Lady Bulldogs defeat Warsaw and Northridge in early season showcase

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

Crown Point's Jessica Carrothers (14) moves the ball against Northridge. Carrothers led CP with 28 points. (All photos by Mark Smith)
CP's Dash Shaw (20) shoots over Northridge's Jaci Walker (34). Shaw scored 16 in CP's 68-43 victory.
Popcorn and cell phones were all in use as Merrillville and Crown Point took on Northridge and Warsaw.
CP's Abby Stoddard (30) gets to the basket for two as the Bulldogs won for the fifth game in a row.
CP's Dash Shaw (20) explains the way things are to CP coaches Scott Reid and Amanda Moore.
CP sophomore Nikki Gerodemos (21) looks to do good things and Northridge's Julia Mantyla (14) looks to stop her at Merrillville last Saturday.
CP's Alyna Santiago (22) looks to make a move against Warsaw last Saturday at Merrillville.
Warsaw's Brielle Harrison (23) tries to get away from CP center Lilly Stoddard (30) in their nonconference matchup Saturday morning.
Merrillville coach Amy Govert was all smiles as her team topped Northridge 53-52 and Warsaw 48-44 Saturday on the home court.
When momma is the coach, daddy has to babysit Saturday a Merrillville. CP and Merrillville both won twice Saturday.
Merrillville's Torri Miller (12) scored 17 as the undefeated Pirates beat Warsaw 48-44 last Saturday.
Jessica Carrothers (14), Dash Shaw (20) and Abby Stoddard (30) will ride with Class 4A No. 3 Lady Bulldogs to the Lawrence North Classic Saturday in Indianapolis. (All photos by Mark Smith)
 

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Revised: December 01, 2019 .
Team /Record 1 2 3 4 Final
WARSAW (4-1) 6 14 11 12 43
CROWN POINT (4-0) 14 14 10 17 55

Saturday, November 23, 2019  -  at MERRILLVILLE, IN

WARSAW (43): Kendall Wayne 1-1-3, Brielle Harrison 4-2-10, Kaylee Patton 1-2-5, Kacilyn Krebs 2-3-8, Bailie Stephens 2-3-7, Audrey Grimm 0-1-1, Abby Sanner 4-1-9, Kensie Ryman 0-0-0. TOTALS: 14 (13-20) 43.

CROWN POINT (55): Abby Stoddard 4-2-10, Jessica Carrothers 8-4-24, Alyna Santiago 2-2-8, Dash Shaw 2-0-5, Allie Govert 3-1-7, Lily Stoddard 0-1-1, Alyvia Santiago 0-0-0, Niki Gerodemos 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19 (9 of 15) 55.

FREE THROWS: WARSAW (13-20, 65%) Krebs 3-5, Stephens 3-4, Harrison 2-2, Patton 2-2, Sanner 1-2, Grimm 1-2, Wayne 1-1.
CROWN POINT (10 of 17, 58.7%) Carrothers 4-5, Abby Stoddard 2-3, Lilly Stoddard 1-4, Alyna Santiago 2-2, Allie Govert 1-3.

ASSISTS: WARSAW (8) Patton 2, Ryman 2, Wayne, Stephens, Krebs, Harrison.
CROWN POINT (10) Dash Shaw 5, Jessica Carrothers 3, Alyna Santiago 2.

TURNOVERS: WARSAW (19) CROWN POINT (10).

3-GOALS: WARSAW (2) Kacilyn Kreba, Kaylee Patton. CROWN POINT (7) Jessica Carrothers 4, Alyna Santiago 2, Dash Shaw.
 
FOULED OUT: NONE.

Team /Record 1 2 3 4 Final
NORTHRIDGE (0-4) 10 17 9 7 43
CROWN POINT (5-0) 22 18 12 16 68

Saturday, November 23, 2019  - at MERRILLVILLE, IN

NORTHRIDGE (43): Julianna Weaver 5-0-10, Jaci Walker 5-6-18, Colleen Miller 3-0-8, Julia Mantyla 1-3-5, Erin Mahaffa 1-0-2, Maddu Weinert 0-0-0, Kayla Pippenger 0-0-0, Makena Knepp 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15 (9-12) 43.

