Lindsi McGuffey leads Trojans with 19 points and Allison Van Kley leads with hustle in 49-11 win over LaPorte on senior night

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Relentlessly active regardless of the score, defensively disruptive and leading with teamwork, Chesterton trounced visiting LaPorte, 49-11, Thursday night.
Allison Van Kley shouldn’t have any trouble remembering what her senior night game was like because the team exhibited so many of the same traits she consistently has brought during her basketball career.
Mix in hot 3-point shooting from sophomore Lindsi McGuffey, who outscored the Slicers with 19 points and four 3-pointers, and the result was all but the opening minute of the second half being played with a running clock, which permanently kicks in when a team is up by 35 points in the second half. McGuffey had 18 points in the first half and would have finished the night with 22 points, double the Slicers’ total, but for a 3-pointer being disallowed because of a teammate’s foul away from the ball.
Van Kley contributed five points, but scoring never has been what the second-year starter has done best.
“I think my role on the team, not only on the court but off the court is being a leader and trying to help the culture so we can play better on the court,” Van Kley said after the game. “Even if I’m not scoring all the points, I try to do the little things well: rebounding, hustle plays, passing.”
Her efforts in those areas appear contagious.
Chesterton improved to 13-6 overall and 5-1 in the DAC, better records than most projected given the Trojans’ lack of height and experience. They know what their shortcomings are and know the best plan for overcoming them.
“We try to hustle a lot to try to make up for that lack of size that we have by anticipating passes and jumping to the ball,” said Van Kley, whose 3.3 steals per game rank second to junior Novea Brandon (3.4). “We pride ourselves on our defense and if our defense is bad then everything’s bad. We play through our defense. So if we don’t hustle and our defense isn’t good, we just don’t play well.”
The Trojans played well in this one from the start. McGuffey buried a 3-pointer from the left corner and another from left of the key to put the Slicers (9-9, 2-4) six points behind right off the bat.
By the end of the first quarter, Chesterton’s lead had grown to 22-3 and it was 42-8 at halftime.
The Trojans play fast, sometimes too fast, which leads to excessive turnovers. Not on this night.
“I talked to them about how we don’t have a shot clock,” second-year coach Candy Wilson said. “We don’t have to score in transition every single time down court. Pull it out if it’s not there. Reverse the ball or run some offense.”
That’s what the Trojans did.
“Tonight was a nice night,” Wilson said. “They moved the ball around really well together. We had chemistry tonight.”
Van Kley and Addison Glossinger, the only seniors on the team, were honored in a pre-game ceremony, and Glossinger, usually a reserve, was in the starting lineup.
“Both of them have done everything we’ve asked of them,” Wilson said. “Offseason, in season, great kids, great students, great people, and that’s what you want.”
In addition to the work Van Kley does defensively and on the boards, where she is tied with Brandon with 3.7 rebounds per game, ranking behind only sophomore Reese Dilbeck (3.9), Wilson appreciates her intangible contributions.
“She and Novea especially are our locker room voices,” Wilson said. “Allison is our senior voice out there. She’ll get after people and she’ll get after them in the locker room, too, if she needs to, but she’ll also walk up and be kind, too.”
Chesterton has a quick turnaround and travels to Hammond Central for a nonconference game tonight.
“It’s a little bit of a roller coaster because of our age. We had a high one tonight,” Wilson said after the game. “We need to have a high one tomorrow and have more in a row. That’s kind of our goal here at the end, to get more stops, move the ball around better, take care of the ball.”
Hammond Central takes a 7-11 record into the game.