KV season opener  -  Saturday, 11-15-2003  at DeMotte

CROWN POINT (62)  Kaitlyn Sertich 5-1-11, Blayre Reeves 5-0-10, Stephanie Sandilla 2-0-5, Jill Weiand 3-3-9, Mallory Michaels 5-1-12, Hannah Plumley 2-2-6, Cassie Pruzin 3-2-8, Jackie Clements 0-1-1, Courtney Perry 0-0-0, Anjellica Rospond  0-0-0.  TOTALS: 25-10-62.

FTS: 10-21, 47.6 percent:  Sertich 1-5, Clements 1-2, Pruzin 2-2, Weiand 3-4, Plumley 2-4, Michaels 1-2, Sandilla 0-1, Reeves 0-1.
FGs: 25-77, 32.4 %
REBOUNDS: Sertich - 7
ASSISTS: Pruzin - 7
STEALS: Sandilla - 5

FOULED OUT: None
3-POINT GOALS (2) Stephanie Sandilla, Mallory Michaels.

KANKAKEE VALLEY (31)  Becky Goetz 2-0-4, Megan Passaloukas 3-2-10, Kristen Fifeld 2-0-5, Taryn Porter 1-0-2, Michelle Schumann 1-0-2,  Jenn Allen 1-0-3, CJ Pollard 1-0-3, Ashlee Matson 1-0-2.  TOTALS: 11-4-31.

FTS: 4-5, 80 percent  (Passaloukas 2-3, Matson 2-2)
TURNOVERS: 30
ASSISTS: Schumann - 3
REBOUNDS: Goetz - 4

FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (5) Megan Passaloukas 2, Kristen Fifeld, Jenn Allen, CJ Pollard.

Season opener for both schools  -  Friday, 11-14-2003 at Hebron

CROWN POINT (66)  Kaitlyn Sertich 2-0-5, Blayre Reeves 4-0-8, Stephanie Sandilla 3-1-5, Jill Weiand 2-1-5, Mallory Michaels 5-0-10, Hannah Plumley 5-0-11, Cassie Pruzin 7-6-20, Jackie Clements 0-0-0, Courtney Perry 0-0-0, Anjellica Rospond  1-0-2.  TOTALS: 28-8-66.

FTS: 8-20, 40.0 percent:  Pruzin 6-7, Weiand 1-5, Plumley 0-3, Michaels 0-2, Sandilla 1-2, Rospond 0-1.
FGs: 28-75, 37.2%  (Pruzin  7-16; Reeves 4-13)
REBOUNDS: Pruzin, Reeves - 8
ASSISTS: Pruzin - 7
STEALS: Pruzin - 7

FOULED OUT: None
3-POINT GOALS (2) Kaitlyn Sertich, Hannah Plumley.

HEBRON (38)  Jessica Sheets 4-3-11, Justine Duck 1-0-2, Jazmine Aguilar 1-1-3, Renee Passine 1-1-3, Amanda Pollock 1-1-3, Cindi Borcich 2-0-4, Melissa Wenglarz 0-1-1, Heidi Freund 1-3-6, Lauren Kalis 2-0-5.  TOTALS: 13-10-38.

FTS: 10-22, 45.4 percent  (Aguilar 1-1, Pollock 1-2, Passine 1-3, Wenglarz 1-2, Borcich 0-2, Freund 3-8, Sheets 3-3)
FGs: 13-31, 41.9% (Sheets 4-6, Freund 3-8)
TURNOVERS: 36
ASSISTS: Freund - 4
REBOUNDS: Sheets - 7
JV: CP 33, Hebron 22

FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (2) Heidi Freund, Lauren Kalis.

CROWN POINT (11-15-2003) -  You learn a lot more in the second weekend of the basketball season that you do in the first. Nobody's calm the first time out and everybody is playing with new teammates. With that said and accepted, Crown Point looked pretty good in the first two games, winning at Hebron 66-38 and at Kankakee Valley 62-31.

