Cousins Murray, Gaines hold off Lady Bulldogs 63-55, as Pirates finish regular season 20-0 in Girls Basketball

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
02-03-2012

MERRILLVILLE (63) Raveen Murray 7-3-18, Victoria Gaines 4-8-16, Dariyan Morris 3-0-7, AJ Downs 2-2-7, Darian Patton 4-0-10, Jasmyne Miller 1-0-2, Christina Brown 0-0-0, Brianna Thompson 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22 (13-15) 63.

CROWN POINT (55) Courtney Kvachkoff 5-9-19, Abby Kvachkoff 1-0-3, Morgan Frame 4-0-8, Michaela Prough 5-1-11, Alexis Joseph 2-2-6, Kendall Brown 3-1-7, Lauren O'Keefe 0-0-0, Katie Howarth 0-0-0, Katija Tarailo 0-1-1. TOTALS: 20 (13-21) 55.

FREE THROWS: MERRILLVILLE (13-15, 86.7%) Gaines 8-10, Murray 3-3, Downs 2-2; CROWN POINT (13-21, 61.9%) C. Kvachkoff 9-10, Joseph 2-2, Prough 1-5, Tarailo 1-2, Brown 0-2.

REBOUNDS: MERRILLVILLE (26) Gaines 7, Patton, 4, Miller 4, Murray 4, Brown 3, Morris 2, Downs 2; CP (25) Prough 10, Joseph 5, Howarth 4, Frame 3, Tarailo 2, C. Kvachkoff.

ASSISTS: MERRILLVILLE (6) Murray 2, Gaines 2, Miller, Downs; CP (12) Brown 7, Prough 2, C. Kvachkoff 2, Howarth.

FOULED OUT: MERRILLVILLE (1) Jasmyne Miller (4th Q) :35 left; CP (4th Q) :28 left.

3-GOALS: MERRILLVILLE (6) Darian Patton 2, Dariyan Morris, Raveen Murray, Brianna Thompson, AJ Downs; CP (2) Abby Kvachkoff, Kendall Brown.
 

Class 4A Sectionals
all title games Saturday - 7 p.m. or 7:30 (local time)
these 4 lead into the Valparaiso Regional on Feb. 18

4A at MUNSTER
2-7 (Tu) Morton [6-13] vs. Gary West Side [15-4] 7 p.m.
2-8 (W) Highland [8-11] vs. Lowell [17-3] 6 p.m.
2-8 (W) Lake Central [10-9] vs. Munster [9-10] 7:30 p.m.
2-9 (F) East Chicago [14-6] vs. Gary West Side - 6 p.m.

4A at PORTAGE
2-7 (Tu) Crown Point [12-8] vs. Portage [5-16] 6 p.m.
2-7 (Tu) Chesterton [9-10] vs. LaPorte [12-7] 7:30 p.m.
2-8 (W) Hobart [11-11] vs. Michigan City [14-6] 6 p.m.
2-8 (W) Valparaiso [5-14] vs. Merrillville [20-0]7:30 p.m.
2-10 (F) CP or Portage vs. Chesterton or LaPorte - 6 p.m.
2-10 (F) Hobart or Michigan City vs. Valpo or Merrillville - 7:30 p.m.

4A at MISHAWAKA
2-7 (Tu.) (SB) Clay [5-17] vs. (SB) Adams [5-16] 6 p.m.
2-7 (Tu) Mishawaka [17-5] vs. (SB) Washington [11-9] 7:30 p.m.
2-10 (F) Penn [21-1] vs. Clay/Adams - 6 p.m.
2-10 (F) (SB) Riley [3-19] vs. Mishawaka/Washington

4A at GOSHEN
2-7 (Tu) Northridge [16-5] vs. Goshen [13-7]
2-7 (Tu) Elkhart Central [3-19] vs. Elkhart Memorial [17-5]
2-10 (F) Concord [6-15] vs. Northridge/Goshen - 6 p.m.
2-10 (F) Warsaw [16-4] vs. Elkhart Memorial - 7:30 p.m.

VALPARAISO REGIONAL
2-18 (Sat) Goshen winner (Northridge or Warsaw)
vs. Munster winner (Lowell, Gary West Side, LC or EC)
2-18 (Sat) Mishawaka winner (Penn or Memorial)
vs. Portage winner (CP or Merrillville) 1 p.m.

Merrillville at Crown Point Lady Bulldogs game statistics

So what Merrillville (20-0, 14-0 DAC) completed Thursday night was something rare. The Pirates are the first NW Indiana team since East Chicago (2003) to complete an undefeated regular season. They are the first Duneland Athletic Conference team to win all 20 games and the first team since Highland in 2001 to complete an undefeated regular season of 20 games or more.

"It's a great feeling," said Merrillville coach Amy Govert, a Highland and Valparaiso University graduate who said she has never been involved in an undefeated regular season at any level.
"It's a testament to those kids. Everything was against us tonight. I'm happy for them. More for them than I am for me. How many teams can say they've ever been a part of this?"

