Girls basketball holds strong at the end to win defensive game against Kankakee Valley 42-39 as Lindsi McGuffey makes four clutch free throws in final minute

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

The Chesterton girls basketball team beat Kankakee Valley 42-39 in a game of aggressive defense. A back and forth first half ended with the Trojans leading 21-16, and they held a slight lead for the entire second half.
The Trojans pulled out another win with strong efforts from several players, including sophomore Lindsi McGuffey, senior Allison Van Kley, junior Novea Brandon, sophomore Addison Pack, and freshman Ella Boyanski.
The scorer’s table acted as a revolving door for Chesterton, with players who accumulated fouls getting substituted in and out constantly. Sophomore Reese Dilbeck left the game at the end of the third quarter after taking a hit to the eye and may be out for today’s 6:30 p.m. matchup versus Penn.
“We settled in during the second half,” coach Candy Wilson said. “We had some good play off the bench. It was a very physical game obviously. Allison played a heck of a game, and we had some clutch free throws at the end. I was pleased with how we fought back, but I wish we had a better start. Our first quarter was not good.”
Boyanski scored the first two buckets for Chesterton, and Brandon followed to put Chesterton up 6-2. The Trojans showed their youth several times throughout the first half, making mistakes in transition. They used their speed well, stealing the ball near midcourt, but oftentimes couldn’t finish at the basket.
“Not our best decision making, but I can’t rush that process,” Wilson said.
Both teams were so aggressive on defense that the ball ended up out of bounds more often than it was in the hoop during the first half. The Lady Kougars tied the game 6-6 to end the first quarter.
Pack nailed a wide open 3-pointer to begin the second quarter. Kankakee Valley responded with six straight points to go up 12-9, and Chesterton took a timeout to reset. Chesterton took back control of the game for the rest of the quarter, giving up just a three-pointer and a free throw. McGuffey scored off of an impressive layup while getting fouled, and made the free throw. Pack made a pair of free throws, and Van Kley drove to the basket dauntlessly and scored five points in the second quarter, and the Trojans went into halftime leading 21-16.
Boyanski and Dilbeck each scored a few times, but were answered each time by Kankakee Valley. Solid rebounding by Dilbeck and tough defense by Van Kley and Brandon helped the Trojans stay ahead. With twelve seconds in the quarter left, Dilbeck went down after taking a hit to the eye. Boyanski scored twice in the fourth quarter on short-range shots with multiple defenders in her face, and Van Kley scored three more points. However, the Lady Kougars immediately answered every bucket.
With two minutes left in the game, Kankakee Valley took a timeout and Chesterton held a 38-35 lead. An errant Chesterton inbound pass led to a quick bucket and the visitors took a timeout with 40 seconds left and down by one. McGuffey inbounded the ball from Brandon, got fouled, and made both of her free throws. Kankakee Valley got a quick bucket, but McGuffey went right back to the free throw line and sank both attempts, putting the Trojans up by three. The visitors missed their final shot attempt, and the Trojans won 42-39.