Valley Girls Edge Whitko
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Spotting the Vikings a 15-2 first-quarter lead, the Wildcats climbed to within 53-50 with 33 seconds remaining, but Valley hung on for the 58-52 Three Rivers Conference win.[[In-content Ad]]"We kept them at bay, and that's what I'm proud of," Valley coach Gary Teel said. "We got out big early, and we knew that wasn't going to be the way the game would go. They have Ashley Hoopingarner back, they have Niki Shepherd back and they have Emily Bidwell. There's three fine basketball players for that team."
"This is the first time they've had those three on the floor together for a long time," he added. "They're gonna be a much different basketball team. They've lost nine out of 10, but that's not the Whitko team you're going to see down the road."
While Whitko dropped to 3-10 with the loss, the win was Valley's sixth straight following a 1-5 start. The Vikings now sit at 7-5 and are atop the TRC with a 3-0 record.
"It's a good start," Teel said. "We're in charge of our own destiny. We have to make sure we take it one game at a time."
Their latest game was a pretty big concern for Teel, who had not seen his girls in game action since a 58-32 win over North Judson on Dec. 22.
"We've had almost two weeks off," he said. "We've practiced, we just haven't played. You kind of like to get a game under your belt before you go into a real tough TRC game."
Thanks to a frontline of 5-foot-10 Kate Myers, 5-10 Melody Hoffer and 6-0 Whitney Sparkman, Teel's concerns were eased.
Competing against Whitko's 6-0 Rachelle Kessie and 6-1 Emily Bidwell, Sparkman led the way with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Hoffer had an eight-point, seven-rebound night. Myers also finished with nine points.
"This is one of the first times we've had someone who can match up and actually beat our height across the frontline," Whitko coach Rob Bell said.
Leading the TRC in rebounding, Bidwell finished the game with 12 boards and had a game-high 18 points.
Of her 18 points, six came on two three-pointers with under a minute to play, pulling her team from a 52-44 deficit to a 53-50 hole in 14 seconds.
"She had those big shots, and she stepped up and took them," Bell said of Bidwell. "There's no doubt in my mind that she's one of the best players in the area. I'd even argue in the state, when she just relaxes and plays."
While Bidwell was getting her stats, Hoopingarner is still looking to fully recover from a stress fracture in her foot, which caused her to miss the past few games. In the Valley loss, the senior scored six points and had five rebounds in limited minutes.
"She probably played a lot more minutes than she should have tonight," Bell said of Hoopingarner. "All year, she's had that stress fracture, and she's sucked it up and played through it. That's the type of kid she is."
With Hoopingarner playing under 100 percent, junior reserve Amanda Allender stepped it up for the Wildcats, scoring 14 points and recording three steals.
"She stepped up and hit a lot of the open shots," Bell said of Allender. "She was really focused in, and gave us that third or fourth scoring threat we've been missing lately. That was huge. That was one of the things that got us back into it, and kept us in the game."
Playing against a team still trying to gel, the Vikings had six girls score at least seven points, with Allison Thacker scoring 11, Stacie Hoffman nine and Hannah Boggs netting seven.
Valley is right back in TRC action Saturday, visiting 7-4 Northfield.
"They have a lot of returning players like Carly Mast, who's an outstanding post player," Teel said of Northfield. "We have to take it one step at a time, but we're happy where we are."
The Wildcats will look to end their four-game skid with a TRC matchup at Rochester Saturday, beginning at 6:15 p.m.
"This is the first time we've had our whole team on the floor since before Thanksgiving," Bell said. "We're getting better. We're just going to try to get better. Good things will happen."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 58, WHITKO 52
V 15 9 13 21 - 58
W 6 12 11 23 - 52
Valley - Hoffman 1 6-9 9, Hoffer 1 6-6 8, Sparkman 6 2-4 14, Myers 4 1-2 9, Boggs 2 3-6 7, Thacker 4 1-6 11, Minnick 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 19-33 58.
Whitko - Sylvester 2 1-2 5, Hoopingarner 2 1-2 6, Shepherd 1 0-0 2, Kessie 2 3-5 7, Bidwell 6 4-7 18, Allender 6 1-1 14, Reiff 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-17 52.
3-point goals - Valley 3-9 (Thacker 2, Hoffman), Whitko 4-14 (Bidwell 2, Allender, Hoopingarner). Team Fouls (fouled out) - Valley 18 (Hoffer), Whitko 25 (Kessie). Turnovers - Valley 23, Whitko 20. Rebounds - Valley 33 (Sparkman 14, Hoffer 7), Whitko 23 (Bidwell 12, Hoopingarner 5). Assists - Valley 17 (Hoffman 6, Boggs 5), Whitko 8 (Sylvester 2, Hoopingarner 2, Shepherd 2). Steals - Valley 8 (Sparkman 3), Whitko 7 (Allender 3, Shepherd 2). Records: Valley 7-5 (3-0 TRC), Whitko 3-10 (1-2 TRC)
JV - Valley 49, Whitko 26
Valley JV Scoring - Minnick 11, Keirn 9, Groom 8, Gast 8, O'Connor 5, Sheetz 4, Bibler 4
Valley JV Record - 8-2 (3-0 TRC)
Spotting the Vikings a 15-2 first-quarter lead, the Wildcats climbed to within 53-50 with 33 seconds remaining, but Valley hung on for the 58-52 Three Rivers Conference win.[[In-content Ad]]"We kept them at bay, and that's what I'm proud of," Valley coach Gary Teel said. "We got out big early, and we knew that wasn't going to be the way the game would go. They have Ashley Hoopingarner back, they have Niki Shepherd back and they have Emily Bidwell. There's three fine basketball players for that team."
