Triton Girls Top T. Valley In OT
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Following 36 minutes of the play, the Class 1A No. 6 Triton Lady Trojans (7-0) held off the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings (5-2) by a 44-39 count.
"It was a big game," Triton coach Adam Heckaman said. "Our girls came in here knowing this was going to be a team that was tough. They took it to Plymouth and stuck with Warsaw for a while, and they beat some teams we had beaten and beat them a little worse. Our girls notice that stuff. We focused on what we needed to do."
Early on, it was Valley that seemed more equipped to take the win, holding the Lady Trojans to four second-quarter points and taking a 17-11 lead into the half.
"In the first half we gave up 11 points, then you look at the scoreboard, and I know it was an overtime game, but we gave up 33 points in the second half," Kindig said. "If we played defense like we did in the first, we wouldn't have had to go to overtime."
Instead of coming out with the same defense, Valley was outscored 14-6 in the first five minutes of the third quarter, falling behind 25-23.
"Maybe the nerves got to us a little bit in the first half," Heckaman said. "They knew it was a big game and they were missing some shots that we should be able to make. Give Valley credit. They kind of extended their zone. They ran a 1-3-1, they pressed and with us being as young as we are, it kind of confused us a little bit and we couldn't get into a flow."
Once they got into the flow, the Lady Trojans built their lead to 36-28 with 3:47 remaining, but that's when things took a turn for the worse for the home team.
After converting just two of her previous eight three-point attempts, Valley senior Staci Groom hit a trey with 3:34 remaining, igniting an 8-0 run, which also ended with a Groom three-pointer with 1:12 left and knotted the game at 36-36.
Nearing the end of regulation, Triton freshman Kylie Mason missed on a three-point attempt. Triton junior Shana Anderson got the rebound, but also missed on her conversion, resulting in overtime.
"It says a lot about how our season has been going," Heckaman said about his squad, which was outscored 8-0 in the final three-and-a-half minutes. "It's been a roller coaster ride each game, because we do some really good things, then we look like we're freshmen and sophomores out there – which we are. They learning from it."
In the extra session, Triton scored the first three points before Valley senior Tory Keirn hit a three-pointer to knot things up at 39-39 with 2:00 left to play.
"We lost Groom a couple times for 3s, then we let Keirn get one, which got them back in it," Heckaman said. "To Valley's credit, they found those girls and they stepped up to make big shots."
However, while the Lady Vikings were hitting timely shots, they also committed turnovers at inopportune times, which included a 10-second call on their first overtime possession, then were whistled for travelling with 12 seconds remaining and Triton on top 42-39.
"At critical times, we turned the ball over tonight," Kindig said of his team, which committed 24 turnovers on the night. "We had the 10-second count and the turnover late in overtime. This year, when we've played well, we've been around 14 or 15 turnovers. That was obviously a factor in the game."
Following the final turnover, Triton senior Megan Howdeshell converted two free throws to ice the game.
Howdeshell and sophomore Taylor Hatfield each scored 13 points in the the win, while Howdeshell grabbed 11 rebounds and gave her team consistent post play.
"We got the ball to Megan, like we had talked about doing, and worked from her inside-out," Heckaman said. "We executed and that's what it came down to in the end."
Coming into the game averaging 22.2 point a game, Groom led Valley with 15 points, but went just 4 of 13 from behind the three-point arc.
The three-point shot has been a strength for Groom this season, having converted 44 percent of her attempts, but the length of Anderson at the top of Triton's 1-3-1 zone defense seemed to give her problems.
"Defensively, (Triton) was pretty good," Kindig said. "I don't think it was a typical Staci Groom night. She's shot a lot better this year. She's had road games where she had 29 against Plymouth and 23 against Wabash. Maybe we can't expect 25 out of her every road game, but they did a good job on her."
Valley's next game is a Three Rivers Conference game at North Miami Friday, while Triton's next matchup is a Northern State Conference clash at Bremen Friday night.
Featuring just one senior on the team, and two girls who saw a lot of varsity minutes last year, Heckaman knew he was going to have some inexperience on this year's team, but still, the 7-0 start isn't a total shock to him.
