Viking Comeback Falls Short In Sectional Final
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PERU - The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings girls basketball team overcame a 12-point deficit to start the fourth quarter and nearly pulled out a win in the Peru sectional final, but fell to Norwell in a 71-70 thriller at Peru High School's Tig-Arena Saturday night.
The Vikings started the game as slowly as the Knights did fast. Norwell charged out of the gates and jumped out to a 15-0 lead with 4:01 left in the first quarter.
Valley battled back and took its first and only lead of the game when sophomore Chelsy Rhoades hit a three-pointer from deep in the left-hand corner to put the Vikings ahead at 70-69.
The Knights raced down the court and Mackenzie Warwick drew a foul from Valley's Rachel Sitts with the Vikings in the double bonus. Warwick was true on both attempts from the charity stripe to regain the lead for the Knights at 71-70.
After a Valley timeout, their last of the contest, Lela Rohrer inbounded to freshman Hannah Krueger. Krueger found Rhoades, who fed senior standout Kara Kramer. Kramer drove and threw up a runner that came up short as Norwell's Margaret Almdale swooped in and collected the rebound with three seconds left in the game.
Almdale clanked both attempts as Sitts collected the rebound and outleted to Kramer, who sailed a half court shot wide as time expired.
After the game, Valley head coach Gary Teel was as emotionally spent as his team was physically.
"I'm so proud of these kids. They worked so hard this season. I couldn't be prouder of the kids. They never gave up in any game. You never saw these kids giving up all season and especially tonight," said Teel.
Norwell's Taylor Plummer connected on a three-pointer to start the game and before Teel and Co. could blink, the Knights had hit four three pointers and senior Via Lee connected on an old-fashioned three-point play to give Norwell a 15-0 lead.
Valley finally got on the board with two Kramer free throws at the 3:47 mark of the first quarter.
Kramer was effective early on and scored nine points in the first period. Norwell's Lee was the dominant force not only in the first quarter but all game long. Lee scored nine points in the first quarter on a trio of three-point plays.
The wide-bodies 5-foot-10 center abused Valley's smallish front line, controlling the offensive and defensive glass along with getting inside position for easy scores.
Lee ended the night with a monster double-double of 28 points and 16 rebounds. Lee's dominance forced all five Valley players to take turns guarding her. The defensive rotation forced Valley's Holli Jackson into early foul trouble.
Jackson picked up her second foul with 36 seconds left in the first quarter after Lee grabbed an offensive rebound, and the 5-9 senior was forced to sit most of the first half.
With Jackson sitting and fellow senior Heather Rathbun out due to a knee injury suffered in Friday night's sectional semifinal win over host Peru, the Vikings needed a spark.
Though it took some time, Valley saw a youth movement that bodes well for the future.
Krueger didn't play like a freshman as the 5-foot-9 forward came off the bench to score 10 points, seven of which came in a 29-point Valley fourth quarter.
Rohrer, a junior, also scored 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting to step up for a depleted Viking team.
It was Rhoades, however, who gave the Viking faithful the most hope for the future.
The 5-9 sophomore hit four three-pointers, two in the final minute of the game, en route to a 14-point performance to go along with seven rebounds and four steals.
While Valley got solid contributions from several players, it was Warwick and Lee who controlled the game for Norwell.
Warwick scored 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting to go along with six rebounds.
The Vikings lose four seniors off this year's roster. Kramer will continue her playing career at Eastern Illinois while Jackson, Rathbun and Lisa Moore end their basketball careers at Valley.
"We got four great seniors. Kara Kramer, Holli Jackson, Lisa Moore and Heather Rathbun, who couldn't play tonight. We're going to miss those kids. I want to thank them for all they've done to make our program what it is," said Teel.
The Vikings finish the season with a 13-9 record and a 6-1 record in the Three Rivers Conference, good for second place.
NORWELL 71, TIPP. VALLEY 70
Norwell 23 16 14 18 - 71
T. Valley 13 17 11 29 - 70
Norwell FG FT R S Pts.
*B'mesiter 3-6 2-2 0 0 10
*Warwick 7-13 6-8 6 1 22
*Plummer 3-4 1-3 3 0 9
*Vogel 0-1 2-4 7 0 2
*Lee 12-18 4-5 16 0 28
Almdale 0-0 0-2 1 0 0
Kunkel 0-2 0-1 2 0 0
Totals 25-44 15-25 35 1 71
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Jackson 4-6 2-2 1 0 10
*Kramer 9-22 7-9 7 0 26
*Rhoades 4-9 2-2 7 4 14
*Sitts 0-2 0-0 2 1 0
*Moore 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Krueger 3-10 3-4 4 3 10
Rohrer 4-8 0-0 2 3 10
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 24-57 14-17 25 11 70
Three-point goals - Norwell 6-9 (Bauermeister 2-3, Warwick 2-4, Plummer 2-2), T. Valley 8-17 (Rhoades 4-5, Rohrer 2-3, Kramer 1-6, Krueger 1-3). Turnovers - Norwell 17, Valley 8. Team Fouls - Norwell 18, T. Valley 22. Fouled out - Jackson (T. Valley), Krueger (T. Valley). [[In-content Ad]]
PERU - The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings girls basketball team overcame a 12-point deficit to start the fourth quarter and nearly pulled out a win in the Peru sectional final, but fell to Norwell in a 71-70 thriller at Peru High School's Tig-Arena Saturday night.