CROWN POINT (68): Abby Stoddard 3-2-9, Jessica Carrothers 13-0-28, Alyna Santiago 1-0-2, Dash Shaw 6-2-16, Allie Govert 2-1-5, Lily Stoddard 1-0-2, Alyvia Santiago 1-0-2, Niki Gerodemos 2-0-4, Gabbie Vania 0-0-0, Alexis Smith 0-0-0. TOTALS: 29 (5 of 7) 68.

FREE THROWS: NORTHRIDGE (9 of 13, 69.2%) Walker 6-8, Mantya 3-5; CROWN POINT (5 of 7, 71. 4%) Shaw 2-2, Abby Stoddard 2-4, Allie Govert 1-2.

ASSISTS: NORTHRIDGE (8) Walker 2, Weaver, Weinert 3, Knepp, Pippenger; CROWN POINT (10)
Dash Shaw 5, Jessica Carrothers 3, Alyna Santiago 2.

TURNOVERS: NORTHRIDGE (15) CROWN POINT (6)

3-GOALS: NORTHRIDGE (4) Jaci Walkler 2, Colleen Miller 2. CROWN POINT (4) Dash Shaw 2, Jessica Carrouthers 2, Abby Stoddard.

FOULED OUT: NONE.

MERRILLVILLE (11-23-2019) It’s not fair to judge Crown Point by the margin of their victories.

But after what is basically the same Lady Bulldog team that was 28-1 last season, it’s hard not to rank early season CP victories by competition and margin of victory.

After three no-contest victories, CP (5-0) faced two solid teams last Saturday, defeating Warsaw 55-43 and Northridge 68-43 in a four-team ‘showcase’ at Merrillville tournament.

Warsaw (4-2), despite losing starting guard Kensie Ryman to a second quarter injury, was within 30-27 in the third quarter and 38-34 in the fourth period before CP closed out the morning contest.

In a 3 p.m. ‘nightcap’ CP jumped to a 12-4 lead and never trailed against Northridge (1-5), which was 17-7 last season.

Quality wins. Yes. Impressive? Not really. Crown Point, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, is still very much a work in progress.

“It’s a testament to our kids that we handled the two games with basically an hour turnaround,” said CP coach Chris Seibert. “We played two fundamentally sound teams. It wasn’t always pretty but we were able to get high percentage shots and defensively we didn’t pressure as much as we normally do.”

“We’re still feeling out our roles. With Lily getting here late because of volleyball (Lily Stoddard played on CP’s regional champion volleyball team) and Dash (Gary West Side transfer Dash Shaw) being new, we’re trying to get used to each other.”

Crown Point’s trademark full court pressure defense was not especially effective against Warsaw, who committed 19 turnovers in the game. From an outsider’s view, there were chances for steals by CP where the Lady Bulldogs didn’t anticipate the pass that was at-risk.

Crown Point also was somewhat emotionless in the two games. Not that they should be overly excited by two games in November. But opposing teams are going to look at CP’s 28-game winning streak last season and their high state ranking this year and get very excited when the game is close. Warsaw and North ridge seemed much more excited about playing Crown Point than the Lady Bulldogs did about playing them.

“It’s just a different feeling to be the hunted instead of the hunter,” said Seibert. “We know we’re going to get everybody’s ‘A’ game on a night-in, night-out basis. The kids are just going to have to be ready for that.”

CP sophomore guard Jessica Carrothers scored 20 against Warsaw and 28 against Northridge and Jessica’s game looks improved over her freshman season. The 5-foot-7 guard is obviously much more confident in her jump shot than she was last year when she averaged 21 points a game and was a Top-15 underclass man state wide.

“She is a person who is never satisfied,” said Seibert. “Last she could shoot 3s, but not on a regular basis. Now she’s much more consistent with it and it’s all through her hard work.”