"We knew coming in, we had some kids that loved to play," he said. "We've got eight kids who love to play basketball. They come every night and they work hard. They're not satisfied with where they're at. They're not satisfied with being OK. They want to keep working and getting better."
TRITON 44, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 39 (0T)
V 7 10 9 10 3 39
T 7 4 16 9 8 – 44
Triton – Taylor Hatfield 4-8 5-7 13, Breanna Lemler 1-3 0-0 2, Mallorie Jennings 0-4 1-3 1, Shana Anderson 3-17 0-0 6, Megan Howdeshell 3-7 7-8 13, Kaelyn Mason 0-0 0-0 0, Krystal Sellers 0-0 0-0 0, Kylie Mason 2-6 3-5 9. Totals 13-45 16-23 44.
Valley – Staci Groom 5-16 1-2 15, Danielle Bussard 1-4 0-0 2, Megan Bibler 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Ball 2-2 3-4 7, Tory Keirn 2-7 2-2 8, Caylie Teel 0-1 0-0 0, Brooke O'Connor 1-3 0-0 2, Courtney Newsome 0-3 3-4 3, Connor Fraser 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 12-39 9-12 39.
Three-point goals – Triton 2-10 (Ky. Mason 2), Valley 6-18 (Groom 4, Keirn 2); Team Fouls – Triton 13, Valley 18; Turnovers – Triton 18, Valley 24; Rebounds – Triton 30 (Howdeshell 11), Valley 36 (Keirn 6); Assists – Triton 9 (Jennings 4), Valley 10 (Groom 3); Steals – Triton 14 (Anderson 5), Valley 9 (Bussard 2, Ball 2, Keirn 2, Newsome 2); Blocks – Triton 0, Valley 1; Records: Triton 7-0, Valley 5-2
JV – Valley 21, Triton 16
Valley – Taylor Trippiedi 6, Robyn Dunnuck 6, Cara Hoffman 4, Teel 4, Casey Dunn 1
Triton – Becca Kennedy 9, Hannah Jennings 5, Autumn Kann 2[[In-content Ad]]
Following 36 minutes of the play, the Class 1A No. 6 Triton Lady Trojans (7-0) held off the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings (5-2) by a 44-39 count.
"It was a big game," Triton coach Adam Heckaman said. "Our girls came in here knowing this was going to be a team that was tough. They took it to Plymouth and stuck with Warsaw for a while, and they beat some teams we had beaten and beat them a little worse. Our girls notice that stuff. We focused on what we needed to do."
Early on, it was Valley that seemed more equipped to take the win, holding the Lady Trojans to four second-quarter points and taking a 17-11 lead into the half.
"In the first half we gave up 11 points, then you look at the scoreboard, and I know it was an overtime game, but we gave up 33 points in the second half," Kindig said. "If we played defense like we did in the first, we wouldn't have had to go to overtime."
Instead of coming out with the same defense, Valley was outscored 14-6 in the first five minutes of the third quarter, falling behind 25-23.
"Maybe the nerves got to us a little bit in the first half," Heckaman said. "They knew it was a big game and they were missing some shots that we should be able to make. Give Valley credit. They kind of extended their zone. They ran a 1-3-1, they pressed and with us being as young as we are, it kind of confused us a little bit and we couldn't get into a flow."
Once they got into the flow, the Lady Trojans built their lead to 36-28 with 3:47 remaining, but that's when things took a turn for the worse for the home team.
After converting just two of her previous eight three-point attempts, Valley senior Staci Groom hit a trey with 3:34 remaining, igniting an 8-0 run, which also ended with a Groom three-pointer with 1:12 left and knotted the game at 36-36.
Nearing the end of regulation, Triton freshman Kylie Mason missed on a three-point attempt. Triton junior Shana Anderson got the rebound, but also missed on her conversion, resulting in overtime.
"It says a lot about how our season has been going," Heckaman said about his squad, which was outscored 8-0 in the final three-and-a-half minutes. "It's been a roller coaster ride each game, because we do some really good things, then we look like we're freshmen and sophomores out there – which we are. They learning from it."