The Vikings started the game as slowly as the Knights did fast. Norwell charged out of the gates and jumped out to a 15-0 lead with 4:01 left in the first quarter.
Valley battled back and took its first and only lead of the game when sophomore Chelsy Rhoades hit a three-pointer from deep in the left-hand corner to put the Vikings ahead at 70-69.
The Knights raced down the court and Mackenzie Warwick drew a foul from Valley's Rachel Sitts with the Vikings in the double bonus. Warwick was true on both attempts from the charity stripe to regain the lead for the Knights at 71-70.
After a Valley timeout, their last of the contest, Lela Rohrer inbounded to freshman Hannah Krueger. Krueger found Rhoades, who fed senior standout Kara Kramer. Kramer drove and threw up a runner that came up short as Norwell's Margaret Almdale swooped in and collected the rebound with three seconds left in the game.
Almdale clanked both attempts as Sitts collected the rebound and outleted to Kramer, who sailed a half court shot wide as time expired.
After the game, Valley head coach Gary Teel was as emotionally spent as his team was physically.
"I'm so proud of these kids. They worked so hard this season. I couldn't be prouder of the kids. They never gave up in any game. You never saw these kids giving up all season and especially tonight," said Teel.
Norwell's Taylor Plummer connected on a three-pointer to start the game and before Teel and Co. could blink, the Knights had hit four three pointers and senior Via Lee connected on an old-fashioned three-point play to give Norwell a 15-0 lead.
Valley finally got on the board with two Kramer free throws at the 3:47 mark of the first quarter.
Kramer was effective early on and scored nine points in the first period. Norwell's Lee was the dominant force not only in the first quarter but all game long. Lee scored nine points in the first quarter on a trio of three-point plays.
The wide-bodies 5-foot-10 center abused Valley's smallish front line, controlling the offensive and defensive glass along with getting inside position for easy scores.
Lee ended the night with a monster double-double of 28 points and 16 rebounds. Lee's dominance forced all five Valley players to take turns guarding her. The defensive rotation forced Valley's Holli Jackson into early foul trouble.
Jackson picked up her second foul with 36 seconds left in the first quarter after Lee grabbed an offensive rebound, and the 5-9 senior was forced to sit most of the first half.
With Jackson sitting and fellow senior Heather Rathbun out due to a knee injury suffered in Friday night's sectional semifinal win over host Peru, the Vikings needed a spark.
Though it took some time, Valley saw a youth movement that bodes well for the future.
Krueger didn't play like a freshman as the 5-foot-9 forward came off the bench to score 10 points, seven of which came in a 29-point Valley fourth quarter.
Rohrer, a junior, also scored 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting to step up for a depleted Viking team.
It was Rhoades, however, who gave the Viking faithful the most hope for the future.
The 5-9 sophomore hit four three-pointers, two in the final minute of the game, en route to a 14-point performance to go along with seven rebounds and four steals.
While Valley got solid contributions from several players, it was Warwick and Lee who controlled the game for Norwell.
Warwick scored 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting to go along with six rebounds.
The Vikings lose four seniors off this year's roster. Kramer will continue her playing career at Eastern Illinois while Jackson, Rathbun and Lisa Moore end their basketball careers at Valley.
"We got four great seniors. Kara Kramer, Holli Jackson, Lisa Moore and Heather Rathbun, who couldn't play tonight. We're going to miss those kids. I want to thank them for all they've done to make our program what it is," said Teel.
The Vikings finish the season with a 13-9 record and a 6-1 record in the Three Rivers Conference, good for second place.
NORWELL 71, TIPP. VALLEY 70
Norwell 23 16 14 18 - 71
T. Valley 13 17 11 29 - 70
Norwell FG FT R S Pts.
*B'mesiter 3-6 2-2 0 0 10
*Warwick 7-13 6-8 6 1 22
*Plummer 3-4 1-3 3 0 9
*Vogel 0-1 2-4 7 0 2
*Lee 12-18 4-5 16 0 28
Almdale 0-0 0-2 1 0 0
Kunkel 0-2 0-1 2 0 0
Totals 25-44 15-25 35 1 71
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
*Jackson 4-6 2-2 1 0 10
*Kramer 9-22 7-9 7 0 26
*Rhoades 4-9 2-2 7 4 14
*Sitts 0-2 0-0 2 1 0
*Moore 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Krueger 3-10 3-4 4 3 10
Rohrer 4-8 0-0 2 3 10
Team 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Totals 24-57 14-17 25 11 70
Three-point goals - Norwell 6-9 (Bauermeister 2-3, Warwick 2-4, Plummer 2-2), T. Valley 8-17 (Rhoades 4-5, Rohrer 2-3, Kramer 1-6, Krueger 1-3). Turnovers - Norwell 17, Valley 8. Team Fouls - Norwell 18, T. Valley 22. Fouled out - Jackson (T. Valley), Krueger (T. Valley). [[In-content Ad]]