"This is the first time they've had those three on the floor together for a long time," he added. "They're gonna be a much different basketball team. They've lost nine out of 10, but that's not the Whitko team you're going to see down the road."
While Whitko dropped to 3-10 with the loss, the win was Valley's sixth straight following a 1-5 start. The Vikings now sit at 7-5 and are atop the TRC with a 3-0 record.
"It's a good start," Teel said. "We're in charge of our own destiny. We have to make sure we take it one game at a time."
Their latest game was a pretty big concern for Teel, who had not seen his girls in game action since a 58-32 win over North Judson on Dec. 22.
"We've had almost two weeks off," he said. "We've practiced, we just haven't played. You kind of like to get a game under your belt before you go into a real tough TRC game."
Thanks to a frontline of 5-foot-10 Kate Myers, 5-10 Melody Hoffer and 6-0 Whitney Sparkman, Teel's concerns were eased.
Competing against Whitko's 6-0 Rachelle Kessie and 6-1 Emily Bidwell, Sparkman led the way with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Hoffer had an eight-point, seven-rebound night. Myers also finished with nine points.
"This is one of the first times we've had someone who can match up and actually beat our height across the frontline," Whitko coach Rob Bell said.
Leading the TRC in rebounding, Bidwell finished the game with 12 boards and had a game-high 18 points.
Of her 18 points, six came on two three-pointers with under a minute to play, pulling her team from a 52-44 deficit to a 53-50 hole in 14 seconds.
"She had those big shots, and she stepped up and took them," Bell said of Bidwell. "There's no doubt in my mind that she's one of the best players in the area. I'd even argue in the state, when she just relaxes and plays."
While Bidwell was getting her stats, Hoopingarner is still looking to fully recover from a stress fracture in her foot, which caused her to miss the past few games. In the Valley loss, the senior scored six points and had five rebounds in limited minutes.
"She probably played a lot more minutes than she should have tonight," Bell said of Hoopingarner. "All year, she's had that stress fracture, and she's sucked it up and played through it. That's the type of kid she is."
With Hoopingarner playing under 100 percent, junior reserve Amanda Allender stepped it up for the Wildcats, scoring 14 points and recording three steals.
"She stepped up and hit a lot of the open shots," Bell said of Allender. "She was really focused in, and gave us that third or fourth scoring threat we've been missing lately. That was huge. That was one of the things that got us back into it, and kept us in the game."
Playing against a team still trying to gel, the Vikings had six girls score at least seven points, with Allison Thacker scoring 11, Stacie Hoffman nine and Hannah Boggs netting seven.
Valley is right back in TRC action Saturday, visiting 7-4 Northfield.
"They have a lot of returning players like Carly Mast, who's an outstanding post player," Teel said of Northfield. "We have to take it one step at a time, but we're happy where we are."
The Wildcats will look to end their four-game skid with a TRC matchup at Rochester Saturday, beginning at 6:15 p.m.
"This is the first time we've had our whole team on the floor since before Thanksgiving," Bell said. "We're getting better. We're just going to try to get better. Good things will happen."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 58, WHITKO 52
V 15 9 13 21 - 58
W 6 12 11 23 - 52
Valley - Hoffman 1 6-9 9, Hoffer 1 6-6 8, Sparkman 6 2-4 14, Myers 4 1-2 9, Boggs 2 3-6 7, Thacker 4 1-6 11, Minnick 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 19-33 58.
Whitko - Sylvester 2 1-2 5, Hoopingarner 2 1-2 6, Shepherd 1 0-0 2, Kessie 2 3-5 7, Bidwell 6 4-7 18, Allender 6 1-1 14, Reiff 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-17 52.
3-point goals - Valley 3-9 (Thacker 2, Hoffman), Whitko 4-14 (Bidwell 2, Allender, Hoopingarner). Team Fouls (fouled out) - Valley 18 (Hoffer), Whitko 25 (Kessie). Turnovers - Valley 23, Whitko 20. Rebounds - Valley 33 (Sparkman 14, Hoffer 7), Whitko 23 (Bidwell 12, Hoopingarner 5). Assists - Valley 17 (Hoffman 6, Boggs 5), Whitko 8 (Sylvester 2, Hoopingarner 2, Shepherd 2). Steals - Valley 8 (Sparkman 3), Whitko 7 (Allender 3, Shepherd 2). Records: Valley 7-5 (3-0 TRC), Whitko 3-10 (1-2 TRC)
JV - Valley 49, Whitko 26
Valley JV Scoring - Minnick 11, Keirn 9, Groom 8, Gast 8, O'Connor 5, Sheetz 4, Bibler 4
Valley JV Record - 8-2 (3-0 TRC)
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