Girls basketball dominates defensively, wins home opener vs. Munster, 47-15, in front of big crowd Friday night

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

Chesterton Girls Basketball won its home opener against Munster, 47-15, Friday night. Both teams came out with stingy defense, forcing turnovers and shutting down the driving lanes. However, throughout the night the Trojans found enough openings to score, often finding success because of their speed or from great assists.
On the other side of the court, the Trojans’ defense never let up, allowing just under four points per quarter.
Sophomore Lindsi McGuffey led the team with 13 points, followed by freshman Ella Boyanski with 10 points. Turnovers caused by junior Novea Brandon, senior Allison Van Kley, and others gave the quick Trojan team multiple breakaway opportunities.
“We worked a lot on aggressive defense to help our offense. It’s a fun defense to play,” Chesterton coach Candy Wilson said.
Coming out, Chesterton took many outside shots, and couldn’t get any to fall. Whether it was the pressure of their first home game of the season, which had a large crowd, or since it is still the beginning of the season, the Trojans couldn’t depend on their shooting from range to propel their offense. Munster and Chesterton would trade turnovers until, after three and a half minutes, the visitors scored a three-pointer. Sophomore Reese Dilbeck then got fouled on a layup, and made both free throws. Junior Novea Brandon fouled twice in succession, and was taken out temporarily. With Brandon out, McGuffey took hold of the offense, scoring five points to close out the first quarter with a 7-3 lead.
McGuffey fired another 3-pointer to start the second quarter. Dilbeck took a nifty Euro-step to a layup where she was fouled and made both free throws for the second time. Freshman Taylor Kisic fed the ball back to Dilbeck in the paint, where she scored another two points. Munster then got three points off of a layup with the foul shot. Boyanski then made it rain with a six-point run. Boyanski took the ball coast-to-coast and hit a layup on the left side to make it 16-6. Boyanski grabbed an offensive rebound in the paint and put the ball up to put Chesterton at 18 points. Her next score came from an inbound give-and-go between Boyanski and senior Allison Van Kley, whose biggest asset is her aggressive defense. Van Kley added a free throw and Chesterton closed the half with a bucket after McGuffey grabbed the ball for a breakaway and sent it to Brandon for two, enabling the Trojans to take a 23-6 halftime lead.
“We did a good job of making one more pass, people moving the ball around, being more patient,” Wilson said.
Point guards McGuffey and Brandon displayed solid court vision several times throughout the night, Although they are both talented scorers, they each racked up assists by recognizing the best option.
In the second half, Munster scored first, but Brandon answered by stealing the next Mustangs’ possession and sending a dime to van Kley, who scored a layup while getting fouled. Several times on Mustang possessions, Brandon and Van Kley, and occasionally Kisic, teamed up on defense and set a trap, leading to one of them getting a steal. During the second quarter, three Chesterton traps led to turnovers. Brandon scored a free throw to make it 26-8. Solid perimeter ball movement by the Trojans led to sophomore Addison Pack hitting a 3, assisted by McGuffey. After a Munster bucket, Van Kley intercepted a pass and sent it down to McGuffey for a breakaway layup. Brandon scored a pair of free throws to end the third quarter with the Trojans ahead, 33-10.
McGuffey scored a layup while fouled and hit the free throw to begin the fourth. Kisic scored four, one bucket coming off of a halfcourt pass from McGuffey. Boyanski followed with four points. Freshman Chloe Murzyn scored a free throw and freshman Macie Pack shot a layup to finish the game’s scoring.
Chesterton made it to the the free throw line often throughout the night, and gained 12 points from there.
“It’s something we work on a lot. Our goal is to be 100% though. Obviously it is a high goal. Over time, our shooting should get better,” Wilson said.
The Trojans also won the rebound battle, extending their own possessions and limiting the Mustangs’ ball control.
“We’re not a team of stars, we’re a team of players who work well together,” Wilson said. “Every game you’re going to see different people stepping up.”