Valley Girls Beat Rival Whitko
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Hosting the Whitko Lady Wildcats (3-8, 2-1 TRC), Valley found itself down 14-6 going into the second quarter, but its offensive outburst over the next quarter-and-a-half pushed it to the win and a 3-7 record overall. The Lady Vikings are now 2-1 in the TRC.[[In-content Ad]]"We switched up our defense to go with a more full-court pressure," Valley coach Gary Teel said of the turnaround. "With our defensive scheme in the first quarter, we kind of sat back and let them bring the ball to us. We decided, at that point, that we were going to force the action."
That action forced Whitko into eight turnovers in the second quarter, while it shot just seven field goals in the same time frame, missing all of them.
During the big run, Whitko coach Rob Bell saw his girls compounding problems by trying too hard on the defensive end after a letdown on the offensive side of the ball.
"You can't get upset at about that, because they're trying hard," Bell said. "It's just learning, maturing and understanding you can't get everything back in one play."
At the end of Valley's 33-8 run, the hosts held a 39-22 lead with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter, and appeared to be in control.
However, Whitko rallied to outscore Valley 18-2 over the next four minutes, pulling within 41-38 with 7:41 left in the game.
"Rob's got a nice basketball team," Teel said of Whitko. "He's got some good players who are aggressive. He's done a nice job with them. We knew they weren't going to sit back and let us walk all over them."
The biggest individual turnaround came from Whitko junior Rachelle Kessie, who scored 10 of her 14 points and grabbed six of her 13 rebounds in the third quarter.
"When they decide they're going to play that way, they can," Bell said. "We got a couple breaks. When you can force some turnovers and get a couple lay-ups good things happen. When these kids stop thinking and just play, they're alright."
Following three quarters of basketball, the fourth quarter turned into a free throwing shooting competition, which Valley won.
In the final quarter, a total of 22 trips were made to the free throw line, where Valley made 17 of 23 and Whitko went 12 of 20.
"I'm just proud of my kids for hitting free throws down the stretch," Teel said. "That makes a big difference. If you don't hit those free throws, you're in trouble because Whitko was hitting theirs."
The award for most trips to the free throw line in the fourth went to Valley junior Becky Minnick, who connected on 7 of 9 attempts on her way to tying senior Kate Myers for a team-high 15 points.
But it wasn't just Minnick's point total that was impressive, it was her 13 rebounds.
"Becky Minnick is one of those blue collar kids, who just hustles and hustles," Teel said. "If I could bottle her intensity and drive. I mean, she's 5-foot-5, but she rebounds like she's 5-10, because she does a nice job of boxing out. She does a great job of pursuing the rebound and she's got that fight."
And Minnick was just one of many Vikings to shine Saturday.
Senior Hannah Boggs and sophomore Staci Groom scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, while sophomore Tory Keirn hauled in eight rebounds.
"The kids have worked really hard for six weeks, and it's tough when you don't get a win," Teel said of the importance of winning the game. "A win is a great confidence builder."
For Whitko, it was sophomore Karissa OIinske who led the way with 16 points. Sophomore Micaela Sylvester scored nine points to go with four assists and freshman Cagney Craig had four steals and four rebounds with go with her seven points.
Despite its subpar record, a win against Valley would have left Whitko with a 3-0 mark in the TRC, making the loss a little tougher to take.
"It's a big loss," Bell said. "Wabash is the team to beat. Everyone (in the TRC) had a loss in the conference, except us and Wabash. We're still OK. It was a big loss. The kids had set (winning conference) as a goal, and that may have been what led to the slow start. They may have put a little pressure on themselves that this was a big step to take in the conference."
Valley is at home tonight against 4-5 North Judson and Whitko's next game is Tuesday at home against 4-7 Triton.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 62, WHITKO 55
W 14 6 17 18 - 55
V 6 20 15 21 - 62
Valley - Staci Groom 2-10 5-6 10, Hannah Boggs 3-9 5-6 11, Kate Myers 6-11 3-4 15, Becky Minnick 3-8 8-11 15, Ashley Sheetz 2-4 0-1 4, Taylor Gast 2-4 1-2 5, Brooke O'Connor 0-0 0-0 0, Tory Keirn 0-4 2-2 2. Totals 18-50 24-32 62.
Whitko - Micaela Sylvester 2-9 5-7 9, Karissa Olinske 4-12 6-10 16, Cagney Craig 3-5 1-4 7, Danielle Rose 1-4 3-4 5, Rachelle Kessie 4-7 6-6 14, Josie Sparks 0-0 1-2 1, Nicole Slaymaker 0-1 0-2 0, Katee Reiff 1-3 0-0 3, Cassie Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-42 22-35 55.
Three-point goals - Valley 2-13 (Groom, Minnick), Whitko 3-11 (Olinske 2, Reiff); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Valley 23 (Myers), Whitko 24 (Sylvester, Rose); Turnovers - Valley 18, Whitko 21; Rebounds - Valley 34 (Minnick 13, Keirn 8), Whitko 28 (Kessie 13); Assists - Valley 9 (Boggs 3, Minnick 3), Whitko 6 (Sylvester 4); Steals - Valley 9 (Groom 4), Whitko 10 (Craig 4); Blocks - Valley 3 (Myers 3), Whitko 2; Records - Valley 3-7 (2-1 TRC), Whitko 3-8 (2-1 TRC)
JV - Whitko 29, Valley 20
Whitko - Slaymaker 8, Sparks 4, Lynsi Hicks 4, Reiff 4, Christena Hoopingarner 3, Chloe Nestel 3, Holly Frantz 2, Melanie Kelsey 1
Valley - Megan Heinold 6, Courtney Newsome 6, Alex Rockhill 5, O'Connor 2, Danielle Bussard 1
Hosting the Whitko Lady Wildcats (3-8, 2-1 TRC), Valley found itself down 14-6 going into the second quarter, but its offensive outburst over the next quarter-and-a-half pushed it to the win and a 3-7 record overall. The Lady Vikings are now 2-1 in the TRC.[[In-content Ad]]"We switched up our defense to go with a more full-court pressure," Valley coach Gary Teel said of the turnaround. "With our defensive scheme in the first quarter, we kind of sat back and let them bring the ball to us. We decided, at that point, that we were going to force the action."
