Seniors Liz St. Marie, Hailey Geiser to the rescue in win over Crown Point

TOM KEEGAN
OnwardTrojans@gmail.com

​The winner of the DAC finale between visiting Crown Point and Chesterton last Thursday would finish the DAC portion of the schedule, leaving fifth place for the loser.

Trojans senior Liz St. Marie, who worked hard rehabilitating from knee surgery after most of her junior season was wiped out by an ACL injury, figured her most important contribution would be lending vocal support from the bench, even with original starting center Tenley Davis sidelined by injury.

​“I genuinely thought that I would just be cheering on my team” ‘We can do this.’ so then she was was like, ‘Come on Liz,’ I was like, ‘Oh boy. OK, i can do this.’ ”

​Not many high school girls basketball players are as big, tall and strong as Crown Point’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Ivy Henderson, the Bulldogs leading scorer (11.9) and rebounder (5.8).

Chesterton senior Isabelle Connors, more instrumental than anyone on the team in softening the blow of losing Davis, was giving up 6 inches to Henderson, who uses her strength to gain position and her soft hands and deft footwork to finish plays.

Henderson quickly drew Connors into foul trouble and kept her there all night until she was whistled for her disqualifying fifth foul.

St. Marie, 7 inches shorter than Henderson, used her considerable strength advantage to neutralize the height factor.

Chesterton coach Candy Wilson sent St. Marie into the game to try to keep Henderson from gaining inside positon for easy buckets and rebounds. Anything St. Marie gave them in the way of points would be a bonus.

Well, St. Marie kept it simple offensively, scored Chesterton’s first eight points of the second half and finished with a career-high 10 points. She did it by gaining inside position, executing a drop-step move and throwing bank shot after bank shot softly off the glass.

Despite a quick start, Henderson was limited to nine points and five rebounds. She attempted just four field goals.

Six of Henderson’s points came in the first quarter, before St. Marie entered the game. In the second half, St. Marie scored 10 points, Henderson two.

“All I was thinking was lowest one wins, lowest one wins, just get lower than her and just box her out,” St. Marie said. “I kept saying, ‘Get lower, get lower, get lower.’ She’s really good. I thought if she’s not in the equation, we can do it.”

Much of the credit for keeping Henderson from taking over the game belonged to St. Marie and much of it to the Chesterton perimeter players who forced turnovers before the ball could get to Henderson.

​Chesterton produced a whopping 20 steals on a night that juniors Allison Van Kley and Liv Roach showed how far they have progressed this season in developing their all-around games. Ripping the ball away from dribblers and stealing passes, Liv Roach led the way with seven steals to go with five rebounds. Using her exceptional anticipation radar and quick first burst, Van Kley repeatedly stepped into passing lanes to intercept passes. She took two of her steals to the hoop for layups.

​Two-time All-DAC junior guard Kenedi Bradley, the team’s leader in scoring (14.1) and steals (3.5) also applied consistent defensive pressure and again showcased her improved 3-point shot.

​Leading the team in scoring, per usual, Bradley totaled 18 points, three rebounds and two steals and made 3 of 4 3-point shots.

Closing her basketball career in style, senior Hailey Geiser had another big night for the Trojans, contributing nine points, five rebounds and two steals. She made a 3-pointer in the first quarter, and with Connors, the team’s leading offensive rebounder spending most of the night on the bench in foul trouble, Geiser filled the void. Four of her rebounds came off the offensive glass.

Geiser and St. Marie also have been teammates in track and field, which has a spot for all different types of athletes and the two friends lead with different athletic traits. St. Marie has exceptional strength and throws weights a long distance. Long, lean, bouncy Geiser is fast and bouncy and is an accomplished high jumper and long jumper.

​“Really proud of her,” Wilson said of St. Marie. “Hailey Geiser, too. Lot of senior moments out there.”

Unlike St. Marie, Wilson fully expected to use her strongest athlete more than in most games because of the presence of Henderson.

“Oh my gosh, yes,” Wilson said. “We knew she could body up on her. (Henderson) can jump, she can run the floor, too. She’s a nice player.”
​
The Trojans had trouble protecting a big lead late in the fourth quarter, sometimes playing too slow, other times to reckless. Freshman Reese Dilbeck came off the bench and had a calming effect.

“For Reese, to come in at the end of the game, and handle the ball like that, for a freshman, that’s good,” Wilson said. “Different games, different girls are stepping up.”

The Trojans continued to struggle from the line, making just 7 of 19. Crown Point made 11 of 20.

​Despite leaving so many points at the line the Trojans (13-8 overall, 4-3 in the DAC) clinched sole possession of fourth place, finishing behind champion Valparaiso (7-0), Lake Central (6-1) and Merrillville (5-2) and ahead of Crown Point (3-4), Portage (2-5), Michigan City (1-6) and LaPorte (0-7).

Chesterton has played its best basketball of the season of late, including in a 43-36 loss on Jan. 17 to a Hammond Central team that defeated Valpo, 49-46 on Dec. 21.

​Whereas earlier in the season the players too often looked as though they were thinking about what they were supposed to be doing, now they’re letting their athleticism shine by reacting to situations without hesitation. Big difference.

​“It just takes time for us to click and this is when we’re clicking,” St. Marie said. “I think with new coaching it just took time to get used to it, and now we’re all used to it. We know what the expectations are. We know what we need to do. Really nice timing by the way. Little longer than we had hoped for, but we have to be happy that we’re clicking. Let’s just keep going right now.”

​St. Marie playing such a pivotal role in the victroy made it all the sweeter for teammates who watched her grind out rehab from knee surgery, encouraging her every step of the way.

“Everybody is so proud of her for everything that she’s done,” Geiser said, her voice shaking. “I’m actually tearing up a little bit here.”

​Geiser paused, took a deep breath, and resumed talking about her friend.

​“That is such a hard thing to come back from mentally and she had been so strong mentally and physically,” Geiser said. “She’s always working out. She’s always trying to make herself better. You’re seeing that obviously, especially tonight. She always tries hard, no matter what.”

St. Marie is not alone in that regard for a team that has coalesced just in time to face a tough postseason schedule.

​“We’re really pushing each other hard during practices,” Geiser said. “Ever since losing Tenley, it’s obviously a big thing, everybody has to step up. Everybody has to rebound. Everybody has to start scoring points. Everyone. Not just from one person. We’re holding each other accountable for everything.”