Taylor (14) last Friday against Valparaiso. Albrecht led CP with 24 points. (All photos by Mark Smith)

CP's Mya Scheidt sails in for a layup against Valparaiso. The Lady Bulldogs trailed 9-7 early, but won by 13.

CP's Megan Morgan (20) plans on stopping Valparaiso's Ari Gerdt (15) in third quarter action last Friday. CP won to improve to 3-0 in the Duneland Athletic Conference.

CP's Katie Pawlowski (25) shoots over Valpo's Madison Ochs (35) last week at Crown Point. CP travels to Lake Central Friday in a first place showdown in the Duneland Conference.

CP's Kennedy Krutz (21) looks to pass around Vaparaiso's Lexi Ferngren (31) last week. CP topped the Vikings in DAC play.

Crown Point junior Sydney Taylor (14) is determined not to let Valpo's Ari Gerdt (15) pass the ball close to the basket. CP has won their DAC games by 10 points or more.

CP's Hannah Albrecht (1) charges up the floor against Valpo's Ari Gerdt (15) and Suzanne Neumeier (51) last week in Crown Point. Valpo entered the game with a 4-game winning streak.

CP junior Sydney Taylor (14) adjusts her shot against Valpo's double team defense, including sophomore Madison Ochs (35). CP outscored Valparaiso 19-5 in the second quarter.

CP junior Sydney Taylor (14) uses a gentle touch to get around Valpo sophomore Kenzie Peddle (11) in DAC action last Friday night.

Valparaiso coach Candy Wilson urges her team on during Valpo's second half rally at Crown Point The Vikings reached the halfway point of the season with an 8-4 record.

Valparaiso fans came dressed for the season last Friday at Crown Point. The Vikings dropped to 1-2 in DAC play.

It was a happy night for Crown Point junior varsity coaches Suzanne Huebner, left and Amanda Moore. Moore, a 2007 CP graduate, is the Bulldogs head JV coach while Huebner, a 2007 Lake Central grad, is CP's assistant JV coach. (All photos by Mark Smith)

Copyright © 2015 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved. Revised: December 23, 2015 .

Team /Record	1	2	3	4	Final
VALPARAISO (8-4)	11	5	12	12	40
CROWN POINT (7-2)	15	19	5	14	53

Friday, December 11, 2015 - Duneland Athletic Conference game at CROWN POINT, IN

VALPO (40) Ari Gerdt 4-2-10, Riley Vaughn 2-0-5, Taelynn Oelling 4-2-11, Lexi Ferngren 3-0-9, Maycie McDonald 2-0-4, Kayla Leverich 0-1-1, Kenzie Peddle 0-0-0, Madison Karp 0-0-0, Jessica Gast 0-0-0 TOTALS: 15 (5-8) 40.

CROWN POINT (53) Sydney Taylor 3-0-6, Hannah Albrecht 7-6-24, Katie Pawlowski 3-1-8, Kennedy Krutz 1-0-3, Andrea Kutemeier 1-0-2, Megan Morgan 1-1-4, Mya Schiedt 1-0-3, Jessica Barclay 1-0-2, Caitlyn Phillips 0-1-1, Katelyn Hadu 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18 (11-15) 53.

FREE THROWS: VALPO (5 of 8, 62.5%) Gerdt 2-2, Oelling 2-2, Vaughan 0-2, Leverich 1-2; CROWN POINT (11 of 16, 68.7%) Hannah Albrecht 8-8, Megan Morgan 1-2, Katie Pawlowksi 1-3, Caitlin Phillips 1-3.

REBOUNDS: VALPO (27) Gerdt 7, Oelling 6, Peddle 3, Vaughan 3, Leverich 3, MacDonaldn 2, Karp, Ferngren, Neumeier; CROWN POINT (18) Albrecht 3, Taylor 3, Pawlowski 4, Scheidt 3, Morgan, Krutz, Hado 2, Barclay .

ASSISTS: VALPO (10) Ari Gerdt 6, Kenzie Peddle, Lexie Ferngren, Maycee Mac Donald; CROWN POINT (9) Hannah Albrecht 5, Mya Scheidt 4.

3-GOALS: VALPO (5) Lexi Ferngren 3, Riley Vaughan, Taelynn Oelling. CROWN POINT (6) Hannah Albrecht 2, Mya Scheidt , Megan Morgan, Katie Pawlowksi, Kennedy Krutz.

FOULED OUT: None.

Last Friday in a pivotal Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) matchup, I noticed the defense. Playing a flowing effective match-up zone, CP held Valparaiso to just 16 first half points and won 53-40.

“It’s a match-up zone with man-to-man principles,” said Seibert. “We switch on everything. I know you saw us play against Hanover and we didn't do very well.”

“But the kids have really bought into it now. It's the defense I ran for six years at Portage.”

Looks like they’ll run it at CP for awhile. With a lineup that really features four guards, CP just frustrated a Valparaiso team which came into Lake County with a four-game winning streak. The Vikings (8-3) made brief rallies after halftime, but senior guard Hannah Albrecht led a type of semi-delay offense that ran out the clock before the visitors could get too much going.

“They’re a very experienced team,” said Valpo’s Candy Wilson, the former long time Boone Grove coach. We have to start games better than this. We were down a lot early.”

Albrecht was the deciding factor, especially after halftime. The 5-foot-8 CP senior scored 24 points with five assists and three steals, but she handled the ball against Valparaiso’s full court and half court presses, avoiding the turnovers which would have helped Valpo come back.

“We’re very comfortable with the ball in her hands,” said Seibert. “We ran a controlled stall. We were going to take a layup if we could get it, but we just wanted to control the ball and get fouled.”

CP broke an 11-11 tie with the final two field goals of the first quarter by Albrecht and Katie Pawlowski. The Lady Bulldogs started the second period with a 15-2 run, including three, three-point shots.

In the second half, CP, which doesn’t have a true center, weaved the ball around the perimeter. They scored only 19 points (just 3 field goals), but they limited possessions which was good for the home team. Valpo’s Lexi Ferngren sank three, three-pointers in the Vikings’ second half attempts to come back.

With the days of the double round robin, 14-game Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) schedule gone like the dinosaur, Valpo can't see CP again until 4A Sectional 2 in February. Wilson knows her girls will be older and hopes they will be wiser by then.

“All the girls we had in uniform tonight except two, were on the JV or the freshman team or in eighth grade last year,” said Wilson. “We’re very young and we’re actually better off so far than I thought we’d be.”

Crown Point can say the same thing. The mark of 7-3 is CP’s best 10-game record since 2011.

“The girls are buying into what we’re doing,” said Seibert.

CAT/DOG NOTES: Undefeated Class 4A No. 4 Penn (11-0) rolled over Crown Point 68-28 Saturday night. No team has come within 20 points of Penn all season.

Crown Points Hannah Albrecht was 8 of 8 from the foul line Friday, giving her 23 consecutive free throws made in a row.
 
Crown Point plays at Lake Central (10-1) Friday night, Dec. 18 and opens play in the eight-team Hanover Central “Winter Classic’ on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 22 at 12:23 p.m. against Griffith (0-12).
CP hosts Morton (9-0) on Tuesday, Jan. 5 and they are home against Merrillville (7-2) on Saturday night, Jan. 16.