Girls basketball: Unbeaten Merrillville pulls away to beat Valparaiso

Updated: January 4, 2012 11:48PM

VALPARAISO — The undefeated Merrillville girls basketball team used two 10-0 second-half runs to turn a tight game into a decisive 62-40 win over Valparaiso on Wednesday night.

Victoria Gaines scored 23 points for the Pirates (12-0, 8-0 Duneland Conference), with 16 of those coming in the second half. Valparaiso (3-10, 1-7 DAC) led briefly late in the second quarter, but couldn’t overcome a long scoreless stretch in the third quarter.

Merrillville turned up the pressure on defense, forcing turnovers and converting transition baskets.

“Offensively, we had four or five layups in the first half that just didn’t go in,” Merrillville coach Amy Govert said. “I was more concerned defensively. We have to make teams work for points.”

The Pirates did just that in the second half, outscoring the Vikings 16-6 in the third quarter. Backcourt mates Dariyan Morris and Raveen Murray keyed Merrillville on both ends of the court. Morris finished with 14 points and Murray had 12 despite battling foul trouble.

Gaines worked inside for her points. The 6-foot freshman had seven points in the first four minutes of the second half as Merrillville took control.

“She’s very active,” Govert said. “We knew we wanted to get the ball in the post.” The coach added that Gaines faced constant fouling, which is not unexpected in the Duneland. “This is a physical conference,” she said.

Katherine Berning scored 14 points for Valparaiso, and Clarisse Fletcher added 12 for the Vikings.

Merrillville jumped ahead 7-0 and 15-7 at the end of the first quarter, behind seven points from Gaines and five from Murray, but neither scored in the second quarter as Valparaiso battled back.

The Vikings rattled off seven points in a row and appeared to take the halftime lead 21-20 after a three-pointer and two free throws by Berning. But Merrillville’s Morris was fouled at the buzzer while attempting a half-court shot, and made two of three free throws to give the Pirates a 22-21 edge at the break.

Merrillville won 68-53 at home over Valparaiso in mid-November. 

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