Girls basketball: Merrillville uses big first-half run to beat Chesterton

Updated: May 9, 2012 10:04AM

MERRILLVILLE — It’s universal throughout basketball, whether on the high school level or college or any professional league.

Prevent your opponent from doing what it wants to do and you’re living the good life in hoops heaven.

It’s perfection that’s rarely attained. But when it is, smiles are abundant.

Merrillville coach Amy Govert was definitely smiling Friday night after watching her team throttle Chesterton 71-27 in Duneland Conference play.

The blowout was possible due to the Pirates accomplishing that simple, yet difficult goal of rendering your opponent helpless.

In fact, veteran Chesterton (2-2, 1-2 DAC) coach Jack Campbell must have known the outcome was a fait accompli by the end of the first quarter in which Merrillville forced eight turnovers and had a 14-point lead.

“They were outstanding — they prevented us from doing everything we wanted to do,” Campbell said.

Of course they did. It was almost like Govert and her staff were in the heads of Chesterton’s staff.

“We knew exactly what they wanted to do,” Govert said.

Six Merrillville (5-0, 3-0) players scored in that opening period, as well as four different players with assists. Two of those helpers were picture-perfect dishes from Dariyan Morris to A.J. Downs for easy layups.

The cushion grew quickly in the second quarter to as much as 29 on the strength of a 21-1 Pirates’ run.

Govert couldn’t have asked much more from the girls.

“We finally played some good defense,” she said. “This is what I’ve been waiting for this season.”

Merrillville had been averaging 42.5 points against in the first four contests, so it definitely was better from a numbers standpoint. And it came without a Merrillville staple — full-court pressure.

“You see, we didn’t use the press tonight,” Govert said. “We went back to basics — straight-up, half-court man defense.”

It also helped to have balance on offense. Downs led the way with 13 points, while Raveen Murray had an all-around game of 11 points, eight steals, five assists and five rebounds. Victoria Gaines added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Darian Patton had nine points.

The only thing that slowed the Merrillville attack was its own maintenance staff as there was a delay to start the third quarter to fix the net on the north basket.

Campbell’s squad now has to go back to the drawing board after its second straight loss following a couple wins to start the season.

“The few shots we did get, they were all contested,” he said. “They can’t be satisfied with the way they played even though the other team is quicker and stronger than them.”

Chesterton’s Lindsay Gorman led all scorers with 14 points that included five of six from the free throw line.

Read more on this game at Steve’s blog at blogs.post-trib.com/gorches

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