Weekend wrap up
CULVER - The Culver Girls Academy basketball team has already had five games canceled due to the coronavirus, but it has certainly enjoyed the ones that have been played.
Saturday afternoon at Fleet Gymnasium was completed game No. 4, and led by its active defenses, it was also the fourth win for the Lady Eagles as they defeated Laville, 57-23, to remain unbeaten.
“It’s nice to play against someone else,” said CGA head coach Chantel Vinson, whose team had 18 days between games two and three. “We’re improving.”
The game turned with a 21-0 run by CGA covering the last six minutes of the second quarter through the first four of the third to turn a five-point lead into a 36-10 gap.
During that dominating stretch, Taylor Bowen scored a dozen of her game-high 23 points (three 3s).
“She’s a big kid, athletic,” Vinson said of the junior. “She can play the 3 or 4 and is effective wherever we put her which gives us a lot of flexibility. She can shoot the 3. She can get to the rim. The other day she had 16 points and 21 rebounds. That’s just wanting it.”
Kennedi Leeper was also in double digits, finishing with 11 points for the Lady Eagles and pointguard Dionna Craig scored nine while being a pest on defense.
“(Kennedi) loves to play and seems to always be in the right place at the right time and (Dionna) had a senior ahead of her last year and didn’t get to play much. Now it’s her turn. She has stepped up,” said Vinson of the contributions from the two sophomores.
The game was tied a 7 before CGA ended the first quarter with eight straight points. All five starters had already reached the scoring column before the start of the second quarter.
“We haven’t played against a ton of pressure yet, but we have kids that can score,” Vinson said of
the balanced scoring capabilities of her team. “We are able to put points on the board. Every game we have players scoring in double figures. We’ll have some double-doubles (in points and rebounds). Everybody in the starting lineup is putting up points.”
Laville scored the first three points of the second period to pull within 15-10 but the Lady Eagles’ man and zone defenses, plus a full court and half court press, caused all kinds of problems for the Lady Lancers’ offense, holding LV to just three sec
ond-quarter points and just one field goal in the third.
“We don’t get to play anybody so we have to try them all now,” Vinson said of the various defenses deployed. “You never know if tomorrow is going to come. We got a little bit of a lead so it was a good time for us to mix it up. Let’s get it on film and see what we look like.
“We’ve got a little bit of
size, even on the perimeter, so we’re trying to be more athletic on defense, If we can avoid fouling, we’ll do some pretty good things.”
Allison Medors led LV in scoring with eight points.
CGA’S next contest - hopefully - will be at home Tuesday against Lacrosse while Laville travels to Mishawaka the same night.
• CULVER GIRLS ACADEMY 57, LAVILLE 23 At Culver
LAVILLE: Faith Rock 1 0-0 2, Heaylyn Kwiatkowski 0 2-2 2, Lauren Edison 0 0-0 0, Kassi Watts 2 1-2 6, Lucy Sherk 2 0-0 5, Allison Medors 2 4-6 8, Elaina Borton 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 7 7-10 23.
CGA: Dionna Craig 4 0-0 9, Leah Marquell 2 0-1 4, Brighton Bird 2 0-0 4, Mallory Magee 0 0-0 0, Catlina Jaar Tudela 0 0-0 0, Alexandra Orendain 0 0-0 0, Taylor Bowen 9 2-2 23, Kennedi Leeper 5 1-4 11, Lena Spiller 2 0-0 4, Madison Miller 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 25 3-7 57.
Score by quarters
Laville 7 10 17 23
CGA 15 27 40 57
3-pointers: CGA 4 (Bowen 3, Craig), LV 2 (Watts, Sherk). Fouls (fouled out): CGA 10 (none), Laville 7 (none)
Records: CGA 4-0, Laville 2-2
JV: CGA 17, Laville 12 (CGA is 3-0)