Valley’s Season Ends With NorthWood Loss
February 6, 2021 at 4:33 a.m.
Valley’s Season Ends With NorthWood Loss
By Steve Krah-
But the ball just didn’t go through the hoop as the Lady Vikings lost 62-61 in overtime Friday, Feb. 5 in the semifinals of the IHSAA Class 3A Wawasee Sectional.
Sophomore Macy Lengacher’s left-swing 15-footer put NorthWood up 62-61 with 9.2 seconds to go.
Valley senior Sidney Wagner had one shot at basket that resulted in a team rebound for the Vikings as the clock rolled down to :1.5.
Senior Ashley Butler inbound the ball from the end line to Wagner, who launched a 3-point shot that was little short.
“She had a good look at the basket and we had an opportunity there,” said 11th-year Vikings head coach Chris Kindig of the final sequence. “It didn’t go in. That’s basketball sometimes.”
Wagner finished with 27 points — 19 in the second half.
Valley sophomore Kaydence Mellott produced 13 of her 19 after halftime.
Vikings senior Hayley Backus canned eight of her 10 in the first half.
Senior Kendal Miller (30 points), senior Alea Minnich (12), senior Bre Wise (9) and Lengacher (8) were NorthWood scoring leaders.
Miller buried six of her team’s nine 3-pointers with five coming in the second half.
“Sometimes that’s what you need to do to win,” said Kindig of the Panthers’ perimeter flurry. “That was huge.
“They made the plays and we didn’t.”
Valley, which defeated NorthWood 57-52 Jan. 12 in Akron, was up 16-6 in the first half of Friday’s rematch. By halftime, the Panthers trailed by just 25-20.
The Vikings led 38-32 in the last minute of the third period took a 39-34 lead into the fourth.
NorthWood moved to 3-13 on the season and Valley wound up at 13-9.
Kindig reflected on the 2020-21 season that was marked by stops and starts and quarantines thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There were times when you didn’t know who was going to play,” said Kindig. “Are they going practice or be out of two weeks?
“We had gaps like everybody else did. But as far as team chemistry, this is one of the best teams I’ve ever had. The girls gave it their all. This was a fun group to coach. It really was.”
Besides Wagner and Backus, Valley says goodbye to one other senior in Ashley Butler.
Also seeing the floor Friday were sophomores Lily Ault and Corinna Stiles.
Earlier Friday, Lakeland outlasted West Noble 49-47 with Madison Keil making the game-winning basket with three seconds to go. The sectional final at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 pits Lakeland (19-7) against NorthWood.
But the ball just didn’t go through the hoop as the Lady Vikings lost 62-61 in overtime Friday, Feb. 5 in the semifinals of the IHSAA Class 3A Wawasee Sectional.
Sophomore Macy Lengacher’s left-swing 15-footer put NorthWood up 62-61 with 9.2 seconds to go.
Valley senior Sidney Wagner had one shot at basket that resulted in a team rebound for the Vikings as the clock rolled down to :1.5.
Senior Ashley Butler inbound the ball from the end line to Wagner, who launched a 3-point shot that was little short.
“She had a good look at the basket and we had an opportunity there,” said 11th-year Vikings head coach Chris Kindig of the final sequence. “It didn’t go in. That’s basketball sometimes.”
Wagner finished with 27 points — 19 in the second half.
Valley sophomore Kaydence Mellott produced 13 of her 19 after halftime.
Vikings senior Hayley Backus canned eight of her 10 in the first half.
Senior Kendal Miller (30 points), senior Alea Minnich (12), senior Bre Wise (9) and Lengacher (8) were NorthWood scoring leaders.
Miller buried six of her team’s nine 3-pointers with five coming in the second half.
“Sometimes that’s what you need to do to win,” said Kindig of the Panthers’ perimeter flurry. “That was huge.
“They made the plays and we didn’t.”
Valley, which defeated NorthWood 57-52 Jan. 12 in Akron, was up 16-6 in the first half of Friday’s rematch. By halftime, the Panthers trailed by just 25-20.
The Vikings led 38-32 in the last minute of the third period took a 39-34 lead into the fourth.
NorthWood moved to 3-13 on the season and Valley wound up at 13-9.
Kindig reflected on the 2020-21 season that was marked by stops and starts and quarantines thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There were times when you didn’t know who was going to play,” said Kindig. “Are they going practice or be out of two weeks?
“We had gaps like everybody else did. But as far as team chemistry, this is one of the best teams I’ve ever had. The girls gave it their all. This was a fun group to coach. It really was.”
Besides Wagner and Backus, Valley says goodbye to one other senior in Ashley Butler.
Also seeing the floor Friday were sophomores Lily Ault and Corinna Stiles.
Earlier Friday, Lakeland outlasted West Noble 49-47 with Madison Keil making the game-winning basket with three seconds to go. The sectional final at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 pits Lakeland (19-7) against NorthWood.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092