Crown Point Holds Off Penn, 54-45, to Capture 4A LaPorte Regional

Crown Point turned a tight regional final into a decisive finish, outscoring Penn 21-12 in the fourth quarter and holding on for a 54-45 victory in the Class 4A LaPorte Regional at LaPorte. The Bulldogs shot 15-of-21 from the field in the second half, calmly sank 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch, and punched their ticket to the four-team semistate on Saturday, Feb. 21.

Star sophomore guard Ava Richie led Crown Point with 14 points. "Star sophomore guard Ava Richie, who never slowed down the entire 32 minutes at either end of the floor, led Crown Point with 14 points," a South Bend Tribune account noted. Sophomore guard Sidney Hale finished with 13 points, including seven in the final period, while 6-4 junior Ivy Henderson added 11 points as the Bulldogs avenged a 41-38 regular-season loss at Penn on Dec. 6.

Penn leaned on freshman guard Jillie Sanderson, who scored a team-high 17 points in her first season in a Kingsmen uniform. The postgame scene was raw: "The postgame tears in the eyes of Jillie Sanderson told the tale of the Penn girls basketball team," one report said, and "It was an emotional Sanderson as she tried to grasp a season-ending 54-45 loss to Crown Point in the Class 4A LaPorte Regional." Sophomore Lexi Werner finished with nine points and freshman Makenzie Juszczak had seven as Penn's 13-game winning streak came to an end and the No. 12 Kingsmen closed the season at 24-4 after winning the Northern Indiana Conference and sectional titles.

Crown Point improves to 23-4, marking its 14th win in 15 games and claiming what regional coverage described as its 11th overall regional crown and first since 2022. The nine-point margin, another summary put it, "reflected Crown Point’s ability to convert timely baskets while limiting Penn’s second-half runs." The Bulldogs’ late efficiency showed up in the box score: 8-of-11 shooting in the fourth quarter complemented the second-half barrage that turned a close contest into a finish they could control.

The game carried visual and emotional moments that told as much about programs as the numbers. Photos captured Ava Richie on the LaPorte Slicer gym floor playing with a piece of freshly cut net while Crown Point posed with its regional trophy, and the tears of Sanderson underscored the weight of a freshman season that carried Penn to league and sectional crowns before ending in LaPorte. Reports also noted Penn had been hit hard by illness this past week, a factor that shadowed the Kingsmen in the regional final.

Crown Point heads to semistate on Feb. 21 with a young core that has national-caliber production from underclassmen and a regional title that boosts the program’s profile. For Penn, a 24-4 finish and the emergence of Sanderson provide a foundation to rebuild after the 13-game streak halted in LaPorte.