Crown Point's Courtney Kvachkoff, playing her final home game, sank two free throws to cut the lead to 57-55 with 1:07 to play and Merrillville's Raveen Murray was called for an offensive foul with 46 seconds left. But CP's Michaela Prough, who had one of her best games with 11 points, 10 rebounds and no turnovers, missed two free throws and Merrillville's 6-foot freshman Victoria Gaines was fouled, sinking two free throws with 28 seconds left. After a CP turnover Gaines sank two more free throws with 10 seconds left to make it 61-55 and extend the Merrillville winning streak to 20 games.

Crown Point (12-8), which also lost by eight points, 64-56, to the Pirates on Dec. 28 at Merrillville, did almost everything they could in this game. CP really had just two guards on the varsity roster and both of them (Kendall Brown and Courtney Kvacahkoff) are truly wing players, who have been sharing the lead guard role all season.

"I was proud of them," said CP coach Anne Equihua. "To be down two points with 30 seconds to play. I was very proud of them."

CP jumped to a 7-3 lead but a 15-2 run gave the Pirates, who have won 16 games by 10 points or more, a 18-9 lead early in the second quarter.

Crown Point had won 67-54 at Michigan City on Tuesday night, but both CP and Merrillville appeared tired in this rare Thursday night game. The Pirates shot 11 of 30 in the first half, while CP was just 7-of-22 in two quarters that ended with Merrillville leading 28-21.

"They did a good of of pressuring us," said CP coach Anne Equihua. "They're a very good pressure team. We made some silly turnovers, but credit them to their defense. In the second half, we settled down and played at our pace instead of at their pace."

Merrillville extended the lead to 36-23 late in the third quarter, but CP stayed in the game with the help of 5-foot-11 senior Morgan Frame, who scored eight in the third quarter and Courtney Kvachkoff, who scored 11 in the fourth quarter.

Seniors Brown and Kvachkoff were able to get through Merrillville's pressure defense in the late going and Kvachkoff, driving to the basket with the left hand, scoring or getting fouled.
But late in the fourth quarter, Merrillville's Gaines got the ball at or near the foul line and drove to the basket past whoever CP had try to guard her.

"We had a lot of confidence in her," said Govert of Gaines. "She can really play all five positions. I haven't seen any post player who can guard her one-on-one. We move her around. She can play all five positions."

That gives Merrillville two players that nobody can guard man-to-man.

"They're a very good team," said Equihua. "And we were within two points of them with 34 seconds left. "I thought we got better composure in the second half. Courtney and Kendall (Brown) both did a good job of penetrating, drawing the fouls.

CP probably doesn't want to dwell on this, but with the pre-season loss of guards Sarah Rivich and Haley Bordui plus the in-season loss of forward Taylor Equihua (knee) and guard Beth Ingram, it's a surprise that the Lady Bulldogs finished with a winning record.

"I had three JV (junior varsity) players out there at the end tonight, said coach Equihua of the second half when CP was rallying. "Katie Howarth plays on the JV. Katija Tarailo is a JV player and Lauren O'Keefe. I was so proud of them. We were hanging with them. I can't feel bad. I don't feel bad. Merrillville is very good."

Murray played all but 11 seconds of the game and she was visibly tired in the late going, finishing with 18 points, but just 7-of-19 shooting and six turnovers.

"She's dynamite driving to the basket," said coach Equihua. "We switched from a half-court trap to a zone, but when Raveen is up top, it's on her."

Merrillville's Govert and Murray both suggested that the undefeated regular season record wasn't a goal, but was an honor.

"It's a compliment," said Murray. "I'm glad to be a part of it. Everybody wants to win every game, but you don't think, 'Hey we're going to win every game.'"

Murray wasn't sure which of the Pirates rivals are the one she and her teammates want to beat the most. But she had no doubt about which team considers Merrillville their top rival.
"Everybody," she said quickly. "Everybody wants to beat us."

DOG NOTES: Crown Point defeated Michigan City two nights earlier on Feb. 1, the first CP win over Michigan City after 13 consecutive defeats. Courtney Kvachkoff scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds as CP overcame a 28-26 MC halftime lead. Kendall Brown scored 12 with six assists and Morgan Frame scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Wolves played without 6-foot junior Keshyana Cooper (11.4 ppg.), who is serving an indefinite suspension. It is expected that Cooper will be back for the Portage Sectional next week.

CP senior guard Beth Ingram, who had been playing 25 minutes a game, missed the last two games with what probably can be loosely described a tummy injury. "It's not so much the rib," said coach Anne Equihua, "We don't think it's a cracked rib. But the muscle and tissue around the rib. There might be a tear in the tissue."

MC played without junior 6-foot-center Keshyana Cooper, who sat out with a team rules violation.

Merrillville, which was 25-2 two years ago, is not the first NW Indiana girls team to complete an undefeated regular season with 20 wins or more. Highland was 22-0 on the regular season in 2001 after winning four times in the Lake Athletic Conference tournament. The Trojans went to 26-0 before losing to Kokomo 46-42 in the semistate.

For the record, Crown Point was undefeated in 1984 but the regular season was just 18 games back then. East Chicago was 19-0 and 21-1 in 2003 but they only played 19 regular season games. Boone Grove was 20-0 in 2005 but they had 21 regular season games (due to the Porter County Conference tournament) and they finished the regular season at 20-1 after a loss at North Judson in the regular season finale.

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Revised: February 03, 2012 .