In the extra session, Triton scored the first three points before Valley senior Tory Keirn hit a three-pointer to knot things up at 39-39 with 2:00 left to play.
"We lost Groom a couple times for 3s, then we let Keirn get one, which got them back in it," Heckaman said. "To Valley's credit, they found those girls and they stepped up to make big shots."
However, while the Lady Vikings were hitting timely shots, they also committed turnovers at inopportune times, which included a 10-second call on their first overtime possession, then were whistled for travelling with 12 seconds remaining and Triton on top 42-39.
"At critical times, we turned the ball over tonight," Kindig said of his team, which committed 24 turnovers on the night. "We had the 10-second count and the turnover late in overtime. This year, when we've played well, we've been around 14 or 15 turnovers. That was obviously a factor in the game."
Following the final turnover, Triton senior Megan Howdeshell converted two free throws to ice the game.
Howdeshell and sophomore Taylor Hatfield each scored 13 points in the the win, while Howdeshell grabbed 11 rebounds and gave her team consistent post play.
"We got the ball to Megan, like we had talked about doing, and worked from her inside-out," Heckaman said. "We executed and that's what it came down to in the end."
Coming into the game averaging 22.2 point a game, Groom led Valley with 15 points, but went just 4 of 13 from behind the three-point arc.
The three-point shot has been a strength for Groom this season, having converted 44 percent of her attempts, but the length of Anderson at the top of Triton's 1-3-1 zone defense seemed to give her problems.
"Defensively, (Triton) was pretty good," Kindig said. "I don't think it was a typical Staci Groom night. She's shot a lot better this year. She's had road games where she had 29 against Plymouth and 23 against Wabash. Maybe we can't expect 25 out of her every road game, but they did a good job on her."
Valley's next game is a Three Rivers Conference game at North Miami Friday, while Triton's next matchup is a Northern State Conference clash at Bremen Friday night.
Featuring just one senior on the team, and two girls who saw a lot of varsity minutes last year, Heckaman knew he was going to have some inexperience on this year's team, but still, the 7-0 start isn't a total shock to him.
"We knew coming in, we had some kids that loved to play," he said. "We've got eight kids who love to play basketball. They come every night and they work hard. They're not satisfied with where they're at. They're not satisfied with being OK. They want to keep working and getting better."
TRITON 44, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 39 (0T)
V 7 10 9 10 3 39
T 7 4 16 9 8 – 44
Triton – Taylor Hatfield 4-8 5-7 13, Breanna Lemler 1-3 0-0 2, Mallorie Jennings 0-4 1-3 1, Shana Anderson 3-17 0-0 6, Megan Howdeshell 3-7 7-8 13, Kaelyn Mason 0-0 0-0 0, Krystal Sellers 0-0 0-0 0, Kylie Mason 2-6 3-5 9. Totals 13-45 16-23 44.
Valley – Staci Groom 5-16 1-2 15, Danielle Bussard 1-4 0-0 2, Megan Bibler 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Ball 2-2 3-4 7, Tory Keirn 2-7 2-2 8, Caylie Teel 0-1 0-0 0, Brooke O'Connor 1-3 0-0 2, Courtney Newsome 0-3 3-4 3, Connor Fraser 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 12-39 9-12 39.
Three-point goals – Triton 2-10 (Ky. Mason 2), Valley 6-18 (Groom 4, Keirn 2); Team Fouls – Triton 13, Valley 18; Turnovers – Triton 18, Valley 24; Rebounds – Triton 30 (Howdeshell 11), Valley 36 (Keirn 6); Assists – Triton 9 (Jennings 4), Valley 10 (Groom 3); Steals – Triton 14 (Anderson 5), Valley 9 (Bussard 2, Ball 2, Keirn 2, Newsome 2); Blocks – Triton 0, Valley 1; Records: Triton 7-0, Valley 5-2
JV – Valley 21, Triton 16
Valley – Taylor Trippiedi 6, Robyn Dunnuck 6, Cara Hoffman 4, Teel 4, Casey Dunn 1
Triton – Becca Kennedy 9, Hannah Jennings 5, Autumn Kann 2[[In-content Ad]]
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