Manchester, Valley Share TRC Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Entering Saturday's road game in control of the TRC with a 5-1 mark, the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings had a shot at the outright title, as Manchester, Wabash, and Rochester all sat at 4-2.
But, following Manchester's 45-43 win over Valley, the conference championship was split four ways, as Wabash and Rochester also picked up TRC wins Saturday.
"At times, I felt like, emotionally, they wanted it a little bit more than we wanted it tonight," Valley coach Chris Kindig said.
The Lady Squires (14-5) may have had a little more sense of urgency, considering Valley (13-5) already had at least a share of the title, while a loss would have left Manchester in fourth place in the conference.
"The conference is just so even this year," Manchester coach Mark Underwood said. "Two of the teams even toward the bottom of the conference are capable. It took us overtime to beat North Miami and Southwood beat us. Those are very good teams. There just weren't any games in the conference this season, where you could just take it lightly."
And Kindig felt his squad played better than anyone, but in the end, had to split a championship with half the conference.
"I felt all year that we were one of the most consistent teams in the conference," he said. "In terms of our schedule, we had three tough (conference) road games. We were at Wabash, Rochester and Manchester. For us, those are tough places to go."
And Saturday night, Manchester was tough on senior Staci Groom.
Entering the game averaging 22.5 points a game, Groom made just 1 of 13 shots, and went 2 of 6 at the free throw line, finishing with four points.
Knowing Groom's knack for getting the ball into the basket, Underwood left the chore of guarding her to senior Meika Kennedy.
"We've really got to give Meika Kennedy a lot credit," Underwood said. "She played some mighty tough defense on a very good basketball player in Staci Groom."
While Kennedy was hounding Groom, the rest of the Lady Squires fell into a zone, which worked, as Valley finished the game making 15 of 49 shots (31 percent).
"I was not surprised that they played a box-and-one," Kindig said about Manchester's defensive scheme to disrupt Groom. "We knew going in that they were probably going to do that. I felt really confident this year that we had other players that could step up."
In the first half, senior Tory Keirn took on the scoring load, netting 11 points, but after picking up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter, her playing time was limited.
Playing with the fouls, Keirn took just one shot in the second half, which happened to be a made three-pointer with 14 seconds left, cutting the Lady Squires' lead to 44-43.
Following the trey, Valley fouled Manchester senior Malyssa Bedke, who made one of two free throws, setting up a final shot for the Lady Vikings.
On top 45-43 in the final seconds, the Lady Squires' defense stepped up, earning the team its first TRC title since 2007.
"We're really, really happy for the girls," Underwood said. "We're pleased with the outcome tonight. They listened and did a good job of following through with the game plan."
And while the Lady Vikings also won a share of the title, their first since 2009, Kindig shared his thought on the bittersweet moment.
"We're kind of like kids right now," he said. "We didn't want to share."
Valley is back in action tonight, travelling to Peru, while Manchester closes out its regular season Thursday at home against South Adams.
MANCHESTER 45, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 43
V 18 10 5 10 - 43
M 13 9 10 13 - 45
Manchester - Malyssa Bedke 2-5 1-2 5, Meika Kennedy 2-4 3-3 8, Hanna Schmidt 0-3 2-2 2, Kayla Flack 4-8 3-4 11, Hannah Little 1-6 0-0 2, Bekah Brunn 2-3 0-0 5, Kaylee Watson 3-5 0-0 7, Lindsey Budnik 2-4 1-3 5, Autumn Brewer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-38 10-14 45.
Valley - Staci Groom 1-13 2-6 4, Danielle Bussard 2-6 1-2 5, Megan Bibler 0-3 2-2 2, Kelsey Ball 3-8 0-0 6, Tory Keirn 4-8 4-4 14, Caylie Teel 4-7 2-2 10, Brooke O'Connor 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Newsome 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 15-49 11-16 43.
Three-point goals - Manchester 3-7 (Kennedy, Brunn, Watson), Valley 2-6 (Keirn 2) ; Team Fouls - Manchester 12, Valley 17; Turnovers - Manchester 24, Valley 16; Rebounds - Manchester 29 (Flack 10), Valley 22 (Ball 7); Assists - Manchester 5 (Little 2), Valley 13 (Bussard 4, Ball 4); Steals - Manchester 8 (Flack 3, Little 3), Valley 9 (Groom 2, Bussard 2, Bibler 2); Blocks - Manchester 2, Valley 1; Records: Manchester 14-5 (5-2 TRC), Valley 13-5 (5-2 TRC).
JV - Valley 47, Manchester 11.
JV Scoring: Valley - Teel 14, Cara Hoffman 11, Taylor Trippiedi 9, Sara Alexander 6, Robyn Dunnuck 4, Morgan Conliff 2, Alaina O'Connell 1; Manchester - Tabby DeWitt 5, Celina Carter 3, Lindsey Dierks 2, Mariah Mobley 1.[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
Entering Saturday's road game in control of the TRC with a 5-1 mark, the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings had a shot at the outright title, as Manchester, Wabash, and Rochester all sat at 4-2.
