Lady Bulldogs humbled by Lake Central, 63-44

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
01-18-2010

LAKE CENTRAL (63)  Kaley Marcinak 4-1-13, Brooke Polus 4-4-13, Andrea Kras 8-0-16, Carolyn Sandrick 5-1-12, Isis Thomas 3-1-7, Alexis Magnant 1-0-2, Ashley Doreski 0-0-0, Britney Tuskan 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 25 (7-12) 63.

CROWN POINT (44)  Kelly Gross 3-0-8, Courtney Kvachkoff 2-2-6, Kendall Brown 4-0-10, Madeline Moore 1-4-6, Lisa Kurth 1-2-5, Michaela Prough 4-1-9, Alle Geisen 0-0-0, Tori Connelly 0-0-0, Hayley Bordui 0-0-0, Zarah Cecich 0-0-0, Sarah Rivich 0-0-0.
TOTALS: 15 (9-13) 44.

FREE THROWS:  LC (7-12, 58.3%) Marcinak 1-2, Polus 4-6, Sandrick 1-2, Thomas 1-2; CROWN POINT (9-13, 69.2%) Kvachkoff 2-2, Moore 4-6, Prough 1-2, Kurth 2-2, Brown 0-1.

REBOUNDS:  LC (25) Kras 7, Thomas 6, Sandrick 4, Polus 4, Tuskan 3, Magnant; CP (20) Moore 5, Prough 4, Brown 2, Cecich, Bordui.

ASSISTS:  LC (13) Sandrick 6, Polus 5, Marcinak, Kras: CP (9) Kurth 4, Geisen 2, Brown, Moore, Cecich.

STEALS:  LC (7) Polus 2, Marcinak, Tuskan, Kras, Sandrick, Thomas;  CP (4) Prough 2, Moore, Gross.

BLOCKED SHOTS:  LC (4) Andrea Kras 4; CP (2) Michaela Prough 2.

3-GOALS:  LC (6) Kaley Marcinak 4, Carolyn Sandrick, Brooke Polus;  CP (5) Kendall Brown 2, Kelly Gross 2, Lisa Kurth.

CROWN POINT, IN (01-16-2010)  Sometimes there's a team you don't match up with.  Crown Point and Lake Central have the same won-loss records, but the Lady Bulldogs really don't match up with Lake Central.  That was obvious Saturday night when LC defeated CP 63-44.

"I think it goes to show you how well we played against them the first time," said Crown Point coach Mike Cronkhite of LC's earlier 43-39 win over CP in December.  "Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other team."

Crown Point has not yet defeated some of the teams they will see in Class 4A Sectional Two next month, but they should be glad that LC is not in Sectional Two.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped to a 7-0 lead Saturday night and the sun was shining indoors.  But clouds gathered quickly in the form of Andrea Kras, LC's 6-foot-6 center, who intimidated CP inside and the perimeter defense, led by senior guard Kaley Marcinak, hassled CP into 21 turnovers.  By halftime, LC led by 11.  The lead soared to 15 in the third quarter and 19 in the fourth period as Crown Point could not match LC's precision at either end of the floor.

"I asked them to please turn up the intensity," said LC coach Leslie Iwema of her words of advice to her side when the score was 7-0.  "We haven't played since a week ago Friday.  That might have had something to do with it."

Kras and Marcinak had something to do with it.  Brooke Polus scored 13 and junior Carolyn Sandrick added 12, but it was Marcinak who disrupted anything CP tried to do.

"She sets the tone defensively," said Iwema.  "She's missed some time and it was good to get her back on the floor because we miss her intensity.  She's the kind of player who doesn't lead by what she says.  She's leads by what she does."

Kras doesn't need to say much either.  Once she recorded her first blocked shot early in the second period, CP girls then began changing the way they shot the ball, which contributed to CP's 15 of 44 (34%) accuracy.  Sophomore Michaela Prough had been having a lot of success in the post for Crown Point, but she scored just one basket after the first period, shooting over her taller, older opponent.

"We tried to match up with them," said Cronkhite who started 6-foot players Prough and Zarah Cecich.  "But we really don't.  Even when we made some good plays and got by the defense, we're still looking over our shoulder for her."

That was emphasized in the fourth quarter when CP was trying to rally.  Lisa Kurth stole the ball at mid-court and raced to the basket.  But Lisa hurried her shot and missed the layup.  One minute later, CP forward Madeline Moore made a head fake that fooled Kras and Moore dribbled by her to the basket.  But the junior also rushed her shot and missed the lay up.  CP never got within 10 points in the second half.

"It's nice to have a 6-foot-7 girl in the post," smiled Iwema, herself a 6-foot-1 LC center on sectional teams the 1990s.  "It's nice to have her to throw the ball to when you're breaking the press.  It's nice to have her when you are in-bounding the ball.  She makes a lot of good things happen for us."

Lake Central probably has two other advantages over CP.  One is the starting lineup's age.  LC has five seniors and they all start.  Crown Point does not have a senior basketball player in the program.

Also, LC begins the season with Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel -- Indianapolis area powers.  Iwema would like to face those two a little later in the season, but she believes the 'reality check' helps her girls.

"You realize that you do need to play AAU ball in the summer," she said.  "You see that there's another style of basketball.  Up here, we beat each other up all the time.  That's 'region basketball'.  In the Indianapolis area, they play a speed game.  You realize that you need to play fast.  You realize that you aren't as good as you think you are."

Crown Point needs some good things to happen in the final four games and they need to draw somebody other than Merrillville (19-0) when the state tournament draw is made on Feb. 1.  But they won't draw a team with an all-senior starting line up and a center who's a half a foot taller than their tallest player.

"I really think they (LC) are going to win their sectional," said Cronkhite.  "They really played well and they really shot the ball well (25 of 49, 51.0%).  I'm not discouraged.  We obviously have some things we need to work on but we'll have a good week of practice and we'll head over to Michigan City next Friday."

CPLB NOTES:  The win left LC (9-6, 7-3 DAC) in second place, three games behind first place Merrillville (15-0, 10-0 DAC) in the Duneland Athletic Conference standings with four league games to play.  Junior Kelly Gross leads CP with 27 three-point baskets in 16 games while sophomore Kendall Brown has 19.  Michaela Prough was shooting 56% from the floor (28 of 50) before Saturday's game.  Unofficially, Prough was 4-of-9 Saturday against LC's Andrea Kras.  Lake Central won eight consecutive sectionals in the 1990s, but they have not won any since 1998.

Crown Point hosts a Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser in conjunction with Valparaiso on the night of Jan. 29 when CP hosts the Vikings.  Special pink jerseys will be worn by both schools and they will be auctioned off to raise money for the America Cancer Society.  Contact CP coach Mike Cronkhite or Valparaiso coach Jeanette Gray at either CP or Valpo for more information.

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Revised: February 03, 2010 .