AKRON -ÊTippecanoe Valley girls basketball coach Gary Teel knew Friday night's game against Northfield would be a challenge. Especially without team leader Rebekah Parker.

Parker, who injured her knee in a game against Bremen earlier this season, was in Indianapolis Friday night recovering from knee surgery while her teammates were on the court beating Three Rivers Conference opponent Northfield 63-46.

"I think the kids gave an outstanding performance," said Teel. "You never know how a group is going to handle adversity, and our girls responded like a true team. Each player who came into the game did something positive for the team."

After Northfield's Audrey Mast hit the first bucket of the game, Holli Jackson responded wih a steal and a basket of her own. Then a pair of free throw's by Viking Heather Rathbun gave Valley a 4-2 lead.

From that point, the Vikings never lost the lead. Valley went up by seven, 12-5 when Kara Kramer netted a basket at the 2:58 mark in the first quarter.

But Northfield came back and cut Valley's lead to one, 15-14, with just 20.1 ticks left in the first frame. Rathbun hit a basket with just one second left in the quarter to put Valley in the lead 17-14.

Kramer opened the second quarter with a basket and Abby Shafer followed with two successful free throws to restore a seven-point Valley lead with 7:00 still showing in the second quarter.

By the end of the second stanza, the Vikings extened their lead to nine, 31-22.

Northfield started the second half with two quick baskets, cutting Valley's lead to five, but Rathbun stopped the Northfield run with a basket at the 6:37 mark.

Then with 3:24 left in the third frame, a steal by Jackson started a 5-0 Viking run that put Valley in control 43-30.

At the end of the third frame, Valley held a 47-36 lead. Jackson extended that lead when she hit the first two baskets of the fourth quarter, making the score 51-36.

The teams traded baskets from that point on, with Valley picking up the Parker-less 63-46 win.

Kramer led all scorers with 23 points, while Jackson and Rathbun added 10 points each.

"Holli Jackson and Heather Rathbun stepped up and scored well for us," said Teel. "The whole team chipped in and did their part tonight - I couldn't be happier with them."

After having a bone chip removed from her knee and having a partially torn ligament repaired, Parker could return in two-to-three weeks. Doctors believe the injury was a deep bone bruise, but only found the bone chip during the surgical procedure to repair the ligament.

"Having the surgery now was a very tough decision for Rebekah, and we support her 100 percent," said Teel. "The surgery went well, and we'll see what happens from here. If anybody can come back, it's Rebekah. She is determined to be back by sectional time, hopefully sooner."

The win moves Valley's record to 14-1 overall and 4-0 in TRC play. The Vikings take on South Bend Clay at home Thursday evening.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 63, NORTHFIELD 46

Northfield 14 8 14 10 - 46

Valley 17 14 16 16 - 63

Northfield FG FT R S Pts.

Reed 1-8 00 7 1 2

Ad. Mast 1-2 0-0 1 0 2

Au. Mast 4-4 2-4 3 2 10

Huapert 3-5 0-1 3 2 6

Stith 5-11 2-2 4 2 13

Kline 2-4 0-0 0 1 5

McKillip 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Al. Mast 2-4 2-2 0 1 6

Penner 1-1 0-0 0 0 2

Totals 19-39 6-11 21 8 46

Valley FG FT R S Pts.

Kramer 10-22 2-4 5 4 23

Shafer 1-7 5-6 5 2 8

Jackson 5-7 0-0 1 2 10

Patterson 1-3 0-2 2 1 2

Rathbun 4-4 2-2 8 2 10

Rohrer 2-3 0-0 1 0 5

McFadden 0-2 0-0 1 0 0

Howard 1-2 0-0 0 2 2

Moore 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Anglin 1-1 1-2 0 0 3

Totals 24-51 10-16 24 13 63

Three-point goals - Northfield 2-8 (Reed 0-2, Stith 1-4, Kline 1-2), Valley 3-8 ( Kramer 1-2, Shafer 1-3, Rhorer 1-2, McFadden 0-1). Turnovers -ÊNorthfield 24, Valley 10. Fouls - Northfield 11, Valley 11. Fouled out -ÊJackson.

JV -ÊValley 44, Northfield 41, 2 OT [[In-content Ad]]