But, following Manchester's 45-43 win over Valley, the conference championship was split four ways, as Wabash and Rochester also picked up TRC wins Saturday.
"At times, I felt like, emotionally, they wanted it a little bit more than we wanted it tonight," Valley coach Chris Kindig said.
The Lady Squires (14-5) may have had a little more sense of urgency, considering Valley (13-5) already had at least a share of the title, while a loss would have left Manchester in fourth place in the conference.
"The conference is just so even this year," Manchester coach Mark Underwood said. "Two of the teams even toward the bottom of the conference are capable. It took us overtime to beat North Miami and Southwood beat us. Those are very good teams. There just weren't any games in the conference this season, where you could just take it lightly."
And Kindig felt his squad played better than anyone, but in the end, had to split a championship with half the conference.
"I felt all year that we were one of the most consistent teams in the conference," he said. "In terms of our schedule, we had three tough (conference) road games. We were at Wabash, Rochester and Manchester. For us, those are tough places to go."
And Saturday night, Manchester was tough on senior Staci Groom.
Entering the game averaging 22.5 points a game, Groom made just 1 of 13 shots, and went 2 of 6 at the free throw line, finishing with four points.
Knowing Groom's knack for getting the ball into the basket, Underwood left the chore of guarding her to senior Meika Kennedy.
"We've really got to give Meika Kennedy a lot credit," Underwood said. "She played some mighty tough defense on a very good basketball player in Staci Groom."
While Kennedy was hounding Groom, the rest of the Lady Squires fell into a zone, which worked, as Valley finished the game making 15 of 49 shots (31 percent).
"I was not surprised that they played a box-and-one," Kindig said about Manchester's defensive scheme to disrupt Groom. "We knew going in that they were probably going to do that. I felt really confident this year that we had other players that could step up."
In the first half, senior Tory Keirn took on the scoring load, netting 11 points, but after picking up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter, her playing time was limited.
Playing with the fouls, Keirn took just one shot in the second half, which happened to be a made three-pointer with 14 seconds left, cutting the Lady Squires' lead to 44-43.
Following the trey, Valley fouled Manchester senior Malyssa Bedke, who made one of two free throws, setting up a final shot for the Lady Vikings.
On top 45-43 in the final seconds, the Lady Squires' defense stepped up, earning the team its first TRC title since 2007.
"We're really, really happy for the girls," Underwood said. "We're pleased with the outcome tonight. They listened and did a good job of following through with the game plan."
And while the Lady Vikings also won a share of the title, their first since 2009, Kindig shared his thought on the bittersweet moment.
"We're kind of like kids right now," he said. "We didn't want to share."
Valley is back in action tonight, travelling to Peru, while Manchester closes out its regular season Thursday at home against South Adams.
MANCHESTER 45, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 43
V 18 10 5 10 - 43
M 13 9 10 13 - 45
Manchester - Malyssa Bedke 2-5 1-2 5, Meika Kennedy 2-4 3-3 8, Hanna Schmidt 0-3 2-2 2, Kayla Flack 4-8 3-4 11, Hannah Little 1-6 0-0 2, Bekah Brunn 2-3 0-0 5, Kaylee Watson 3-5 0-0 7, Lindsey Budnik 2-4 1-3 5, Autumn Brewer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-38 10-14 45.
Valley - Staci Groom 1-13 2-6 4, Danielle Bussard 2-6 1-2 5, Megan Bibler 0-3 2-2 2, Kelsey Ball 3-8 0-0 6, Tory Keirn 4-8 4-4 14, Caylie Teel 4-7 2-2 10, Brooke O'Connor 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Newsome 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 15-49 11-16 43.
Three-point goals - Manchester 3-7 (Kennedy, Brunn, Watson), Valley 2-6 (Keirn 2) ; Team Fouls - Manchester 12, Valley 17; Turnovers - Manchester 24, Valley 16; Rebounds - Manchester 29 (Flack 10), Valley 22 (Ball 7); Assists - Manchester 5 (Little 2), Valley 13 (Bussard 4, Ball 4); Steals - Manchester 8 (Flack 3, Little 3), Valley 9 (Groom 2, Bussard 2, Bibler 2); Blocks - Manchester 2, Valley 1; Records: Manchester 14-5 (5-2 TRC), Valley 13-5 (5-2 TRC).
JV - Valley 47, Manchester 11.
JV Scoring: Valley - Teel 14, Cara Hoffman 11, Taylor Trippiedi 9, Sara Alexander 6, Robyn Dunnuck 4, Morgan Conliff 2, Alaina O'Connell 1; Manchester - Tabby DeWitt 5, Celina Carter 3, Lindsey Dierks 2, Mariah Mobley 1.[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092