Playing with largely eight girls, the Lady Bulldogs forced an unofficial 66 turnovers from the two smaller schools, had lead guard Cassie Pruzin roll up wide-ranging numbers and placed three players in double figures in each road game.

That won't mean much when they hit the floor for the home opener Friday (Nov. 21) against Portage and it won't mean anything when they get on the bus to play at Class 4A No. 1 Warsaw Saturday night.

Against KV, Crown Point trailed 7-5 before a 10-4 run ended the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs changed up their full court press at the start of the second quarter and scored eight in a row to turn a 17-12 edge into a 25-12 rout.  KV, playing without senior starting guard Lindsey Peo, was overwhelmed at the start of the third period, giving up 15 consecutive points to the smaller, quicker visitors.

"If you would line us up next to Kankakee Valley, we are smaller than they are," noted CP coach Tom May.  "We're not big.  We didn't have to show a lot tonight. We have some things we worked on this morning on about eight or nine new things but Warsaw's here watching (scouting) us. We didn't want to show them anything."

What the Lady Bulldogs showed was a lot of skilled ball handlers but not much shooting ability. CP shot less than 35 percent for the second night in a row, missing many easy shots. The Lady Bulldogs did get off 70 shots in each of the first two games, a rarity for them. Everybody on the floor seems ready and willing to shot the ball. The 'able' part of that cliche hopefully will come later.

"We're all shooting the ball," May said, who always schedules back-to-back games to start the year. "We had 75 shots last night. We'd like to hit some more of them. You have to win Friday and Saturday night to win the sectional."

"The nice this about tonight was that they played us even for a while and then we pulled ahead. Same thing last night. The thing with our shooting right now is that we're playing faster and the girls are shooting faster. We're coming down the floor at 100 miles an hour and we're shooting at 100 miles an hour."

"We're shooting free throws at 100 miles an hour. We have to learn, at the moment you shoot, you have to be in position. Larry Bird used to say, you can make 31 moves or 32 spins but at the moment you shot, everything has to slow down and you have to be focused.  We got some steals and we'd come down the court and people would run straight under the basket.  You have to go to the wing and make yourself available for the pass."

Crown Point's expected strength at guard is very much in evidence. Returning starters Kaitlyn Sertich and Cassie Pruzin were defensive troublemakers in the open floor and 5-5 senior Mallory Michaels, who played very little last year, scored in double figures in both games.  Michaels is not gifted athletically but she plays with a senior's confidence and will be a major asset.

Stephanie Sandilla, a 5-7 forward, is another first-year varsity senior and she stole the ball five times Saturday. Some of the steals came right to her, but in CP's pressing schemes and dribble attacks in the half court, that happens.  The front line did not start as well as had been hoped. Facing relatively small teams, 5-10 forwards Jill Weiand and Blayre Reeves did not decisively outplay the opposition, although Weiand did have nine points, five rebounds and three steals at KV. The center and forward positions are worrisome headed into Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) play, not to mention Saturday's Warsaw game. The Tigers, one of the midwest's top teams, feature 6-1 center Michelle DeGeeter and 6-1 Division I guard-forward Jacklyn Leininger (21 ppg.). They won't be impressed that CP whipped up on Hebron and KV.

"I thought we played much better position defense tonight," said May. "We still need to find shooters. We're playing hard. Some of us could play a little harder. But eight kids are giving me everything we've got. Mallory scored four or five points in a row at one point. She's a tough kid."

Two CP sophomores made varsity debuts. Center Jackie Clements did not score from the field in either game (she was 0-for-9 against Hebron) but that won't be her job. Clements will be asked to battle the opposition's center and grab rebounds. Neither KV or Hebron had a true center.

Guard Hannah Plumley scored 11 points Friday at Hebron and added six with three rebounds and two steals Saturday in Jasper County. The 5-8 'little' sister of past players Ashley (2002) and Erin Plumley (2000), wasn't afraid to shoot the ball or get down on the floor.

