Lake Central freshman Aniyah Bishop eliminated the seeds of doubt she might have harbored.

At the beginning of the season, the 5-foot-9 forward wasn’t quite sure about her role with the Indians. But it didn’t take long for her to make an impact.

Bishop is averaging 12.2 points and 7.9 rebounds, pacing Lake Central (5-4) in both categories.

“I began to realize I could contribute,” Bishop said. “It was shocking. I had to get used to it.”

Bishop has become a mainstay for Lake Central coach Joe Huppenthal.

“You kind of take her for granted every night,” Huppenthal said. “She gives you double-figure points, double-figure rebounds. She does her job.”

Bishop had 13 points and eight rebounds Wednesday night in Lake Central’s 62-40 win against visiting Highland. She scored seven points in the first quarter as the Indians played their first game since a 60-42 loss at Merrillville on Dec. 4, having suspended team activities because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lake Central led 16-0 before Briana Flores scored for Highland (5-5) with 18 seconds left in the first quarter.

“It was really surprising, but we were able to stay active and keep the score up,” Bishop said. “I loved the way we all contributed and passed a lot, even more than usual. I love that teamwork.

“It was just exciting to be back. It’s been really tough. It’s disappointing, especially for the seniors. But we have to be ready and give it our all every time we get the chance to play.”

The Indians called off games against five opponents during the stretch, the second time they pressed pause after also having done so during preseason practice. The game against Highland was included in that quintet, having been postponed a second time Dec. 19 after originally having been slated for Nov. 28. Lake Central also was scheduled to play Andrean on Dec. 22 before the 59ers had to enter quarantine.

“For having two practices, we’ll take it. … Hopefully after Christmas we can get some consistency,” Huppenthal said. “Now it’s about getting ready for the tournament. Hopefully we can stay healthy and not get hit by this bug again.”

Highland coach Chris Tomcsi took responsibility for the slow start against Lake Central.

“I told my team I didn’t get them ready,” he said. “An 18-2 first quarter, it comes down to that.

“But give credit to Lake Central. They had a long layoff, and they came out and executed. I told my team, ‘They’re going to come out hard and try to punch us early.’ We had to sustain that first wave, and we didn’t do a good job. And, again, that’s on me. To beat a quality opponent, to beat a Duneland school, you have to play 32 minutes, and we played maybe 22.”

Senior guard Jen Tomasic had 14 points for Lake Central. Katelyn Zajeski added a career-high 14 off the bench, with the junior forward having scored 21 points this season entering the game.

“She had a great game,” Huppenthal said of Zajeski. “She’d been struggling a little bit before this, and I had a talk with her. She’s done some good things this year. So was I surprised by what happened with her? No, I wasn’t. But we got a nice game out of her.”

Junior forward Chloe Churilla had 13 points and five rebounds for Highland, which had four other players score at least five points.

“We have to right the ship,” Tomcsi said. “Right now, we’re scheduled for four games (this) week. We have to lick our wounds and be ready to go.”

Return in the DAC:In each team’s first game since Dec. 5, Merrillville topped LaPorte 55-49 on Dec. 22.

Senior guard Cailynn Dilosa had 19 points for the Pirates (5-3, 3-0). Senior guard/forward Ryin Ott, a Purdue Fort Wayne recruit, had 19 for the Slicers (2-5, 0-2) after having been sidelined for an unspecified reason.

Merrillville called off three games because of the coronavirus pandemic since its 53-45 win at Elkhart. LaPorte also called off three games since its 41-37 win over NorthWood.

COVID-19 counter: The number of Northwest Indiana teams to have missed time because of the coronavirus pandemic has increased to at least 30.

Those teams include Andrean, Bishop Noll, Boone Grove, Clark, Covenant Christian, Crown Point, East Chicago Central, Gavit, Griffith, Hebron, Highland, Hobart, Kankakee Valley, Kouts, LaCrosse, Lake Central, LaPorte, Marquette, Merrillville, Michigan City, Morgan Township, Munster, North Judson, North Newton, Portage, River Forest, Valparaiso, West Side, Westville and Whiting.

Andrean’s current quarantine resulted in the postponement of its Dec. 23 game against No. 1 Crown Point.

That game has been rescheduled for Jan. 23.