BOURBON -ÊTuesday night's eighth-grade girls basketball game was a little bit different than many others this year.

With a television camera, a newpaper reporter, the high school coach and an unusually large crowd in attendance, the Tippecanoe Valley eighth grade girls basketball team made history by winning its 49th straight game.

The five core players, Abby Shafer, Rebekah Parker, Caty Patterson, Beth Leckrone and Carli Anglin, have been hitting the court together for several years. The girls have not lost a game since their first official matchup in the sixth grade.

"We started playing together in elementary school, in second grade I think," said Parker. "We played in the games at the end of the year, and we became best friends."

When they step on the court, the Vikings are a well-oiled machine. With an aggressive full-court press, the girls stifle their opponents' attempts to score. Then the Valley squad moves the ball down the court in a frenzied fast-break-style offense to score baskets.

"Defense is the key," said coach Bill Leininger. "We have stressed defense all year, it's what gets us going every game. Playing hard defense creates our transition game."

That tough defense and transition offense have led the Valley team to their success. And that success has come in a distinctive manner.

Until this season, when Valley played Edgewood, the girls had never even been behind at halftime.

"We were behind by three points at the half," said Leininger. "It was the only game they have trailed at the half in the three years they have played. We came back to win, but I don't know by how much."

This machine has some distinct role players. Shafer is the director on the court who is deceptively quick. That quickness leads to many steals for the Vikings.

Then there's Patterson, one of the tallest players on the team, who is like the girls middle school version of Dennis Rodman (without the tattoos, the piercings and the attitude). She rebounds the ball and has it down the court before the other team knows what hit them.

However, the player who stands out the most on this super squad is Parker. Tall and lanky, Parker is the leading scorer and obvious team leader. She shoots the ball from all over the court and makes Valley's fast break possible.

In the final game of the season, a white-haired official turns to one of Valley's coaches and asks who No. 42 is. When the coach tells him it's Parker, the man in the zebra stripes smiles, says he likes her and continues down the court.

But the thing that stands out about these girls is not just their winning ways. It's their unassuming attitude and their quiet manner of getting the job done.

Leininger, who announced after the game that it was his last game, says he will remember the team for something more than just the record they set.

"I will remember the girls not for their record, but because they are a fantastic group of young people," said Leininger. "You hear so much about bad kids these days, but these girls are a joy. They are good students and all-around good kids who really care about one another."

"They play their heart out for one another. They are unselfish. In fact, sometimes I have to get on them to shoot the ball because they are too busy passing it off to shoot it."

Before the the girls play each game, they have a special ritual as well.

"Right before each game, the girls say a word of prayer to get psyched up," said Leininger. "The coaches leave them alone, so I don't know exactly what they say, but they ask Someone to watch over them. It's unbelievable. They are amazing kids."

"We say a prayer before every game," said Shafer. "It really gets us going."

Although the girls have won 49 straight games, the last game of the season is still bittersweet.

"It's kind of sad it's over," said Anglin. "We've played together since sixth grade. I think we'll do pretty good in high school."

"I'm definitely a little sad because it's our last game," said Leckrone. "But we've worked together as a team, and that makes it cooler. It's not just one person, we have all worked to get to this point."

But these girls are not satisfied with this accomplishment. Now they have a taste for victory in their mouths and the hunger will not be satiated easily. They have their sights set on a big goal: The state championship.

"Hopefully we will play together in high school and go to state," said Patterson. "We want to go all the way." [[In-content Ad]]