Chesterton cruises past Valparaiso

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:32AM

CHESTERTON - Thanks to this week's winter storm, the Chesterton girls basketball team hadn't practiced since Sunday.

Rust was nowhere to be found as the Trojans stormed ahead and cruised to a 60-46 Duneland Conference victory over visiting Valparaiso on Friday night.

Chesterton coach Jack Campbell had quips ready for the occasion.

"Practice is way overrated," he joked, and also offered, "That's what a good week of practice does."

With early dismissal Tuesday and Chesterton snowed out Wednesday and Thursday, it was practically a practice-free week.

Claire Holba and Brooke Gardner led the way as Chesterton (11-8, 9-5 DAC) snapped a five-game losing streak.

Holba had 22 points and 11 rebounds. All of the 6-foot-1 senior's points came in the first three quarters, and she had 17 points and eight boards in the first half alone.

Senior guard Gardner had 19 points, five assists and five steals.

"Brooke really had a nice night," Campbell said. "She makes everybody else out there better."

Six-foot senior Riley Taubert had an efficient game for Chesterton, scoring eight points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field.

Clarisse Fletcher led the Vikings (7-13, 4-10) with 16 points, while Sarah Wallace added 10.

Chesterton built a 12-4 edge in the first quarter and surged with a 15-3 run early in the second. Holba scored inside on a nice pass from Gardner with under a minute go, then Gardner stole the ball and scored as Chesterton went ahead 31-11.

The Trojans rolled from there, leading by as much as 24 in the fourth quarter. Chesterton bothered Valparaiso with a 1-3-1 halfcourt zone and a 1-2-2 alignment, using its size to force risky passes and generating turnovers.

"We've been mixing up man-to-man and zone," Campbell said. "They had problems with it."

The Trojans beat Valparaiso 49-40 earlier in the season.

Chesterton hopes to continue the turnaround heading into a very tough Sectional 2 next week. Campbell said the team was in three of the five games during the losing streak.

"That double round-robin can be a killer," he said of the Duneland's often criticized schedule.

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