The Chesterton Trojans hosted the La Porte Slicers in both boys and girls basketball on Friday night. The atmosphere at the game showed the tradition of basketball in the whole state of Indiana with a gym that was packed full on both sides. Chesterton fans filed into the gym early to see the girls play, then stayed late until after the guys game.
Both Chesterton teams came out on top. The Chesterton girls were lead by Ashley Craycraft and Nalani Malackowski. The game was sealed off by Craycraft with 7 seconds left when she hit a three-pointer to put the Trojans up by one point. The final score was 46-45.
Malackowski set the tone for the night in the 1st quarter as she hit multiple three-pointers to show that Chesterton was there to win another DAC game. Craycraft’s three-pointer late in the game also set the tone for the boys game.
Craycraft, a senior for the Trojans, knew that the shot was going in as soon as she got the ball.
“I almost traveled when I got the ball, so I was like, ‘Ashley, you better not travel,’” joked Craycraft. “As soon as I let it go, I was saying ‘oh goodness here we go,’ and so it felt really good when it came off my hand.”
“It was pretty cool to have the whole fan base cheering for you. People are jumping up and down and it was really cool to see everyone on your side,” added Craycraft.
Head coach Jack Campbell said that Craycraft has been a leader for the Trojans all year.
“She leaves it all on the line for us, and she plays for all 32 minutes,” Campbell said.
The boys game began slowly for the Trojans in the first quarter but a strong second quarter and second half helped them top the Slicers 67-44.
The team is usually led in scoring by star senior Jake Wadding, but sophomore Travis Grayson stepped up in the first half to help the Trojans. He repeatedly got to the basket in their win. Every time he scored, the entire gym exploded in an uproar. When the Slicers turned the ball over 4 times in a row in the 2nd quarter, the atmosphere played a huge factor for the Trojans.
For Chesterton basketball as a whole, the night was extravagant.
“When Ashley hit that shot at the end of the game, I got hyped, the whole gym got hyped,” added Grayson.
The boys will be back in action at Crown Point on the 24th of January and the girls will be back in action at Hammond Bishop Noll on the 21st of January. Be sure to catch a home game to witness the atmosphere created by the fans of Chesterton basketball.