Girls basketball: Michigan City dominates Crown Point, wins sectional title

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Woves forward Keshyana Cooper cuts down the net after her team won the girls sectional on Saturday February 11, 2012 at Portage High School. | Jim Karczewski~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 13, 2012 10:42AM

PORTAGE — Some teams just have the look.

Michigan City had the look Saturday. The Wolves were a tightly wound ball of energy and execution Saturday in their 63-44 victory over Crown Point in the championship game of the Portage Sectional. It’s the first sectional title for Michigan City since 2009.

The Wolves came into the game with one big notch on their belt after thumping Merrillville by 14 points on Friday.

They added another one by dominating the Bulldogs pretty much from the opening tip to the final buzzer. The point of emphasis came on the boards, where Crown Point was outrebunded 51-28. Michigan City outrebounded Crown Point 23-12 on the offensive boards.

“They did a fantastic job on the boards,” Crown Point coach Anne Equihua said. “That was the deciding factor.”

The biggest dominator on the boards was Keyshyanna Cooper. Cooper was a sky scraper, finishing with 22 boards and 10 points.

Cooper had her hands on almost every loose ball that came off the boards.

“She owned the glass,” Michigan City coach Mike Megyese said.

Said Cooper: “I just want to get the ball on every possession.”

She pretty much did that, making the Bulldogs defenders look like they were jumping in slow motion.

After Crown Point went ahead 5-3 on a basket buy Courtney Kvachkoff, Michigan City reeled off eight straight points, taking a 15-7 lead after a basket by Jameka Collins.

The Wolves expanded their lead to 20-9 at the end of the quarter when Toni Murphy ran about 20 seconds off the clock and then sliced through two CP defenders and scored on a a running layup. Megyese jumped off the bench and offered a fist pump to his team, which trotted into the locker room with a 15-point lead.

Michigan City outrebounded the Bulldogs 25-16 in the first half. Eleven of those rebounds were on the offensive end.

Trailing by double digits, Crown Point had to come out and trap and pressure Michigan City.

That turned out to be a losing strategy for trying to make up ground against the Wolves, who were quicker and more explosive to the basket.

The Wolves stretched the lead to 18 with 1:37 left after a bucket by Cooper allowing Megyese to empty his bench. Jemeka Collins led Michigan City with 12 points and two steals whileDejania Evans pitched in with 11 points.

It was a decisive, convincing performance for a team that has played well lately, winning four straight since losing to Crown Point on Jan. 31 in its next to last home game.

Megyese said the Wolves are a confident bunch.

“We really believed we were the best team,” he said.

He was right.