Merrillville makes it 18 straight wins

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Updated: February 26, 2012 8:16AM

CHESTERTON — Stop and go, stop and go, the gritty war of attrition seemed to be in the works. For the first few minutes of Tuesday’s Duneland game between the host Trojans and Merrillville, team records meant very little.

The Class 4A No. 3 Pirates may have entered with a perfect record. And the Trojans may be retooling this season, but four Pirates turnovers resulted in six straight points from Chesterton to start the contest.

But Merrillville coach Amy Govert instilled a basic mindset.

“You can’t control some things, but you can control how hard you play,” she said.

And one asset for the Pirates is the stifling press that resulted in some crafty steals and fast-paced breakaways to ensure an 18th straight victory, 63-42, on Tuesday night. The win clinched a share of the DAC crown.

“You’re not going to win championships or be a great team without defense,” Govert said. “We just worked on closing out and you have to close out. (Chesterton) is a great shooting team.”

By the midway point of the first quarter, a 9-3 lead for Chesterton turned into a 17-13 Merrillville advantage. Junior Dariyan Morris ended the period in style when she hit a shot at the buzzer.

“It felt good,” said Morris, who was instrumental with 17 points and finished second only to teammate Raveen Murray’s 18. “It picked up the intensity; picked it up for the whole team so we could get a lead.”

The Pirates snapped Chesterton’s (8-9) four-game win streak. Lindsay Gorman led the Trojans with 13 points.