Valley Deals Whitko First Conference Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Hosting the Whitko Lady Wildcats, the Lady Vikings used a 26-3 first-half run to secure a 70-51 victory.
The outcome left both teams with 6-4 overall records, but more importantly, both now sit at 2-1 in the TRC.
“We talked about it being a must-win for us tonight,” Valley coach Chris Kindig said. “There’s no question that Whitko is a very good team. For us to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the game was great. Our girls played with a bunch of intensity tonight. They just weren’t going to be denied.”
Valley needed the win to keep pace in the TRC, but Whitko wanted it just as bad to keep up with Class 2A No. 8 Wabash and Rochester, which are both 2-0 in the conference.
After falling behind 6-0, the Lady Wildcats fought back to tie the game at 8-8, and things looked even better as Valley’s top two players, junior Caylie Teel and freshman Anne Secrest, were both sent to the bench with two fouls each.
Instead of Whitko capitalizing, it was at that point that Valley went on the 26-3 run, blowing the game open.
“At that point, we got really complacent,” Whitko coach Brandon Bradley said. “We were satisfied. We had two of their top players out with foul trouble, we were executing the game plan and everything was peachy. Then, we ended up on our heels and they go on a massive 26-3 run. It was like quicksand.”
During that run, which lasted about five minutes, Valley senior Cara Hoffman scored 11 of her game-high 23 points, while freshman Meredith Brouyette and junior Taylor Trippiedi came off the bench to net six and five points, respectively.
“That group that came in when Secrest and Teel went out, they did a great job,” Kindig said. “That was a key to the game, that we were able to sit those two and go into halftime with a 14-point lead.”
Whitko did find itself toward the end of the half, using a 9-0 spurt to close the half, entering the locker room down a more manageable 37-23.
The game was much more balanced in the second half, with Valley outscoring Whitko 33-28, but the big first-half run kept the lead comfortable the entire way.
“I would like to think we grew up in the second half,” Bradley said. “I’m not convinced that we did, but we did a lot of better things in the second half. I thought we got grittier and a little bit chippier. We were more aggressive.”
Despite both missing much of the opening half, Secrest still had 14 points and eight rebounds and Teel finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals.
For Whitko, freshman Aly Reiff had a good game, going for 18 points, eight rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocks, while sophomore Jennifer Reiff came off the bench to score 13 points to go with four rebounds and three steals. Freshman Brianna Cumberland also had 11 points and six steals.
“Right now, we’re questioning our toughness and our leadership,” Bradley said. “We have such good kids that respect each other very, very much and are a little bit timid to hold each other accountable. That’s a toughness thing. It’s partly a leadership thing, but mostly a toughness thing. We just have to get tougher.”
Both teams feature a lot of youth, but at this point, Valley’s able to lean more on the leadership of seniors Hoffman and Kelsey Ball, as well as Teel.
Despite having more experience, Kindig is still looking for his girls to get big-game experience, which he says they got Saturday night.
“I think games like this are good for us because we’re looking toward the tournament and trying to get the girls hardened for tournament,” he said. “This is one of those games where there’s good intensity and it’s a possible sectional opponent.”
In the TRC, Valley’s lone loss was to Wabash, so it will need someone to knock the Lady Apaches off if they hope to gain even a share of a conference crown. Rochester is also undefeated in the conference, but Valley is still waiting for that matchup, which comes Jan. 18 at Rochester.
“We’re still alive, but we still have some big road games,” Kindig said. “We have to go to Rochester, but we do have Northfield and Southwood at home. We still have a chance.”
Whitko still has a chance too, but it will need to knock off both Rochester and Wabash. Rochester comes to Whitko on Jan. 11, while the Lady Wildcats travel to Wabash on Feb. 1.
“We hold our own fate, because we still have to play those teams,” Bradley said. “Valley has one loss, we have one loss and Northfield has one loss. If we beat Rochester and we beat Wabash and beat those teams that are undefeated, and win out, we put ourselves in a great position.”
