After losing to the Harrison Raiders the last time they met, the Merrillville Pirates decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. Merrillville strolled past Harrison with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 58-41. The win made it back-to-back wins for Merrillville.
Merrillville found their leader in underclassman Malika Jenkins, who scored 20 points along with four steals. Jenkins hasn't dropped below two steals for 11 straight games. Vivian Mcspadden was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Harrison's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Riley Whitlock, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds. Whitlock scored a full 29.3% of Harrison's points, the 13th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Elsie Ahnert, who scored six points along with six rebounds.
Merrillville's win bumped their record up to 11-8. As for Harrison, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-9 record this season.
Merrillville will take on Crown Point at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Indiana (Crown Point is ranked 108th, while Merrillville is ranked 93rd). As for Harrison, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Richmond at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