The Hebron game was played to a near capacity crowd in the tiny Hawk gym. Cassie Pruzin scored 20 points, with eight rebounds, seven assists and seven steals. The 5-7 junior, a top-100 player state wide,  had an unofficial seven assists and five steals Saturday.

CP NOTES:  Crown Point's home opener against Portage (Nov. 21) will be the inaugural game for the new high school's gym. All past players are invited to return for a half-time dedication ceremony and a post game party.  Coach Tom May would like to hear from players in advance to organize the half-time but, short of that, players are asked to just show up and be part of the first game in the new $68 million dollar high school.

DAC favorites Valparaiso and Merrillville won their first games of the season. Future Lady Bulldog foe Boone Grove won three games in the first week including a 67-64 victory over Calumet in overtime where ace junior guard Karissa Walter scored 37 points.  New DAC power Lake Central split two games, losing 60-40 to powerhouse Carmel but winning 61-51 over Jefferson. LC played without star forward Jen VanderZanden against Carmel. The 5-11 senior was serving a one-game team suspension.

Portage (1-1) beat (Mishawaka) Marian 38-33 Saturday, but lost to Penn 50-40 in the Penn Classic. The Penn Classic used to be played at the end of the year, but is now a season-opening four team pairing.  Warsaw, CP's Saturday night opponent, will open the season Friday (Nov. 21) at highly regarded Tippecanoe Valley. Warsaw returns five starters off a 21-2 team.

And the word is out. St. Joseph's beat Hobart 70-42 Saturday as 5-9 freshman Sydney Smallbone made her Indiana prep debut. Smallbone, who is spoken of as being a high division one prospect, scored 18 points including four three-point baskets in the rout of a decent Hobart squad. St. Joe was a state finalist without Smallbone and 6-4 freshman center Kristen Dockery, who scored six. St. Joe already has two top-100 players in 5-9 junior Aimee Litka and 5-5 sophomore Melissa Lechleitner.

	Coach Tom May (25 years -390-137) Assistant coaches: Beth Jacobs JV coach: Scott Reid   -  Freshman coach: Brian McClanahan 8th grade coach: Mike Malaski    -     7th grade coach: Angie Babjak
	2003-2004 Schedule
	Start times are JV starting times
Date	Location ALL CAPS = Duneland Athletic Conference game	Time/Result
Nov. 14	at Hebron	W, 66-38
Nov. 15	at Kankakee Valley	W, 62-31
Nov. 21	PORTAGE	6:00 pm
Nov. 22	at Warsaw	5:30 pm
Nov. 28	at CHESTERTON	6:00 pm
Dec.  2	at Lowell	6:00 pm
Dec.  5	LaPORTE	6:00 pm
Dec. 12	at LAKE CENTRAL	6:00 pm
Dec. 13	Boone Grove	6:00 pm
Dec. 16	at VALPARAISO	6:00 pm
Dec. 19	MICHIGAN CITY	6:00 pm
Jan.  2	MERRILLVILLE	6:00 pm
Jan.  3	Hanover Central	6:00 pm
Jan.  7	at PORTAGE	6:00 pm
Jan. 10	CHESTERTON	6:00 pm
Jan. 16	LAKE CENTRAL	6:00 pm
Jan. 23	at MICHIGAN CITY	6:00 pm
Jan. 27	at LaPORTE	6:00 pm
Jan. 30	VALPARAISO	6:00 pm
Feb.  6	at MERRILLVILLE	6:00 pm
	CROWN POINT (4A) Sectional
2-10-4 (Tu)	Quarterfinals	6 or 8 p.m.
2-13-4 (F)	Semifinals	6 or 8 p.m.
2-14-4 (S)	Championship	7:30 p.m.
	Valparaiso (4A) Regional
2-21-4 (S)	Semifinals	11 a.m.
2-21-4 (S)	Championship	7 p.m.
	Plymouth (4A) Semistate
2-28-4 (S)	Semistate championship	(TBA)

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Revised: July 10, 2004 .