Bulldogs still aren't muzzled

It might not have been the best game for the Bulldogs (5-0, 1-0 DAC), but tough defense and rebounding made up for that.

In a key Duneland Conference matchup, Crown Point walked away with a 46-39 victory over Portage on Friday.

"We knew it wasn't going to be pretty because Portage plays a tough game," Crown Point Coach Tom May said.  "A number of kids did not play well, but we still found a way to win.  You just don't have your best stuff all the time."

The Bulldogs just played more aggressively and one could see that in rebounding (a 31-19 advantage) and points off turnovers (a 14-8 edge).

Portage (3-2, 0-1) did not even have a field goal until four seconds were left int he first quarter to trail 10-3 at the end of one.

"We played how we have been practicing all week," Indians Coach Renee Turpa said.  "For whatever reason, we couldn't get it together.  I thought we matched up well with them, but we did not execute or do the little things."

Sarah Zondor had her usual strong game, leading Crown Point with 12 points and nine rebounds, despite all kinds of attention defensively.

"She had two and three kids on her every time she touched the ball, but she expects it," May said.  "She gives us that type of game every time out."

Crown Point also got strong play from its bench, with point guard Alex Webster and center Carissa Triplett in foul trouble.  Forward Janel Heneghan and guard Ashley Plumley each had five points off the bench.  Heneghan added six rebounds.

"We got good minutes from some kids you wouldn't expect to hear about much," May said.  "With (Webster and Triplett) out for extended minutes, it was miraculous we had the lead at halftime (23-18).  Those are two of our top three scorers."

Nikki Borys added nine points for Crown Point, while Amanda Bernard had only three points, but had four rebounds.

"Nikki did well and Amanda did the blue-collar things ell," May said.  "Her defense and her rebounding made a huge difference in the game."

Crown Point limited Portage's Lauren Hansen and Amanda Autrey to 12 points inside.  The duo have dominated almost every team they have faced.

"We have to execute thing on offense to get them the ball," Turpa said.  "We tried to force it inside too much and needed to reverse the ball more to give them more of a chance."

Crown Point took a 37-27 lead with 5:35 left in the fourth, but the Indians cut that lead to six points, 42-36, with 59.5 seconds left in the game.  And Portage cut it to seven points twice in the final minutes.

"We haven't been able to finish things off yet this season," said Turpa.  "We keep it close, but we don't execute at the end."

For Portage, Tracie Korbar and Nicole Tessener each had nine points and Hansen had eight.