Lady Bulldogs triumph over tall Valparaiso 51-44

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
02-02-2010

VALPARAISO (44) Arianna Paul 5-1-11, Stephanie Lang 4-2-10, Kelsie Ostojic 4-0-11, Ann Sarkisian 1-0-3, Ashleigh Clinkenbeard 1-0-2, Sarah Wallace 1-0-2, Clarisse Foster 2-0-5, Despina Diveris 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  18 (3-6) 44.

CROWN POINT (51)  Kelly Gross 3-1-8, Courtney Kvachkoff 4-6-14, Madeline Moore 1-1-3, Michaela Prough 4-2-10, Lisa Kurth 1-2-4, Kendall Brown 5-2-12, Alle Geisen 0-0-0, Hayley Bordui 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  18 (12-19) 51.

FREE THROWS: VALPO (3-6, 50%) Paul 1-2, Lang 2-4; CROWN POINT (12-20, 60%) Kvachkoff 6-8, Gross 1-2, Moore 1-2, Prough 2-3, Kurth 2-5, Brown 0-2.

REBOUNDS: VALPO (35) Paul 15, Lang 10, Wallace 3, Diveris 3, Ostojic 2, Sarkisian Clinkenbeard; CP (26) Kvachkoff 7, Brown 5, Prough 5, Moore 4, Gross 3, Kurth, Geisen.

ASSISTS:  VALPO (5) Paul 3, Sarkisian, Foster; CP (5) Gross 3, Kurth 2.

STEALS: VALPO (6) Paul 5, Wallace; CP (7) Kvachkoff 2, Kurth 2, Brown 2, Prough.

3-GOALS:  VALPO (4) Kelsie Ostojic 3, Ann Sarkisian; CP (3) Kendall Brown 2, Kelly Gross.

CROWN POINT, IN (02-02-2010)  Sometimes when another of the 20-game Indiana high school basketball season begins, I suggest that a team be put on the '15-game plan'.  In other words, wait until the season is 75% over and then see where a team is.

We won't know for sure until the sectional tournament begins on Feb. 9, but the 15-game plan may have worked for Crown Point's Lady Bulldogs.  After alternating good days and bad days throughout the first two months, CP may have jumped off the roller coaster Friday night.  facing a team that had dominated them early in the year, CP led all the way, turning back rival Valparaiso 51-44 in the 19th game of the season.

CP jumped to a 7-0 lead and even though they were out rebounded by 6-foot-4 Stephanie Lang and the taller visitors, Crown Point scored their first Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) win over a foe with a winning record in front of a crowd of about 500 fans.

"We haven't beaten Valparaiso since my freshman year," said CP junior Kelly Gross. "I think we were excited because of the whole 'pink' thing.  We just got fired up,  It was something different.  We've been excited about this game all week.  We just wanted to win.  Especially because it's Valpo."

The 'pink thing' was the Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser that CP and Valpo were involved in on this night.  Both teams wore special pink jerseys that were auctioned off to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  The girls seemed to be excited to be involved in something more than just another regular season game.

"There was a great buzz in the school about it," CP coach Mike Cronkhite said.  "The administration told us we could do this.  We thank the Blythe's (Blythe Sporting Goods) for the uniforms.  Everybody has somebody they know who has cancer."

What ever the reason, CP had a little more fight in them.  It's no secret that the Lady Bulldogs are considered a 'soft' team that hesitates to get down on the floor and join in the very physical DAC play.  That was not the case on this night as CP led 7-0 and 11-2 in the early going.  In a scramble on the floor, Lang, who averages 17 points a game, was injured and had to leave.  When she returned to the floor in the second period, Valpo was 10 points behind.

New starter Lisa Kurth scored only four points, but she was a major factor as she and 5-foot-9 junior Madeline Moore took turns battling Lang close to the basket.  The Valpo center scored 11 points and grabbed up 10 rebounds, but she was 4-of-17 from the floor.

