One Dog’s Night

In Saturday’s nightcap, and the final game of the 2020-2021 IHSAA girls’ basketball season, there were Bulldogs battling Bulldogs. By the end of it, Crown Point was able to extend the lead of a close game late and knock off Brownsburg 44-34 to claim their first title since 1985, and their third overall (1984). They did it with outstanding defense, just enough offense, and an individual performance to remember. Two years ago, Crown Point was 28-0 before falling in the Semi-State to Hamilton Southeastern. Last year, they were 26-0 before falling in the Regional to Penn. Apparently this year they decided to get that loss out of the way early, to Class 3A State Champion Silver Creek during the regular season, and they finished 2020-2021 with a 25-1 record. The game started with Brownsburg Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="10665" first="Ally" last="Becki"]</strong> and Crown Point Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61030" first="Jessica" last="Carrothers"]</strong> trading baskets, then Becki buried a 3-pointer and Junior teammate <strong>Miya Webb</strong> connected on a basket, giving Brownsburg an early 7-2 advantage. Crown Point Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128172" first="Alyvia" last="Santiago"]</strong> knocked down a 3-pointer of her own, then Brownsburg’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128179" first="Novalee" last="Glass"]</strong> made a basket, giving the purple Bulldogs the 9-5 lead heading into the first media timeout. After the break, it was all Becki for Brownsburg, as she scored nine of their ten points, interrupted only by a Glass free throw. A 3-pointer and another basket by Carrothers during that stretch kept Crown Point within single-digits, as Brownsburg held its biggest lead of the game, 19-10, to end the first quarter. This was shaping up to be a great battle, as the team’s stars, Becki (14 points) and Carrothers (7 points), were starting to spar back and forth. The second quarter was very different, as Crown Point began to suffocate Brownsburg defensively. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128115" first="Lilly" last="Stoddard"]</strong> got the scoring started for the Northwest Indiana Bulldogs, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing, then scoring a left-handed layup through contact, closing the gap to 19-15. Teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="62555" first="Alyna" last="Santiago"]</strong> scored on a put-back about a minute later, and it was 19-17. Then Carrothers took over the quarter, scoring the next seven straight points, and before you knew it, Crown Point shut out Brownsburg 14-0 in the quarter and assumed a 24-19 lead at the half. Carrothers was now up to 14 points, while Becki remained at 14 points from the first quarter. Statistically the game was fairly even, as both teams had 15 rebounds at this point, both teams were 1-4 from the line, and Brownsburg had just four turnovers to Crown Point’s three. But Crown Point had attempted three more shots, making two more, including one additional 3-pointer, and that was the difference. After halftime, it didn’t get much better for Brownsburg initially. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127239" first="Quinci" last="Thomas"]</strong> did make a free throw to start things, cutting it to 24-20, but Carrothers answered with a free throw of her own, and a nice transition pull-up, stretching the lead to 27-20. Glass answered for Brownsburg with a layup, but [player_tooltip player_id="62555" first="Alyna" last="Santiago"] had a nice score at the rim off of an explosive move, and Carrothers got another transition score off of a turnover, putting their Bulldogs up 31-22 at the media timeout, and claiming their biggest lead of the contest so far. Brownsburg’s forwards did show some fight after the pause, though, as Glass scored almost immediately off of a set play, then made a 3-point jumper a minute and a half later, and Thomas finished the period with a layup, and suddenly Brownsburg was back within 31-29 headed into the fourth. Nearly two minutes went by in the final quarter before Carrothers knocked down another jumper to break the silence, putting Crown Point ahead 33-29. Becki responded with a jumper of her own, her first points since the opening period, and it was within two again at 33-31. [player_tooltip player_id="128172" first="Alyvia" last="Santiago"] knocked down a big 3-pointer, Carrothers followed with a step-back jumper, and Crown Point expanded its lead to 38-31. But Becki wasn’t done yet, as she fired back with her own 3-pointer for Brownsburg at the 3:37 mark, making it 38-34. However, Brownsburg would never get any closer. Following the media timeout at 3:22, Brownsburg couldn’t find the bottom of the net anymore. Carrothers picked up another basket in transition, following a turnover, and then the Santiago sisters sealed it with a pair of free throws each, first by Alyna, then by Alyvia, and Crown Point became the new Class 4A State Champs with the 44-34 win. While Crown Point came in averaging the third most points in the state at 66.5 per game, Brownsburg did an admirable job of keeping them well under their average. However the intense, in-your-face defense of the Santiago girls held a tough opponent in Becki to just five points after the first quarter, and Carrothers was able to snag several steals from help-side, allowing Crown Point enough opportunities in transition to spread the lead out over the last three quarters of play. Carrothers was electric throughout, and on the night she scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and picked up five steals. Stoddard was big inside for Crown Point as well, grabbing a dozen rebounds and blocking a shot. Becki still led the way for Brownsburg with 19 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of steals, but Glass also gave them great minutes, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds. Thomas added 10 rebounds of her own. &nbsp; <strong>NOTES:</strong> Crown Point is now 79-3 over the last three seasons. This was their fifth appearance in the State Finals, and their third Championship (1984, 1985, 2021). Brownsburg began the year just 5-8 and entered the state tournament 11-10. This was their second appearance in the State Finals. They also appeared in 1991, but lost in the semifinals when it was a four-team format. Crown Point Senior <strong>Allie Govert</strong> was honored with the prestigious Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award following the game. &nbsp; <strong>44 - CROWN POINT (25-1):</strong> Carrothers 25, [player_tooltip player_id="128172" first="Alyvia" last="Santiago"] 8, [player_tooltip player_id="62555" first="Alyna" last="Santiago"] 6, Stoddard 5, Govert 0, Gerodemos 0, Depta 0 <strong>34 - BROWNSBURG (17-11):</strong> Becki 19, Glass 10, Q. Thomas 3, Webb 2, Guckenberger 0, Terrell 0, Milton 0, D. Thomas 0