Playing in their final regular season game before the 50th IHSAA girls basketball tournament tips off next week, Tippecanoe Valley hosted Elkhart for its final tuneup before the playoffs. The Lady Vikings trailed for much of the game before coming on strong late and holding on in the fourth quarter for a 39-33 win.
“I thought we’ve shown some resilience these last few games. We’re figuring out how to win,” head coach Rebekah Parker said after the game. “It doesn’t have to be pretty, but I thought tonight we came up big in some big spots to come away with a win.”
Gaby Gonzalez had the hot hand early on for Valley, hitting her first two shots of the night to give her two points on a pair of floaters. The defense was working well for the home side on the other end as well, as the Lady Vikings were causing all sorts of problems for the Elkhart offense. The Lady Lions scored their first points of the night on a deep three a little over three minutes into the game.
A second triple about a minute later put the visitors on top for the first time. A shot from deep by Hadley Wise tightened the gap some and gave the home side their first make from distance moments later. With interior defenses playing incredibly well to this point, a majority of the open looks in the game were coming from the perimeter, and the players were having little trouble hitting them.
A couple of buckets in the final minute of the first, including a third floater by Gonzalez, put the Lady Vikings back in striking distance after eight minutes. After an entertaining first period, Elkhart was up 11-10.
Things slowed down drastically at the beginning of the second quarter, with more passes leading to longer possessions and few shots going up. The attempts that were going up had a hard time finding the bottom of the net as well, with no points going up on the board for the first four minutes of the period.
The drought was finally ended by a score inside by Elkhart that extended its lead to three. With Valley out of sorts on the other end, the Lady Lions had a real chance to create some separation and take control of the game. That wouldn’t happen just yet. The next make came with two minutes to go in the first half, coming on a layup by Lucy Hayden for Valley’s first points of the second quarter.
The final minute of the period saw the visitors start to string some points together, going up by six, the largest lead of the night so far. In the final seconds of the quarter, Wise was able to hit a layup in transition to cut it down to four, where it sat as the halftime buzzer sounded.
A midrange jumper by Lydia Craig on the opening possession of the third quarter ensured a much quicker start for the Lady Vikings to begin the second half. A few minutes later, Carlee Snyder banked in a shot from the post to tie things up at 18, but it would only be temporary. Elkhart would hit another three pointer to go right back on top.

    Senior Lydia Craig zeros in on the basket during the first quarter...Nieter
Valley kept on fighting. Getting the stops it needed on the defensive end, the home side was finally able to regain the lead with about three minutes to go in the third on a jumper by Wise on a nice feed from Gonzalez. This kickstarted a 6-0 run with every point scored by the sophomore that led to the Lady Vikings largest lead of the night.
“We haven’t had the best third quarters all year long. We’ve talked about it, we’ve practiced it,” Parker said. “Our kids really wanted to win tonight, win one last one for our seniors, and we were able to get it done offensively when we needed to.”
The run ended with an Elkhart layup in the final seconds of the quarter. With just five points going onto the scoreboard for the visitors in the third, the Lady Vikings now found themselves with a slight 26-23 advantage with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Things remained tight as the fourth quarter got rolling. Similar to Elkhart in the second quarter, the home side had multiple opportunities here to take advantage of a sluggish offense and extend their lead to feel a bit more comfortable. Midway through the quarter, they were able to do so, as a three by Hailey Stookey put the Lady Vikings up by eight. The Lady Lions immediately answered, hitting a triple on the other end to make it a five-point game.
It got even closer about a minute later, as another triple cut the lead down to two. Needing a bucket to get momentum back on their side, Craig came through on her senior night. Hitting a tough layup and a free throw after some contact, she was able to get it back up to five with time ticking down.
Time was now the biggest ally of the home side, with Valley on top by six and about 80 seconds remaining in the game. Thirty seconds later, it was trimmed down to four after a pair of Elkhart free throws. Needing to hit some freebies on the other end to put the game away for good, Valley was able to do just enough, along with getting the necessary stops on defense to escape with a win.
Tippecanoe Valley (12-10) will begin sectional play Tuesday at Fairfield High School against West Noble.