ALL-IN ALYVIA
Santiago’s mother promised the family a dog if Crown Point won the semistate. Her first-half shooting set the stage.
Crown Point’s Alyvia Santiago has the name picked out: Champ.
The junior guard’s mother promised the family would get a dog if the Bulldogs won Saturday’s Class 4A LaPorte Semistate against Fort Wayne Carroll.
They did, and Santiago was instrumental.
She scored nine points on three 3-pointers in the first half as Crown Point gained its footing before pulling away for a 62-46 victory.
Santiago laughed about the “bribe” and expressed elation about the Bulldogs (24-1) extending their season to the final weekend.
“It’s such a confidence-booster,” she said. “I shoot all the time, and last week it didn’t show. My teammates got me the ball and I’m glad I showed they can trust me.”
Crown Point, which ended the regular season ranked No. 2 in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association state poll, won its fifth semistate title and first since 1997.
The Bulldogs are the first Region team in girls basketball to reach the 4A state championship game since Merrillville in 2010, with no area team winning a state title among the biggest schools since the implementation of classes.
Junior guard Jessisca Carrothers recalled the team’s 2019 semistate appearance.
“My freshman year, we didn’t really think we had a good chance to win,” Carrothers said. “It’s sad to say. But (Saturday), we came in and we were all really prepared for this game. I knew we were going to come out and do what we had to do.”
With the win over No. 5 Carroll (25-3), the Bulldogs advance to play Brownsburg (17-10) for the championship.
“It’s unbelievable,” Crown Point coach Chris Seibert said. “I’m just so happy for the kids, for our program, all the hard work and sacrifice they put in.
“You don’t always get the reward for all the work you put in, so for them to be able to see the fruits of their labor, to be able to participate in a state title game, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Carroll sent two defenders at Carrothers virtually every time she touched the ball, a strategy for which Crown Point prepared.
Carrothers still finished with 28 points to go along with four steals.
Junior forward Lilly Stoddard, a Purdue recruit, had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, despite sitting the final 3:45 of the first half with two fouls.
Senior guard Alyna Santiago added 10 points, shooting 8 of 10 from the free-throw line, including 5 of 6 in the fourth quarter. Alyvia Santiago did the damage from the outside.
“We worked all week on players rotating when they weren’t being guarded and being ready to shoot the ball when they were open,” Seibert said. “Alyvia stepped up and hit some huge shots.”
Alyna Santiago was proud of her younger sister.
“She’s been working so hard on her shooting,” Alyna said. “The coaches told us the 3-point shooters needed to step up. She stepped up and gave us so much confidence.”
Crown Point trailed 12-5 but led 13-12 after the first quarter when Carrothers nailed a 3pointer from half court as time expired.
“I’ve grown up playing with her and I’ve seen her do a ton of cool things,” Alyna Santiago said. “But that was probably the best thing I’ve ever seen her do.”
Seibert also offered perspective.
“Besides it being a half-court shot, three points in a game like this means so much, especially when we were down 12-5,” Seibert said. “To come back and have a 13-12 lead going into the second quarter, it was very, very important for momentum.”
Indeed, even though the score remained close until the latter stage, including 32-30 midway through the third quarter, that shot by Carrothers gave Crown Point a jolt.
Carrothers, who said she doesn’t end her workouts until she connects from half court, glanced at Saturday’s clock and saw 1.2 seconds before launching her shot.
“Once I hit that shot, I knew ‘Lyna’ was going to go crazy,” Carrothers said. “She’s the flame of our team. As soon as she got excited about things and was running around and screaming, that’s when we flipped the switch.”