PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Northridge uses 3-point barrage, downs Merrillville in tournament finale

Dec. 30—MIDDLEBURY — For the third time in as many years, Northridge has won the Interra Classic.

They did it by a wide margin too.

Getting the green light, Northridge piled up 13 triples, steamrolling its way to another tournament championship, beating Merrillville 74-51 and moving to 17-1 on the season.

"Obviously, this was a measuring stick game for us," Northridge head coach Doug Springer said after the win. "We played them a month ago and we talked about how far we've grown in a month."

The Raiders needed to hold on to beat the Pirates 56-52 on the road this November. However, the defensive improvements were in focus for most of the day, frustrating the visitors and creating offensive success throughout the afternoon.

Northridge shot 27-of-54 from the floor and were 13-of-25 from 3-point range. Merrillville (9-7) shot 22-of-38 from the floor and 2-of-6 from distance. The deep connections were the difference for the home Raiders.

Junior Rielyn Goodwin totaled 23 points to lead the championship effort and earn herself MVP honors. Ella Mohamed scored 15 points and was the catalyst from behind the arc, knocking down five treys — four in the second quarter.

"I mean we were all knocking down shots," Goodwin said. "Ella, she had a bunch of threes, she was on fire. Sabrina [Miller] was knocking down shots, Cam [Conley was too]. I mean, we were all hot."

"Those guys have the green light to shoot whenever they want," Springer added. "They've earned that with how much time they've put in at the gym."

Saturday's championship game came after the end of pool play. Northridge had topped Andrean 66-19 to begin the day after going 2-0 the day before with wins over Bishop Dwenger and Knox.

Physicality was apparent early with four tie-ups in the first minute of action. That kept the game close until Miller knocked down consecutive 3-pointers followed by triples from Conley and Goodwin to create a 16-8 edge. Another Conley triple helped Northridge take a 21-12 advantage into the second quarter.

Traveling violations continued to eat away at Merrillville's opportunities as it had the whole tournament. A few too many steps ruined successful layups on the other end and caused frustration to sweep over the visiting bench.

Goodwin opened the scoring in the next period before Mohamed shot 4-for-5 from distance and paved a 41-20 lead the break. Merrillville stars Kylie Wells and Malika Jenkins were held to four and seven points respectively for the first half.

"The last time, she was the one who really hurt us," Springer said of Wells. "I thought Rielyn Goodwin and Sabrina Miller did a great job on her but then they ran some ball screen action and so that put Gaby Gates on her. I thought all three of those girls did a great job."

The third period featured Northridge's starters early, but most were pulled as the Raiders didn't allow the Pirates to sneak back into the game. A 54-32 lead was brought into the final frame where Northridge went on to win 74-51.

While a 23-point victory, it was the closest game the Raiders played all tournament, making the No. 9 ranked Raiders a lethal team to watch in the area.

"For us to come out and have almost as complete of a game as we could play, it's just a phenomenal job by our girls," Springer said. "I thought defensively against a team like that, I thought we were really, really good. That's a super athletic team, they can go downhill. For us to frustrate them like we did, it's just a really good job by our girls."

Goodwin (23 points) led the Raiders followed by Mohamed (15), Conley (12), Morgan Cross (10), Miller (9), Lily Scholl (3) and Gaby Gates (2).

Goodwin opened up on where Northridge has seen the largest climb this month with important conference games and the sectional round creeping nearer.

"I think our defense and our communication on the floor has gotten way better since that game," Goodwin said about the difference between the first game against Merrillville and the one Saturday. "Our communication had been one of our goals that we've worked on and I think we're getting there. We're at our peak almost."

Northridge has now won 12-straight Interra Classic games and 16-straight games this season.

Sabrina Miller was named to the All-Tournament team before the game, joining NorthWood's Claire Payne. The Panthers finished in third place after beating South Bend St. Joseph (47-21) and Bishop Dwenger (48-34) Saturday to finish the tournament 3-1.

"I'm just really proud of our guys," Springer said. "This was one of our goals we had for them this season and for them to win three in a row, that's tough."

Northridge (17-1) is back in action Wednesday, when the Raiders face Tippecanoe Valley at home before a matchup at Warsaw that may decide the Northern Lakes Conference winner. NorthWood (14-3) returns home Tuesday to take on John Glenn. Saturday, the Panthers will face NLC play by taking on Wawasee.

PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

Interra Classic hosted by Northridge High School

DAY TWO RESULTS

Northridge 66, Andrean 19

Rielyn Goodwin (15 points), Sabrina Miller (14), Morgan Cross (9), Gaby Gates (7), Ella Mohamed (7), Lily Scholl (6), Cam Conley (3), Reagan Huss (3), Taylor Baugh (2)

NorthWood 47, South Bend St. Joseph 21

Haylee Heflin (12 points), Claire Payne (10), Callie Johnson (7), Megan Yoder (6), Ella Branham (6), Addie Davis (3), Jenna Householter (3)

Northridge 74, Merrillville 51

Rielyn Goodwin (23 points), Ella Mohamed (15), Cam Conley (12), Morgan Cross (10), Sabrina Miller (9), Lily Scholl (3), Gaby Gates (2)

NorthWood 48, Bishop Dwenger 34

Haylee Heflin (11 points), Joselyn Edwards (11), Callie Johnson (7), Knizee Hartman (6), Ella Branham (4), Megan Yoder (3), Claire Payne (2), Claire Hill (2), Tessa Branham (1)

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MVP

Rielyn Goodwin (Northridge)

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Sabrina Miller (Northridge)

Claire Payne (NorthWood)

Maddie Walton (Andrean)

Portland Minix (Knox)

Izzie Eke (Bishop Dwenger)

Kayla Woods (South Bend St. Joseph)

Kylie Wells (Merrillville)

Leonie Boyer (Rushville)

FINAL STANDINGS

Northridge (4-0), Merrillville (3-1), NorthWood (3-1), Bishop Dwenger (2-2), South Bend St. Joseph (2-2), Knox (1-3), Rushville (1-3), Andrean (0-4)

Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.