Merrillville makes it 18 straight wins

Updated: January 24, 2012 10:20PM

CHESTERTON — Stop and go, stop and go, the gritty war of attrition seemed to be in the works. For the first few minutes of Tuesday’s Duneland game between the host Trojans and Merrillville, team records meant very little.

The Class 4A No. 3 Pirates may have entered with a perfect record. And the Trojans may be enduring various highs and lows in its retooling season, but four Pirates’ turnovers resulted in six straight points from Chesterton to start the contest.

During the deficit, though, Merrillville coach Amy Govert instilled a basic mindset.

“You can’t control some things, but you can control how hard you play,” she said.

And one asset for the Pirates is the stifling press that resultsed in some crafty steals and fast-paced breakaways to ensure an 18th straight victory, 63-42, on Tuesday night which clinched a share of the DAC crown.

“You’re not going to win championships or be a great team without defense,” Govert said. “We just worked on closing out and you have to close out, (Chesterton) is a great shooting team.”

By the midway point of the first quarter, a 9-3 run for Chesterton turned into a 17-13 Merrillville lead. Junior Dariyan Morris ended the period in style when she hit a shot at the buzzer.

“It felt good,” said Morris who was instrumental with 17 points and finished second only behind teammate Raveen Murray’s 18. “It picked up the intensity; picked it up for the whole team so we could get a lead.”

The win snapped Chesterton’s (8-9) four-game win streak. Lindsay Gorman led the squad with 13 points.

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