Both teams are out of conference for the remainder of 2013, as Valley hosts North Judson tonight and Whitko will take part in the Miami County Tournament, beginning Friday at Maconaquah High School against North Miami.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 70, WHITKO 51
W 8 15 14 14 – 51
V 16 21 13 20 – 70
Valley – Karis Tucker 1-5 3-4 5, Cara Hoffman 7-17 7-15 23, Caylie Teel 3-8 6-7 12, Kelsey Ball 2-3 0-4 4, Anne Secrest 6-7 2-3 14, Taylor Trippiedi 2-4 0-1 5, Meredith Brouyette 2-4 0-0 6, Robyn Dunnuck 0-0 1-2 1, Hannah Dunn 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Dunn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 19-36 70.
Whitko – Brianna Cumberland 3-9 4-8 11, Aly Reiff 6-10 6-6 18, Aly Nicodemus 3-8 0-0 6, Kelly Reiff 1-9 0-0 3, Jordan Hall 0-3 0-0 0, Jennifer Reiff 5-8 2-6 13, Reghan Craig 0-2 0-0 0, Haley Yohe 0-0 0-0 0, Avaree Freel 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Day 0-0 0-0 0, Hanna Yohe 0-2 0-1 0, Gretta Schneider 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 13-21 51.
Three-pointers – Valley 5-10 (Hoffman 2, Brouyette 2, Trippiedi), Whitko 2-11 (Cumberland, K. Reiff); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Valley 17, Whitko 23 (Hall, A.Reiff); Turnovers – Valley 29, Whitko 28; Rebounds – Valley 38 (Ball 8, Secrest 8), Whitko 32 (A. Reiff 8); Assists – Valley 6 (Trippiedi 2), Whitko 5 (A. Reiff 4); Steals – Valley 14 (Ball 5), Whitko 18 (Cumberland 6); Blocks – Valley 2, Whitko 2 (A. Reiff 2).
Records: Valley 6-4 (2-1 TRC), Whitko 6-4 (2-1 TRC)
JV – Valley 30, Whitko 28
Valley – Brynda Krueger 8, H. Dunn 6, C. Dunn 5, Morgan Brazo 5, Abbi Miller 4, Hanna Dalrymple 2
Whitko – Hanna Yohe 12, Haley Yohe 8, Riley Insley 2, Schneider 2, Lyndsey Sapp 2, Michelle Kelsey 2[[In-content Ad]]
Hosting the Whitko Lady Wildcats, the Lady Vikings used a 26-3 first-half run to secure a 70-51 victory.
The outcome left both teams with 6-4 overall records, but more importantly, both now sit at 2-1 in the TRC.
“We talked about it being a must-win for us tonight,” Valley coach Chris Kindig said. “There’s no question that Whitko is a very good team. For us to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the game was great. Our girls played with a bunch of intensity tonight. They just weren’t going to be denied.”
Valley needed the win to keep pace in the TRC, but Whitko wanted it just as bad to keep up with Class 2A No. 8 Wabash and Rochester, which are both 2-0 in the conference.
After falling behind 6-0, the Lady Wildcats fought back to tie the game at 8-8, and things looked even better as Valley’s top two players, junior Caylie Teel and freshman Anne Secrest, were both sent to the bench with two fouls each.
Instead of Whitko capitalizing, it was at that point that Valley went on the 26-3 run, blowing the game open.
“At that point, we got really complacent,” Whitko coach Brandon Bradley said. “We were satisfied. We had two of their top players out with foul trouble, we were executing the game plan and everything was peachy. Then, we ended up on our heels and they go on a massive 26-3 run. It was like quicksand.”
During that run, which lasted about five minutes, Valley senior Cara Hoffman scored 11 of her game-high 23 points, while freshman Meredith Brouyette and junior Taylor Trippiedi came off the bench to net six and five points, respectively.
“That group that came in when Secrest and Teel went out, they did a great job,” Kindig said. “That was a key to the game, that we were able to sit those two and go into halftime with a 14-point lead.”
Whitko did find itself toward the end of the half, using a 9-0 spurt to close the half, entering the locker room down a more manageable 37-23.
The game was much more balanced in the second half, with Valley outscoring Whitko 33-28, but the big first-half run kept the lead comfortable the entire way.
“I would like to think we grew up in the second half,” Bradley said. “I’m not convinced that we did, but we did a lot of better things in the second half. I thought we got grittier and a little bit chippier. We were more aggressive.”
Despite both missing much of the opening half, Secrest still had 14 points and eight rebounds and Teel finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals.
