Basketball Recap: Merrillville Takes a Loss

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Merrillville can now relate to. They fell to the Chesterton Trojans 58-54. The Pirates were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Trojans earlier this season, when they won 51-40.

Malika Jenkins

Steals

02/07/25 vs Chesterton	5
01/30/25 vs Highland	1
01/28/25 vs Lowell	2
01/24/25 vs Portage	1
01/18/25 vs Crown Point	1
+ 16 more games

Despite the defeat, Merrillville saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Malika Jenkins went 8 of 20 on her way to 20 points in addition to seven assists and five steals. With that strong performance, Jenkins is now averaging an impressive 2 steals per game. Nyesha Davis was another key player, putting up seven points along with six steals and five boards.

Even though they lost, Merrillville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Leading Chesterton to victory were Kenedi Bradley and Liv Roach. Bradley went 8 for 9 to rack up 23 points in addition to six steals and five rebounds, while Roach went 5 of 11 en route to 12 points and seven boards. Bradley's evening made it three games in a row in which she has scored at least 18 points.

Merrillville's loss dropped their record down to 15-7. As for Chesterton, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 15-8.

Merrillville does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Chesterton, they have already played their next matchup, a 33-26 defeat against Valparaiso on the 8th.