Warsaw trailed 42-36 with 4:20 to play when Carrothers hit a three-point shot and Abby Stoddard followed with a jump shot to push the lead to 47-36. Against Northridge, Carrothers scored 20 in the first half as CP built a 40-27 lead.

Dash Shaw, the transfer from Gary West Side, was tentative against Warsaw in just her fourth game as a Lady Bulldog, but seemed much more confident against Northridge, scoring 16 points with four steals and five rebounds. Shaw, a 5-foot-6 senior who averaged 21.6 at West Side last season, is in the process of adjusting to her new school, her new team and a new role. She played with the ball much of the time when she was with West Side and she is off the ball with CP because Carrothers is the lead guard.

“Dash has been working very hard and the kids really like her,” said Seibert. “The biggest challenge for her is to get used to playing the ‘2’ (guard) and all the plays we have at the ‘2’. We’re definitely going to use her at the point later on, but we’re throwing a lot of things at her at once.”

Only the top teams are going to play man-to-man defense against CP because of Carrothers and Shaw, so the Lady Bulldogs want to direct the half court offense through 6-foot-3 Lilly Stoddard, who was a late arrival for the basketball season because CP’s volleyball team reached the Semistate level.

“We’ve got to put her in a better position to get the ball,” said Seibert. “But these other kids have been playing basketball for three months while she’s been playing volleyball. She can affect the game in so many ways even if she’s not scoring. But we’re trying to get her involved in pick and roll. But she has not been with us very long. It’s a fun challenge to have.”

DOG NOTES: Merrillville (4-0) also won twice last Saturday, topping Northridge 53-52 in overtime and then turning back Warsaw 48-44. Junior guard Torri Miller scored 17 in the win over Warsaw and senior forward Armani Cole scored 13 in the win over Northridge.

CP travels to Lawrence North for the Lawrence North Classic this Saturday, but for those who want to follow the girls, understand that they won’t be playing Lawrence North (8-0), the second-ranked (Class 4A) team in the state and last year’s Class 4A state runner-up.

The Lady Bulldogs will play Castle (4-2) at 11:30 a.m. and then stay over after lunch to take on Columbus North (2-2) at 4 p.m. Lawrence North (6-0), the state Class 4A runner up last year, will play the same two teams.

“I thought it was set up as a tournament,” said CP coach Chris Seibert. “But it’s just two games. We’ll play anyone. We don’t normally play any of these teams so it really doesn’t make any difference to us.”

On Saturday, December 7, Crown Point will travel to Palatine, Illinois to play Fremd high school at 5:30 p.m. Fremd (3-0), was 29-5 last year on a team with 13 juniors of their 17 total players who played at all on the varsity. Four starters from last year’s team returned. Fremd, which is listed as having 2,594 students last year, was ranked sixth in the Chicago area in the pre-season and they are Class 4A in Illinois as is CP in Indiana.

The Vikings were the undefeated champions the Mid-Suburban Conference Western division in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Fremd has very good size with 6-foot-2 senior Katie Hansen, 6-foot-3 senior Elanor Klink and 6-foot senior Olivia Hill. 5-foot-10 senior guards Kendall Maloney and Grace Cox are among those who run in the backcourt.

“Coach (Scott) Reid and I drove to Palantine on Thursday to watch them play,” said CP coach Chris Seibert of Fremd. Good. Very, very good.”

“There’s 24 teams playing there (at Fremd) that day and all the coaches said that this is the tournament you want to get in to. Fremd wanted to play us so we’re playing them. But everybody else is playing someone else. It’s the tournament you wanted to get into.”