That action forced Whitko into eight turnovers in the second quarter, while it shot just seven field goals in the same time frame, missing all of them.
During the big run, Whitko coach Rob Bell saw his girls compounding problems by trying too hard on the defensive end after a letdown on the offensive side of the ball.
"You can't get upset at about that, because they're trying hard," Bell said. "It's just learning, maturing and understanding you can't get everything back in one play."
At the end of Valley's 33-8 run, the hosts held a 39-22 lead with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter, and appeared to be in control.
However, Whitko rallied to outscore Valley 18-2 over the next four minutes, pulling within 41-38 with 7:41 left in the game.
"Rob's got a nice basketball team," Teel said of Whitko. "He's got some good players who are aggressive. He's done a nice job with them. We knew they weren't going to sit back and let us walk all over them."
The biggest individual turnaround came from Whitko junior Rachelle Kessie, who scored 10 of her 14 points and grabbed six of her 13 rebounds in the third quarter.
"When they decide they're going to play that way, they can," Bell said. "We got a couple breaks. When you can force some turnovers and get a couple lay-ups good things happen. When these kids stop thinking and just play, they're alright."
Following three quarters of basketball, the fourth quarter turned into a free throwing shooting competition, which Valley won.
In the final quarter, a total of 22 trips were made to the free throw line, where Valley made 17 of 23 and Whitko went 12 of 20.
"I'm just proud of my kids for hitting free throws down the stretch," Teel said. "That makes a big difference. If you don't hit those free throws, you're in trouble because Whitko was hitting theirs."
The award for most trips to the free throw line in the fourth went to Valley junior Becky Minnick, who connected on 7 of 9 attempts on her way to tying senior Kate Myers for a team-high 15 points.
But it wasn't just Minnick's point total that was impressive, it was her 13 rebounds.
"Becky Minnick is one of those blue collar kids, who just hustles and hustles," Teel said. "If I could bottle her intensity and drive. I mean, she's 5-foot-5, but she rebounds like she's 5-10, because she does a nice job of boxing out. She does a great job of pursuing the rebound and she's got that fight."
And Minnick was just one of many Vikings to shine Saturday.
Senior Hannah Boggs and sophomore Staci Groom scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, while sophomore Tory Keirn hauled in eight rebounds.
"The kids have worked really hard for six weeks, and it's tough when you don't get a win," Teel said of the importance of winning the game. "A win is a great confidence builder."
For Whitko, it was sophomore Karissa OIinske who led the way with 16 points. Sophomore Micaela Sylvester scored nine points to go with four assists and freshman Cagney Craig had four steals and four rebounds with go with her seven points.
Despite its subpar record, a win against Valley would have left Whitko with a 3-0 mark in the TRC, making the loss a little tougher to take.
"It's a big loss," Bell said. "Wabash is the team to beat. Everyone (in the TRC) had a loss in the conference, except us and Wabash. We're still OK. It was a big loss. The kids had set (winning conference) as a goal, and that may have been what led to the slow start. They may have put a little pressure on themselves that this was a big step to take in the conference."
Valley is at home tonight against 4-5 North Judson and Whitko's next game is Tuesday at home against 4-7 Triton.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 62, WHITKO 55
W 14 6 17 18 - 55
V 6 20 15 21 - 62
Valley - Staci Groom 2-10 5-6 10, Hannah Boggs 3-9 5-6 11, Kate Myers 6-11 3-4 15, Becky Minnick 3-8 8-11 15, Ashley Sheetz 2-4 0-1 4, Taylor Gast 2-4 1-2 5, Brooke O'Connor 0-0 0-0 0, Tory Keirn 0-4 2-2 2. Totals 18-50 24-32 62.
Whitko - Micaela Sylvester 2-9 5-7 9, Karissa Olinske 4-12 6-10 16, Cagney Craig 3-5 1-4 7, Danielle Rose 1-4 3-4 5, Rachelle Kessie 4-7 6-6 14, Josie Sparks 0-0 1-2 1, Nicole Slaymaker 0-1 0-2 0, Katee Reiff 1-3 0-0 3, Cassie Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-42 22-35 55.
Three-point goals - Valley 2-13 (Groom, Minnick), Whitko 3-11 (Olinske 2, Reiff); Team Fouls (fouled out) - Valley 23 (Myers), Whitko 24 (Sylvester, Rose); Turnovers - Valley 18, Whitko 21; Rebounds - Valley 34 (Minnick 13, Keirn 8), Whitko 28 (Kessie 13); Assists - Valley 9 (Boggs 3, Minnick 3), Whitko 6 (Sylvester 4); Steals - Valley 9 (Groom 4), Whitko 10 (Craig 4); Blocks - Valley 3 (Myers 3), Whitko 2; Records - Valley 3-7 (2-1 TRC), Whitko 3-8 (2-1 TRC)
JV - Whitko 29, Valley 20
Whitko - Slaymaker 8, Sparks 4, Lynsi Hicks 4, Reiff 4, Christena Hoopingarner 3, Chloe Nestel 3, Holly Frantz 2, Melanie Kelsey 1
Valley - Megan Heinold 6, Courtney Newsome 6, Alex Rockhill 5, O'Connor 2, Danielle Bussard 1
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