Valley Coach Optimistic Despite Injuries To Key Players
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Valley, led by standout guard Staci Groom, was coming off a 5-15 season that year and went 15-6 overall and 5-2 in the Three Rivers Conference.
The Lady Vikings are in a similar situation this year, as they are trying to rebound from a 7-13 campaign in which they were 3-4 in conference play.
Like the previous turnaround, Kindig is counting on some solid guard play.
“I like our ball-handling and scoring,” said Kindig, whose team opens the season Thursday night when it hosts the Bremen Lady Lions. “We also play pretty good defense with our guards.”
The Lady Vikings return their top four scorers from last year, though they will start the season without 6-foot-3 senior Sara Alexander and 5-5 junior Taylor Trippiedi because of knee injuries.
Alexander was second on the team in rebounding last year with nearly five boards per game, while Trippiedi averaged six points per game.
Both, according to Kindig, would be starters. They could be back in about three weeks.
“We’re optimistic because we have our top four scorers back, but we lose two starters right off the bat,” said Kindig. “We have to replace them with some kids that don’t have a lot of varsity experience. We’ve got a solid core of players, and we need our experienced players to carry us while our younger players get some experience.”
Back for the Lady Vikings is all-conference guard Cara Hoffman, a 5-5 senior who averaged nearly 13 points and three assists per game last year.
Other notable returnees for Valley are junior Caylie Teel (10 pts/2 assts) and senior Kelsey Ball (6 pts/4 assts), a four-year starter.
“Caylie Teel, with her size and athleticism, could play any one of four positions, and play all of them well,” said Kindig. “She’s also probably our overall best defender.”
Also on Valley’s roster are senior Robyn Dunnuck, juniors Casey Dunn and Madison Strong, sophomore Karis Tucker and freshmen Anne Secrest, Meredith Brouyette and Hannah Dunn.
Because of the injuries to Alexander and Trippiedi, Kindig said Thursday’s starting lineup for the season opener against Bremen will likely include Hoffman, Tucker, Ball, Secrest and Teel.
“We’ve got some experience, but because of injuries we need some players who are freshmen or inexperienced at the varsity level to step up,” said Kindig.
The Lady Vikings’ roster features more height than it has in years past, as Alexander is 6-3, Secrest is 6-0 and Ball and Dunn are both 5-11.
“What I like about that is we can do a lot more things defensively, with our guards and with our post players,” Kindig said of the height.
Following the game with Bremen, Valley will host county rival Warsaw on Nov. 22, then host its annual tournament Nov. 30.
After that, the Lady Vikings enter a stretch Kindig said could define their season.
In a span of 14 days, Valley will go on the road five times, playing at Plymouth (Dec. 5), Wabash (Dec. 7), Triton (Dec. 11), North Miami (Dec. 13) and Winamac (Dec. 21).
“If you look at our schedule, we don’t really get a lot of breaks,” said Kindig. “We open up with Bremen, then play Warsaw and host our tournament. After that, we have five-straight road games in December. That’s a tough stretch for us. If we can win three or four of those five games, it could be a good year for us. It’ll definitely prepare us for the tournament. And that’s what we want, to play our best ball at the end of the season.”[[In-content Ad]]
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Valley, led by standout guard Staci Groom, was coming off a 5-15 season that year and went 15-6 overall and 5-2 in the Three Rivers Conference.
The Lady Vikings are in a similar situation this year, as they are trying to rebound from a 7-13 campaign in which they were 3-4 in conference play.
Like the previous turnaround, Kindig is counting on some solid guard play.
“I like our ball-handling and scoring,” said Kindig, whose team opens the season Thursday night when it hosts the Bremen Lady Lions. “We also play pretty good defense with our guards.”
The Lady Vikings return their top four scorers from last year, though they will start the season without 6-foot-3 senior Sara Alexander and 5-5 junior Taylor Trippiedi because of knee injuries.
Alexander was second on the team in rebounding last year with nearly five boards per game, while Trippiedi averaged six points per game.
Both, according to Kindig, would be starters. They could be back in about three weeks.
“We’re optimistic because we have our top four scorers back, but we lose two starters right off the bat,” said Kindig. “We have to replace them with some kids that don’t have a lot of varsity experience. We’ve got a solid core of players, and we need our experienced players to carry us while our younger players get some experience.”
Back for the Lady Vikings is all-conference guard Cara Hoffman, a 5-5 senior who averaged nearly 13 points and three assists per game last year.
Other notable returnees for Valley are junior Caylie Teel (10 pts/2 assts) and senior Kelsey Ball (6 pts/4 assts), a four-year starter.
“Caylie Teel, with her size and athleticism, could play any one of four positions, and play all of them well,” said Kindig. “She’s also probably our overall best defender.”
Also on Valley’s roster are senior Robyn Dunnuck, juniors Casey Dunn and Madison Strong, sophomore Karis Tucker and freshmen Anne Secrest, Meredith Brouyette and Hannah Dunn.
Because of the injuries to Alexander and Trippiedi, Kindig said Thursday’s starting lineup for the season opener against Bremen will likely include Hoffman, Tucker, Ball, Secrest and Teel.
“We’ve got some experience, but because of injuries we need some players who are freshmen or inexperienced at the varsity level to step up,” said Kindig.
The Lady Vikings’ roster features more height than it has in years past, as Alexander is 6-3, Secrest is 6-0 and Ball and Dunn are both 5-11.
“What I like about that is we can do a lot more things defensively, with our guards and with our post players,” Kindig said of the height.
Following the game with Bremen, Valley will host county rival Warsaw on Nov. 22, then host its annual tournament Nov. 30.
After that, the Lady Vikings enter a stretch Kindig said could define their season.
In a span of 14 days, Valley will go on the road five times, playing at Plymouth (Dec. 5), Wabash (Dec. 7), Triton (Dec. 11), North Miami (Dec. 13) and Winamac (Dec. 21).
“If you look at our schedule, we don’t really get a lot of breaks,” said Kindig. “We open up with Bremen, then play Warsaw and host our tournament. After that, we have five-straight road games in December. That’s a tough stretch for us. If we can win three or four of those five games, it could be a good year for us. It’ll definitely prepare us for the tournament. And that’s what we want, to play our best ball at the end of the season.”[[In-content Ad]]
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