Crown Point rolled over East Chicago 88-16 on Nov. 26 to get to 6-0. After six games, Carrothers was averaging 23.5 points and six steals per game. Dash Shaw was averaging 13.2 points and 4.9 steals. Abby Stoddard was averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. CP was 55 of 85 (65%) from the foul line and 29 of 102 (28%) on three-point shots.
CLASS SECTIONAL JOHNHARRELL.NET RECENT SEASONS
4A 2 COLORS: RED, WHITE MAP TO SCHOOL 9-0
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
CROWN POINT
BULLDOGS
Coach: Chris Seibert, 86-27 in 5th year at school, 145-104 in 11th year overall
DATE OPPONENT CENTRAL TIME OA 70.6, DA 34.6
               
Nov. 9   Gary West 4A W 76 16    
Nov. 16   Hammond Morton 4A W 84 17    
Nov. 19   Andrean 2A W 77 30    
Nov. 23 N Warsaw 4A W 55 43   tournament
Nov. 23 N Northridge 4A W 68 43   tournament
Nov. 26   East Chicago Central 4A W 88 16    
Nov. 29   LaPorte 4A © W 76 49    
Nov. 30 N Castle 4A W 49 43   tournament
Nov. 30 N Columbus North 4A W 62 54   tournament
Dec. 3 at Lowell 4A 7:00 pm    
Dec. 6 at Portage 4A © 7:00 pm    
Dec. 7 N Fremd (Ill.) 5:30 pm   TBA
Dec. 13   Valparaiso 4A © 7:00 pm    
Dec. 17 at Highland 4A 7:00 pm    
Dec. 20 at Lake Central 4A © 7:00 pm    
Dec. 27 N Salem 3A 11:45 am   tournament
Jan. 10 at Michigan City 4A © 5:30 pm    
Jan. 11   Lafayette Jeff 4A 7:00 pm    
Jan. 14   Munster 4A 7:00 pm    
Jan. 18   Merrillville 4A © 7:00 pm    
Jan. 21 at Kankakee Valley 3A 7:00 pm    
Jan. 24   Chesterton 4A © 5:30 pm    
Jan. 28 at Hammond Noll 2A 7:00 pm    
© DUNELAND CONFERENCE GAME

CLASS SECTIONAL JOHNHARRELL.NET RECENT SEASONS
4A 4 COLORS: ORANGE, BLACK, WHITE MAP TO SCHOOL 4-4
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
WARSAW
TIGERS
Coach: Lenny Krebs, 34-22 in 3rd year at school, 164-196 in 17th year overall
DATE OPPONENT EASTERN TIME OA 56.4, DA 47.4
Nov. 9   Norwell 3A W 65 60    
Nov. 13   Manchester 2A W 82 29    
Nov. 16 at Tippecanoe Valley 3A W 64 53    
Nov. 20   Wabash 2A W 74 28    
Nov. 23 N Crown Point 4A L 43 55   tournament
Nov. 23 at Merrillville 4A L 44 48   tournament
Nov. 26   Penn 4A L 28 41    
Nov. 30   Fishers 4A L 51 65    
Dec. 3   NorthWood 3A © 7:45 pm    
Dec. 7   Fort Wayne Snider 4A 1:30 pm    
Dec. 11 at Carroll (Fort Wayne) 4A 7:30 pm    
Dec. 14 at Plymouth 4A © 7:30 pm    
Dec. 17 at Columbia City 4A 7:45 pm    
Dec. 21 at Wawasee 3A © 7:30 pm    
Jan. 4   Warsaw Tournament TBA   thru Jan. 4
Jan. 11   Northridge 4A © 7:45 pm    
Jan. 15   Elkhart Memorial 4A © 7:30 pm    
Jan. 18 at Goshen 4A © 7:45 pm    
Jan. 21   Homestead 4A 7:30 pm    
Jan. 25   Concord 4A © 7:45 pm    
Jan. 28 at Elkhart Central 4A 7:00 pm    
© NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE GAME

