Basketball Recap: Crown Point Falls Despite Big Games from Ava Richie and Ivy Henderson

If Crown Point was feeling good fresh off their 69-38 takedown of South Bend Adams last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Crown Point Bulldogs took a 54-43 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Merrillville Pirates on Saturday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Bulldogs of the 42-36 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in January of 2024.

Ava Richie

Steals

01/18/25 @ Merrillville	6
01/16/25 vs South Bend Adams	7
01/14/25 @ Munster	2
01/09/25 vs Michigan City	2
12/28/24 vs Mt. Vernon	2

Crown Point's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ivy Henderson, who went 6 of 10 en route to 13 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals, and Ava Richie, who posted 14 points along with six steals and five boards. Richie has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 15 times she's played.

Even though they lost, Crown Point smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Merrillville's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kylie Wells, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten boards. Vivian Mcspadden was another key player, putting up 14 points and six rebounds.

Crown Point dropped their record down to 11-10 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road. As for Merrillville, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 12-6 record this season.

Crown Point will head out on the road to square off against Chesterton at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Crown Point is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.7 points per game this season. Merrillville has already played their next contest (against Hobart), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.