For Whitko, freshman Aly Reiff had a good game, going for 18 points, eight rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocks, while sophomore Jennifer Reiff came off the bench to score 13 points to go with four rebounds and three steals. Freshman Brianna Cumberland also had 11 points and six steals.
“Right now, we’re questioning our toughness and our leadership,” Bradley said. “We have such good kids that respect each other very, very much and are a little bit timid to hold each other accountable. That’s a toughness thing. It’s partly a leadership thing, but mostly a toughness thing. We just have to get tougher.”
Both teams feature a lot of youth, but at this point, Valley’s able to lean more on the leadership of seniors Hoffman and Kelsey Ball, as well as Teel.
Despite having more experience, Kindig is still looking for his girls to get big-game experience, which he says they got Saturday night.
“I think games like this are good for us because we’re looking toward the tournament and trying to get the girls hardened for tournament,” he said. “This is one of those games where there’s good intensity and it’s a possible sectional opponent.”
In the TRC, Valley’s lone loss was to Wabash, so it will need someone to knock the Lady Apaches off if they hope to gain even a share of a conference crown. Rochester is also undefeated in the conference, but Valley is still waiting for that matchup, which comes Jan. 18 at Rochester.
“We’re still alive, but we still have some big road games,” Kindig said. “We have to go to Rochester, but we do have Northfield and Southwood at home. We still have a chance.”
Whitko still has a chance too, but it will need to knock off both Rochester and Wabash. Rochester comes to Whitko on Jan. 11, while the Lady Wildcats travel to Wabash on Feb. 1.
“We hold our own fate, because we still have to play those teams,” Bradley said. “Valley has one loss, we have one loss and Northfield has one loss. If we beat Rochester and we beat Wabash and beat those teams that are undefeated, and win out, we put ourselves in a great position.”
Both teams are out of conference for the remainder of 2013, as Valley hosts North Judson tonight and Whitko will take part in the Miami County Tournament, beginning Friday at Maconaquah High School against North Miami.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 70, WHITKO 51
W 8 15 14 14 – 51
V 16 21 13 20 – 70
Valley – Karis Tucker 1-5 3-4 5, Cara Hoffman 7-17 7-15 23, Caylie Teel 3-8 6-7 12, Kelsey Ball 2-3 0-4 4, Anne Secrest 6-7 2-3 14, Taylor Trippiedi 2-4 0-1 5, Meredith Brouyette 2-4 0-0 6, Robyn Dunnuck 0-0 1-2 1, Hannah Dunn 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Dunn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 19-36 70.
Whitko – Brianna Cumberland 3-9 4-8 11, Aly Reiff 6-10 6-6 18, Aly Nicodemus 3-8 0-0 6, Kelly Reiff 1-9 0-0 3, Jordan Hall 0-3 0-0 0, Jennifer Reiff 5-8 2-6 13, Reghan Craig 0-2 0-0 0, Haley Yohe 0-0 0-0 0, Avaree Freel 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Day 0-0 0-0 0, Hanna Yohe 0-2 0-1 0, Gretta Schneider 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 13-21 51.
Three-pointers – Valley 5-10 (Hoffman 2, Brouyette 2, Trippiedi), Whitko 2-11 (Cumberland, K. Reiff); Team Fouls (fouled out) – Valley 17, Whitko 23 (Hall, A.Reiff); Turnovers – Valley 29, Whitko 28; Rebounds – Valley 38 (Ball 8, Secrest 8), Whitko 32 (A. Reiff 8); Assists – Valley 6 (Trippiedi 2), Whitko 5 (A. Reiff 4); Steals – Valley 14 (Ball 5), Whitko 18 (Cumberland 6); Blocks – Valley 2, Whitko 2 (A. Reiff 2).
Records: Valley 6-4 (2-1 TRC), Whitko 6-4 (2-1 TRC)
JV – Valley 30, Whitko 28
Valley – Brynda Krueger 8, H. Dunn 6, C. Dunn 5, Morgan Brazo 5, Abbi Miller 4, Hanna Dalrymple 2
Whitko – Hanna Yohe 12, Haley Yohe 8, Riley Insley 2, Schneider 2, Lyndsey Sapp 2, Michelle Kelsey 2[[In-content Ad]]
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