CLASS SECTIONAL JOHNHARRELL.NET RECENT SEASONS
4A 4 COLORS: GREEN, GOLD MAP TO SCHOOL 1-7
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
NORTHRIDGE
RAIDERS
Coach: Doug Springer, 210-85 in 13th year at school, 262-103 in 16th year overall
DATE OPPONENT EASTERN TIME OA 48.0, DA 55.6
Nov. 9   South Bend Washington 3A L 49 53    
Nov. 14 at Homestead 4A L 41 59    
Nov. 16   Fort Wayne South 4A L 63 66    
Nov. 23 at Merrillville 4A L 52 53 OT tournament
Nov. 23 N Crown Point 4A L 43 68   tournament
Nov. 26 at Elkhart Central 4A W 56 45    
Nov. 30 at Angola 3A L 37 50   tournament
Nov. 30 at Fairfield 2A L 43 51   tournament
Dec. 3   Westview 2A 7:45 pm    
Dec. 7   Carroll (Fort Wayne) 4A 2:30 pm    
Dec. 10 at Wawasee 3A © 7:30 pm    
Dec. 14 at Concord 4A © 12:30 pm    
Dec. 17 at Penn 4A 7:30 pm    
Dec. 20   Goshen 4A © 7:45 pm    
Dec. 27   South Bend St. Joseph 3A 10:00 am   tournament
Dec. 27   Portage 4A 2:30 pm   tournament
Dec. 28   East Noble 4A 10:00 am   tournament
Jan. 4   Hamilton Southeastern 4A 2:30 pm    
Jan. 11 at Warsaw 4A © 7:45 pm    
Jan. 18   NorthWood 3A © 7:45 pm    
Jan. 24 at Elkhart Memorial 4A © 6:00 pm    
Jan. 25 at Fort Wayne Snider 4A 7:30 pm    
Jan. 30   Plymouth 4A © 7:45 pm    
© NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE GAME

DUNELAND
ALL TIMES CENTRAL
  CONF AG OA DA AM Streak
Crown Point 1-  0 9-  0 70.6 34.6 36.0 Won 9
Chesterton 1-  0 5-  1 51.5 32.7 18.8 Won 4
Portage 1-  0 5-  1 63.8 46.0 17.8 Won 3
Valparaiso 1-  0 4-  3 43.3 45.6 -2.3 Lost 1
Merrillville 0-  1 4-  1 48.8 49.6 -0.8 Lost 1
LaPorte 0-  1 4-  3 57.9 45.4 12.4 Lost 1
Michigan City 0-  1 3-  3 50.8 44.8 6.0 Won 1
Lake Central 0-  1 2-  5 42.0 52.3 -10.3 Won 1
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Crown Point 88, EC Central 16
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Chesterton 57, Lake Central 53, 2OT ©
Portage 63, Michigan City 27 ©
Valparaiso 52, Merrillville 36 ©
Friday, Nov. 29
Crown Point 76, LaPorte 49 ©
Saturday, Nov. 30
Concordia 39, Valparaiso 33
Lake Central 50, Highland 40
Michigan City 63, Marquette 34
Portage 73, LaCrosse 36
Crown Point 49, Castle 43
Crown Point 62, Columbus North 54
Tuesday, Dec. 3
Chesterton at EC Central, 7 pm
Crown Point at Lowell, 7 pm
Hobart at Portage, 7 pm
Kankakee Valley at Michigan City, 7 pm
Lake Central at Munster, 7 pm
Friday, Dec. 6
Chesterton at Michigan City © , 7 pm
Crown Point at Portage © , 7 pm
Merrillville at Lake Central © , 7 pm
Valparaiso at LaPorte © , 7 pm
Saturday, Dec. 7
Crown Point vs. Fremd (Ill.), 5:30 pm, TBA
Memorial at Merrillville, 6:30 pm
LaPorte at Concord, 6:30 pm
Valparaiso at Highland, 7 pm
Tuesday, Dec. 10
Lake Central at Andrean, 7 pm
Wednesday, Dec. 11
Chesterton at Plymouth, 7 pm
Friday, Dec. 13
Lake Central at Michigan City © , 7 pm
LaPorte at Merrillville © , 7 pm
Portage at Chesterton © , 7 pm
Valparaiso at Crown Point © , 7 pm
Saturday, Dec. 14
LaPorte at Mishawaka, 6:30 pm
Penn at Merrillville, 6:30 pm
Portage at Central, 2 pm
Valparaiso at Whiting, 7 pm
© Conference game