Stoddard stops Penn
Purdue commit blocks shot to seal Crown Point’s win over top-ranked Kingsmen
There was an element of poetry in Crown Point junior forward Lilly Stoddard’s clinching play against Penn on Saturday night.
Already a massive presence during a marquee game between top-ranked teams, Stoddard blocked the potential tying shot as time expired to preserve the Bulldogs’ pulsating 44-42 win.
“That was definitely a good feeling,” Stoddard said of the block. “At the same time, my teammates did a really good job defending people. That was the only girl open, so they really helped me out.”
Stoddard, a 6-foot-4 Purdue commit, had five points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks for the Bulldogs (6-0), who are ranked No. 2 in the state coaches poll. Her impact against No. 1 Penn (7-1) wasn’t lost on Crown Point coach Chris Seibert.
“We just told the kids to pressure them, make it difficult and funnel them into Lilly,” Seibert said of the last play. “We know she’s protecting the rim, and that’s such a luxury.
“Lilly’s defense around the basket does so much. Her ability to alter and block shots and to defensive rebound was huge.”
Indeed, the two star juniors delivered for Crown Point as guard Jessica Carrothers scored a game-high 17 points.
But the Bulldogs needed assorted contributions to pull out a win in the latest edition of this burgeoning rivalry with the Kingsmen.
Junior guard Alyvia Santiago scored nine points, including a 3-pointer that bounced in late in the third quarter to give Crown Point its largest lead at 35-29. Senior guard Alyna Santiago scored all seven of her points in the second half, including six in the third quarter.
After Penn closed to 41-40, Carrothers came up with a steal and scored to give Crown Point a 43-40 edge with 1:43 left in the game. Penn’s steal and layup with 23 seconds to go again made it a one-point game, before Alyna Santiago hit the front end of a one-and-one with 8.6 seconds left.
Seibert pointed to the Bulldogs’ two victories on Nov. 28: a 43-42 win against Castle and a 78-75 win in overtime against Lawrence North, last season’s Class 4A state champion.
“Those two close games in Indianapolis really helped in this situation,” he said. “Last year we just didn’t play a lot of games that came down to one or two possessions. We’re much more comfortable now having had to battle and win these close games.
“Nothing is easy against Penn. For our kids to find a way to win a game that wasn’t pretty, to gut it out, I could not be more proud of them.”
Crown Point and Penn have grown rather familiar with each other over the past two-plus seasons. The Kingsmen defeated the Bulldogs 42-41 in a regional semifinal last season after Crown Point came away with a 49-37 win in the Hall of Fame Classic championship game. In a 2019 regional final, the Bulldogs won 54-47 in overtime.
“It’s a big win,” Carrothers said. “Our mentality coming into it was to be fearless and relentless, and everyone played that way. Everyone gave everything they had. Everyone’s been working really hard to prepare for that game.
“We had a lot of enthusiasm. We just really wanted that win.”
Duneland duels: In a matchup between undefeated Duneland Athletic Conference teams, Michigan City topped Chesterton 44-33 on Friday night.
Trinity Thompson, a Northern Kentucky commit who was an Indiana Junior AllStar, had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Wolves (7-0, 2-0), who didn’t win a conference game last season. Katelyn Halfacre added 10 points.
Carley Balas led the Trojans (4-1, 1-1) with nine points and 12 rebounds.
Merrillville also remained undefeated in conference play with a 60-42 win over Lake Central on Friday night.
Cailynn Dilosa paced the Pirates (4-3, 2-0) with 23 points. Torri Miller had 14, and Shekinah Thomas had 12.
Freshman forward Aniyah Bishop led the Indians (4-4, 0-2) with 16 points.
Westville winner: After the start to its season was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Westville opened with a 51-28 win against West Central on Nov. 28.
That game marked the debut of coach Grayce Roach, a former star at Hobart and Indiana Northwest.
The Blackhawks (3-1) added wins against 21st Century and LaCrosse before losing to Winamac.
Including Westville, at least 20 Northwest Indiana teams have missed time because of the coronavirus pandemic: Bishop Noll, Boone Grove, Clark, Crown Point, East Chicago Central, Griffith, Hebron, Highland, Hobart, Kouts, Lake Central, Marquette, Merrillville, Morgan Township, North Newton, Portage, River Forest, Valparaiso and Whiting.