HILLARY SMITH: C.P.'s Beth Ingram defines ups and downs of Bulldogs season

Crown Point's injuries this season have depleted the girls basketball roster almost beyond recognition.

Before the season even started, gone for the year were Sarah Rivich and Haley Bordui, both slated for the starting lineup.

After that, the bug kept biting.

Taylor Equihua was lost to a knee injury.

Kendall Brown suffered a concussion and returned.

After Tuesday's sectional win against Portage, the Bulldogs learned they'd be without Morgan Frame, who was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Then there's Beth Ingram. The senior guard suffered her own concussion, came back, then two games later went out with a rib injury.

Her return came for the postseason.

On Friday against LaPorte, she was charged with guarding the Slicers' No. 2 scorer, Kelsey Sule, who had already scored 21 and 19 points in two games against Crown Point.

Ingram put a hand in Sule's face and didn't put it down. Sule didn't even take a shot, and her only points came off of 1-for-2 shooting from the free-throw line.

The Bulldogs, who lost twice in the regular season to LaPorte, won the postseason game 44-33. On Saturday, they played in their first sectional championship game since 2005, losing to Michigan City 63-44.

"It's almost one of those stories when you read that here's a kid who played JV last year, wasn't sure she wanted to come out, decided to come out, worked her tail off knowing she's behind, and kept working hard," C.P. coach Annie Equihua said. "Then again, you have to tell kids, unfortunate injuries happen, that's when you have to have people step up. She's such a team player, she doesn't care about points, she only cares about our team winning."

After two weeks out of the lineup, Ingram said she felt no pain on the court. Despite being unable to practice, the Bulldogs put Ingram on a stationary bike to make sure she didn't lose her lung power and muscles.

Adrenaline did the rest.

"I'm so pumped just playing with my team again," Ingram said. "When I first came back, I was a little nervous because I'd just come back from two injuries, but I'm so excited to be out there again."

Time and again, just as the Bulldogs' season started to look up, something pulled them down — an injury, a close loss, another injury.

At the beginning of the season, when it looked as though everyone would be healthy, a sectional championship was foremost on the players' minds. Because of all the speed bumps, however, they couldn't quite make it.

"We started to get our groove together and you just have to be able to adjust to it," Ingram said. "Annie told me to do my job and I couldn't let her down. Especially to get to the championship, it's almost like this isn't happening."

This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach her at hillary.smith@nwi.com.