Lady Bulldogs outlast Lake Central 92-89 in Overtime,
go to 8-0 on season

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
12-12-2010

LAKE CENTRAL (89) Nikki Adams 6-12-24, Carolyn Sandrick 8-8-26, Angela Perez 2-0-6, Jessica Bell 1-1-3, Isis Thomas 6-3-15, Lizzie Seymour 2-2-7, Alexis Magnant 1-0-2, Tula Manousopolous 2-0-4, Stephanie Haddad 1-0-2. TOTALS: 29 (26-40) 89.

CROWN POINT (92) Kelly Gross 3-5-13, Sarah Rivich 1-0-2, Courtney Kvachkoff 10-7-27, Michaela Prough 4-1-9, Kendall Brown 5-7-18, Lisa Kurth 1-1-3, Hayley Bordui 2-1-6, Madeline Moore 3-1-7, Alexis Joseph 3-1-7, Zarah Cecich 0-0-0. TOTALS: 32 (24-42) 92

FREE THROWS: LC (28-40, 70.0%) Adams 12-17, Sandrick 8-8, Perez 0-1, Seymour 2-2, Thomas 3-6, Bell 1-2, Manosoupolous 0-2; CROWN POINT (24-42, 57.1%) Bordui 1-1, Gross 5-12, Prough 1-1, Kvachkoff 5-10, Brown 7-10, Moore 1-2, Joseph 1-2, Kurth 1-4.

REBOUNDS: LC (28) Adams 9, Bell 6, Sandrick 4, Thomas 4, Manousopoulos 2, Perez 2, Seymour; CP (25) Kvachkoff 6, Brown 4, Bordui 4, Moore 3, Prough 2, Kurth 2, Rivich 2, Cecich, Joseph.

ASSISTS: LC (10) Perez 5, Sandrick 2, Seymour 2, Thomas. CP (14) Bordui 4, Gross 4, Brown 4, Kvachkoff, Kurth.

STEALS: LC (14) Perez 5, Sandrick 4, Thomas 4, Adams: CROWN POINT (10) Brown 5, Bordui 2, Gross 2, Prough.

3-GOALS: LC (5) Carolyn Sandrick 2, Angela Perez 2, Lizzie Seymour; CP (40 Kelly Gross 2, Kendall Brown, Hayley Bordui.

FOULED OUT: LC (2) Nikki Adams (OT) 1:49 left; Jessica Bell (OT) 1:12 left; CP (1) Michaela Prough (4th Q) 2:34 left.

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CROWN POINT (12-10-2010) On a night when undefeated Crown Point moved into sole possession of first place in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC), the Lady Bulldogs' 92-89 overtime victory over neighbor Lake Central was another notice of how the local girls basketball universe has changed. It was a wild game with LC rallying from 13-point deficits in the second and third quarters to tie the game after trailing 73-64 with 2:17 to go. Crown Point was happy to win, but disturbed with the late breakdowns, similar to their 80-74 win over Chesterton in November.

Lake Central was proud of the comebacks, but saddened to lose senior guard Alexis Magnant to what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the second quarter. But the big news was the final score: 92-89. Really? 92-89. Almost certainly the highest score in the long series between these two teams. The style of play in the entire DAC has changed. From a physical defensive 36-35 style. For the better.

Call it the 'Ben Davis' effect. Ben Davis is the giant Indianapolis school that has destroyed everyone for 2-1/2 seasons (the have won 65 games in a row) now with a full court defense and an uptempo speed-based game, light years from the way teams like Kokomo and frankly, Lake Central and Crown Point won on a state level a generation ago.

CP (8-0, 3-0 DAC), which will move into the state's Top-10 this week, is not a really efficient up tempo team, but they are headed in that direction. And the increasing number of games where BOTH teams score 70 and 80 points indicates a different direction, not only for the DAC, but for NW Indiana as a whole. The only direction that will compete on a state-wide basis.

"I think you have to be able to play both styles," said CP coach Mike Cronkhite, who recorded his 100th career victory in the win over LC. "I think to get beyond this area, you're going to have to play at multiple paces. In the tournament, sometimes they slow it down. We play Hobart. We know they're gong to play very physical. They're going to try to beat up in the half court. Michigan City and Merrillville. Obviously they want to get up and down (the court). Chesterton does too. Lake Central wanted to get up and down the court."

"Our defense and the way we play tried to get you to speed up. But we can't give up 89 points."

The Lady Bulldogs (8-0, 3-0 DAC) scored 11 points in a row in the first quarter to take a 13-6 lead over Lake Central (3-6, 1-2 DAC).  The Lady Bulldogs got eight second quarter points from Kendall Brown and built the edge to 31-18 with 2:19 left in the half.

