December 7, 2001
Portage at Crown Point

Crown Point 53, Portage 33

The Bulldogs were hoping to put together a better performance after a pretty lackluster outing at Lowell earlier in the week.  This game was the DAC opener for both CP and Portage, and despite the high-profile Wawasee game looming the next day, taking care of business on Friday with a good conference win over Portage was the focus for the Bulldogs.
   
It looked like it was going to be a battle early on, with Portage firing in 7 quick points to Crown Point's 4 two minutes in, but the Bulldogs put together a furious 15-2 run behind seniors Carissa Triplett (6 points) and Alex Webster (7 points) to step off the court up 19-9 at the break.
   
The second quarter pace slowed considerably, with the Bulldogs only scoring 9 points in the quarter with a number of missed scoring opportunities.  But it was much slower for the Portage Indians, as they were only able to score 3 points on a trey midway through to just break into double figures by the half. Although the scoring was low, the Bulldogs ruled the boards with 11 team rebounds in the quarter and went into the locker room up 28-12. 

The third quarter brought out some better production for the Lady Dogs, with senior forward Janel Heneghan opening up the scoring on a putback 1:30 in.  Heneghan followed that up with a rebound and assist to fellow post Triplett, who opened up the lead for CP at 32-12.  Over the next minute, senior Ashley Plumley contributed with three steals and 2 points to keep the effort going.  A Webster dish to frosh Cassie Pruzin and a Kathleen Fredericks putback with about a minute to go opened up the lead to 24 points.  A defensive letdown in the last minute, however, allowed the Indians to score 4 unanswered points in the final minute to close the gap to 20.

In the final quarter, frosh Pruzin came off the bench to nab three steals and dish out three assists to maintain the lead.  Soph Blayre Reeves was also productive with four points, two rebounds and an assist in the quarter. Even though the Indians kept pace with CP in the quarter for their highest scoring frame of the night, the Bulldogs got the job done early to walk away with a convincing 20-point DAC win.

Leading scorers for CP were seniors Carissa Triplett and Alex Webster, who both scored 16 points.  They were followed by senior Janel Heneghan and sophomore Blayre Reeves, each with 6.

Stats for CP:  Webster 16 (4a 3s 3r), Triplett 16 (8r 2b 3s), Heneghan  6 (7r 2s), Reeves 6 (6r 2a), Fredericks 3 (3r), Plumley 2 (3s), Pruzin 2 (4a 6s), Isailovich 2
 

JUNIOR VARSITY

Crown Point 40, Portage 16 -- The Portage Lady Indians put on a Jekyll/Hyde performance on Friday night, playing well in the first and third periods, but going scoreless in the second and fourth, resulting in the season’s first Duneland Conference win for the Crown Point Junior Varsity. It was the team’s fifth win of the season against one loss.

The teams battled to a 6-6 tie in the first period, but Crown Point dominated up until halftime, taking a 17-6 lead into the locker room. The Lady Indians made it interesting in the third, pulling to within four points at 19-15 with 3:30 remaining. Crown Point took over from that point, and never looked back. 
  
C.C. Martinez scored 5 of the next 8 points, finishing with a game high 11 points to lead the Lady ‘Dogs. Teresa Kaminski put in another strong performance and contributed 6 points on the evening, while Melissa Cooper chipped in with 5, including a trey in the third period.

Photos (by Bob Strempka):  

(above) Whitney Brown sends the post past to a reaching Teresa Kaminski as CC Martinez provides the screen.

(left) Mary Kvachkoff blocks out her Portage defender as she and Stephanie Sandilla wait for the rebound.