"We've got a nice mixture of length and quickness," said Cronkhite, who does not have a player who averages more than 10 points per game.  "We're getting into the lanes and reading the defense and that just comes with playing.  We're 19 games into the season and we should be getting better.  As you could tell, we tried to spread Valpo out and attack what we thought were their weaknesses.  I think we can play fast and we can play slow."

Valpo's Arianna Paul played a hard, physical game, grabbing 15 rebounds.  But 5-foot-10 wing shooter Kelsie Ostojic collected just four field goals and 10 points.

CP led 29-17 in the third period as the Vikings became very frustrated with their shooting and ball handling against the smaller CP girls.  Sophomore Courtney Kvachkoff and Kendall Brown were able to operate inside and outside as CP maintained the lead all the way, a key factor in controlling the pace of the game.

Valparaiso rallied in the fourth quarter, pulling to within 43-39 with 3:12 to play on a basket by Lang.  But Lang, who was heavily defended and Ostojic, who got some open shots, both missed twice and CP pulled away as Kvachkoff, a 5-foot-8 guard, hit four late free throws.  The Lady Bulldogs didn't go into a stall.  They spread the floor, but still attacked the basket and it worked.  CP doesn't really match up with Valparaiso physically, but they used some double team traps in the front court to create many of Valpo's 25 turnovers.

"The first time we played, we double-teamed Ostojic," said Cronkhite.  "You saw how she hit some shots tonight.  I don't think Kvachkoff came off the floor tonight.  Kurth was tough.  We told her that she was going to take Lang (defensively).  She was excited about it and she was up to the challenge."

Valparaiso had defeated CP three times in a row and they topped CP by 14 points on Dec. 15.  Cronkhite's girls picked a very good time to play their best overall game of the season.

"I'm not going to tell you who I want to draw," said the rookie CP coach, "but it's a conference tournament, minus Lake Central (13-6 and 2-0 vs. CP), thankfully.  You have to beat the best teams anyway.  Hobart's good.  Merrillville's good.  For 19 games in, we're about as healthy as we can be."

"If there's a good thing about the double round-robin, it's that you get a chance for redemption.  This was just a fantastic win for our program."

"All week we were all fired up.  Even before the game in the locker room, we were ready to play.  It was something different.  We were just talking about how we can't wait until Friday."

Alle Geisen said, "This was a good event I was excited about it.  It raised a lot of awareness.  I think they came in here tonight and the atmosphere was different and they were a little concerned about it.

"You do get excited (about an event).  All games are important, but we're coming into the sectionals now.  We're a little tired.  I think everybody is.  But we're ready."

CLPB NOTES:  Crown Point's Zarah Cecich was ill and did not play for the Lady Bulldogs against Valparaiso.  It was not suggested that it was anything that would prevent her from playing against Merrillville (18-1) on Feb. 4.

The Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser was a big success.  The CP gym was decorated with pink signs.  While Crown Point's 'one night only' pink flavored jersey's looked good, probably because red is the school's color anyway, Valparaiso's pink and green outfits were bizarre looking.  Nobody's ever going to voluntarily wear those jerseys again.  But it was all for charity.  All the jerseys were auctioned off and a lot of money was raised.

"My parents bid on mine," said CP junior Alle Geisen.  "They were probably the only ones but they did bid on it.  They're still being bid on.  The bids start at $50."

Crown Point's junior varsity lost 34-25 to Valparaiso, but the Lady Bulldogs JV record is 15-4 with one game to play.  Freshman Hayley Bordui, sophomores Courtney Kvachkoff, Alexis Joseph and Kendall Brown play on the varsity.

Kelly Gross, who is 5-foot-5 and right-handed, scored on one left-handed lay up and didn't have any shots blocked by the 6-foot-4 Valpo center Stephanie Lang.

"No," she said.  "I kept expecting my shots to get swatted and come back at me but they didn't."

Courtney Kvachkoff scored 13 and freshman Hayley Bordui added 11 as Crown Point defeated LaPorte 42-28 on Jan. 26.  CP swept the season series from LaPorte, which is headed for an 0-14 DAC season.

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Revised: February 03, 2010 .