CP's 1-3-1 half court trap created 11 of LC's 22 turnovers in the first half and when Magnant left the game it appeared CP's 10-player depth would wear the visitors down for a relatively quiet win. But Crown Point's turnovers mounted as LC seniors Carolyn Sandrick and defensive trouble-maker Isis Thomas sparked a 12-4 run that ended the third quarter with the CP lead at 50-48.

When the Lady Bulldogs got into foul trouble, they seemed to step back against the visitors, led by Sandrick, a 5-foot-6 senior. Sandrick clearly just drove into the lane and created contact to get fouled in the late going. She was 8-of-8 from the line in the second half.

Crown Point's Courtney Kvachkoff, who scored 19 of her 27 points after halftime, sparked a late run that broke a 60-60 tie and posted CP to a 73-64 lead with 2:17 to play in the game.
But Angela Perez hit a three-point shot from the right corner sparking a 13-4 LC surge. Sandrick was 4-of-4 from the line and a basket by 5-foot-10 sophomore Nikki Adams off a pass from Perez tied the game 77-77 with two seconds to go and a small, but noisy crowd settled back down for the extra four minute period.

In overtime, both teams seemed to tire. Kvachkoff was 4-of-4 from the line in the overtime and two free throws by Brown gave the Lady Bulldogs an 87-84 lead with 1:49 to go. CP missed three foul shots in the final minute and LC did have a possession, trailing just 88-87 with 20 seconds to play. LC's Perez, just 5-foot-1, had a minor collision with CP's 5-foot-10 Brown near the sideline away from both benches and lost the ball just across the halfcourt line. CP's Gross hit two foul shots to make it 90-87 but LC' s Adams scored on a layup with 10 seconds to go.

CP's 5-foot-9 Kvachkoff beat LC's 5-foot-7 Isis Thomas to a half-court length throw-in and drove in to the basket for an uncontested lay-up to ice the victory.

"I told them I don't think I've ever been prouder of them than I was tonight," said LC coach Leslie Iwema. "They stepped up for their teammate who was out tonight. They played with a lot of emotion. They never quit, We gave CP everything they wanted and more."

Lake Central's 3-6 record is deceptive because they have losses to Carmel (10-0), Hamilton Southeastern (8-1), Crown Point (8-0) and Michigan City (5-1).

"I hated losing, but I'm so proud of them," said Iwema. "I think it was a moral victory for us. We were that close. We could have pulled it off, but we're still a very young team."

Crown Point needs to work on the 'victory offense,' a mistake-free alternative offense they use once they have a big lead in the second half. The Lady Bulldogs led every game this season by 10 or more points in the second half. But they've lost those big leads three times now, even though they are 2-0 in overtime.

Foul shots were a big problem against LC as CP sank just 24 of 42 from the line for the game and just 8-of-18 in the fourth quarter.

"If we'd have hit out free throws," said Cronkhite, "we'd have scored 100 points. 77 in regulation should be enough. Kelly (Gross) missed four or five there late but she hit two at the end. That's who we want at the line."

With the upset win (64-56) by Chesterton (5-2, 3-1 DAC) over Michigan City (5-1, 3-1 DAC) Friday, CP (8-0, 4-0) is the sole league leader and that makes them more of a target.

"There's just no easy games in the DAC," Cronkhite said. "LaPorte is greatly improved. Lake Central gave us their best game. We should have been out of here a long time ago, but it's a win. That's the best way to sum it up."

I was probably happier than anyone on either side. Obviously there were far too many turnovers (26 by CP) on both sides and the ball handling is far from where it needs to be. Crown Point did not look like a championship team and we haven't begun the head-to-head showdown between CP, Michigan City and Merrillville. But some of us have said for years that high school girls in this area have to play a faster and more skill-based style for the game and its players' skills to progress. Early in the season, the formerly slow-down clutch-and-grab DAC appears to agree.

CPLB NOTES: Crown Point coach Mike Cronkhite is 100-44 in seven seasons of coaching. After the win over Lake Central, he was 18-11 at Crown Point after going 89-33 in five years at Kouts. Cronkhite agreed that it's good to get practice in close games, but he didn't really buy the logic that this 92-89 overtime win was good for his team.

"Did we want to go to overtime?" asked Cronkhite. "No. We have to get better defensively. But they have some good athletes. Sandrick is a very good player. Isis does a lot of good things. I hope Magnant is OK. It didn't look good."

The 92 points is the most scored by Crown Point girls basketball in 13 years. The Lady Bulldogs won 93-34 over Horace Mann on Jan. 4, 1997.

Former Lace Central star Linsey Smith, who played for LC eight years ago, is back as the junior varsity coach. Smith was the assistant varsity coach for Patti McCormack at Lowell last season.

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