There's A Lot Of Reasons To Look Forward
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
There’s reason to believe the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings have lost to the eventual state champion two years in a row now. The IHSAA moved Heritage Christian up to 3A, in spite of its 1A enrollment, because the Lady Eagles have earned its way to better competition.
But alas, not all is lost for Valley. Dozens, if not hundreds, of teams across the state and nation would trade placed with the Lady Vikings in a heartbeat, not just for a stellar record (they’ve won 50 games in the last two seasons) but for the fan support they enjoy. Covering the Valley game at Rochester is a highlight of my sporting life at this point; the energy in the building was fantastic.
The Lady Vikings, like all great teams, lose some senior leadership. But, like all solid programs, there’s people ready to step up and keep the team moving in a positive direction.
Rochester seems unlikely to be as strong next season with all the seniors that need replacing there, but Whitko looks poised to take the next step forward, returning four starters from a team that displayed the heart of a champion in coming back from a double-digit deficit to take a taller, experienced Westview team to overtime.
Senior night at Warsaw wasn’t necessary for any players; they’ll be loaded with seniors next season with a toughness that comes from starting 1-10 against a bear of a schedule. Of the teams the Lady Tigers played in the first half of the season, there are two regional champions (Penn and Oregon-Davis), four sectional champions and a sectional runner-up. If that teams does the work in the offseason (and there’s every reason to think that’ll happen), then better times are ahead in the Tiger Den.
Whitko will start next year as a team that has set the school records for wins each of the last two seasons, and has been in a sectional championship game each of the last three seasons. They struggle with taller teams, but use quickness to overcome much of that disadvantage. They should be contenders in the Three Rivers Conference next season, and will take its shot in the postseason in search of that elusive sectional title.
Triton recovered from an 0-6 start to win the first-ever Hoosier North Athletic Conference title, and have most of the team returning next season. The sectional loss to North Miami (who should also contend in the TRC) on a banked-in buzzer beater will linger in the Lady Trojan memories for a while, but it’s something to build on.
Manchester is taking steps forward after winning just one game three seasons ago, and while they’ll miss the two Lady Squire seniors from this year’s squad, they return plenty of experience and figure to take another step or two forward.
Wawasee and Lakeland Christian will have some work to do to get where they want to go. The Lady Warriors have a lot of players returning, and will experience some transition to a new coaching system. Lakeland Christian will need to replace three seniors who played huge roles on a team that recorded the most wins for LCA since the 2009-10 season.
But all-in-all, there’s a lot to look forward to next season. It won’t be long before the disappointment of how seasons closed is replaced by the optimism that, around here, is easily justified. Good luck this summer, ladies!
And if you didn’t see even one girls basketball game this season, you haven’t a clue what you’re missing. Make plans to fix that next season.[[In-content Ad]]
There’s reason to believe the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings have lost to the eventual state champion two years in a row now. The IHSAA moved Heritage Christian up to 3A, in spite of its 1A enrollment, because the Lady Eagles have earned its way to better competition.
But alas, not all is lost for Valley. Dozens, if not hundreds, of teams across the state and nation would trade placed with the Lady Vikings in a heartbeat, not just for a stellar record (they’ve won 50 games in the last two seasons) but for the fan support they enjoy. Covering the Valley game at Rochester is a highlight of my sporting life at this point; the energy in the building was fantastic.
The Lady Vikings, like all great teams, lose some senior leadership. But, like all solid programs, there’s people ready to step up and keep the team moving in a positive direction.
Rochester seems unlikely to be as strong next season with all the seniors that need replacing there, but Whitko looks poised to take the next step forward, returning four starters from a team that displayed the heart of a champion in coming back from a double-digit deficit to take a taller, experienced Westview team to overtime.
Senior night at Warsaw wasn’t necessary for any players; they’ll be loaded with seniors next season with a toughness that comes from starting 1-10 against a bear of a schedule. Of the teams the Lady Tigers played in the first half of the season, there are two regional champions (Penn and Oregon-Davis), four sectional champions and a sectional runner-up. If that teams does the work in the offseason (and there’s every reason to think that’ll happen), then better times are ahead in the Tiger Den.
Whitko will start next year as a team that has set the school records for wins each of the last two seasons, and has been in a sectional championship game each of the last three seasons. They struggle with taller teams, but use quickness to overcome much of that disadvantage. They should be contenders in the Three Rivers Conference next season, and will take its shot in the postseason in search of that elusive sectional title.
Triton recovered from an 0-6 start to win the first-ever Hoosier North Athletic Conference title, and have most of the team returning next season. The sectional loss to North Miami (who should also contend in the TRC) on a banked-in buzzer beater will linger in the Lady Trojan memories for a while, but it’s something to build on.
Manchester is taking steps forward after winning just one game three seasons ago, and while they’ll miss the two Lady Squire seniors from this year’s squad, they return plenty of experience and figure to take another step or two forward.
Wawasee and Lakeland Christian will have some work to do to get where they want to go. The Lady Warriors have a lot of players returning, and will experience some transition to a new coaching system. Lakeland Christian will need to replace three seniors who played huge roles on a team that recorded the most wins for LCA since the 2009-10 season.
But all-in-all, there’s a lot to look forward to next season. It won’t be long before the disappointment of how seasons closed is replaced by the optimism that, around here, is easily justified. Good luck this summer, ladies!
And if you didn’t see even one girls basketball game this season, you haven’t a clue what you’re missing. Make plans to fix that next season.[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092