PERU -Ê"Sometimes no matter how hard you try, things don't work out the way you want them to," said Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball coach Gary Teel.

Teel's 3A No. 3 Vikings wanted to be playing in the semistate Saturday in Warsaw, but the Fort Wayne 3a No. 4 Bishop Luers Knights ended that dream Saturday, defeating the Vikings 57-46 in the championship game of the Peru Regional.

However, that 11-point spread is a bit deceiving, considering the Vikings were within one point with 5:40 left in the fourth frame.

"We were so close," said Teel. "But we just couldn't get over the hump in the fourth quarter. We tried our best, but we just couldn't seem to get them."

Luers hit key free throws in the final minutes of the regional championship to extend its lead and get the 11-point win.

Jessica Hathaway opened the scoring for Luers with a basket at the 6:44 mark in the first quarter.

But Valley's Holli Jackson hit a basket and Kara Kramer netted two free throws to give Valley a 4-2 lead with 5:54 left on the first-quarter clock.

After a basket by Luers' 6-foot-1 junior Marie Kaufmann, Viking senior Caty Patterson restored the Viking lead, 6-4, with a basket of her own.

Stefanie Gerardot, Hathaway and Kaufmann hit back-to-back-to-back baskets to put Luers up 11-6 with 3:49 left in the first frame.

A three-pointer by Rebekah Parker and another basket by Patterson knotted the score at 11-all.

Hatahaway and Gerardot hit baskets to put the Knights up 15-11 with 1:26 left in the first qaurter, but Parker aced a three-pointer with less than one second left on the clock to cut that lead to one, 15-14, going into the second quarter of play.

Abby Shafer opened the second stanza with a free throw that knotted the score at 15-all, but Luers fought back quickly.

The Knights went on a 9-0 run that gave them a 24-15 advantage #with 4:22 left in the first half.

The Vikings outscored the Knights 6-4 in the final 2:49 of the second quarter, but Luers took a 28-21 lead at the half.

Parker opened the third frame with a basket to make the score 28-23, and the race was on.

The teams traded baskets for most of the third, and by the end of the quarter Valley was within five, 41-36.

Parker opened the fourth quarter with a steal and a basket to put Valley within three points, 41-38.

Gerardot answered with a basket, but Parker stayed on top of her game and hit another.

Then at the 5:40 mark, Jackson grabbed a steal and hit a basket to cut Luers' lead to one, 43-42.

Hathaway hit a basket and the ensuing free throw to make the score 46-42, but Parker kept the Vikings in it with a basket of her own.

At the 2:56 mark, it was like deja vous as Hathaway hit a basket and a free throw and Parker answered with a basket to make the score 49-46.

With 2:17 remaining in the game, Hathaway struck again with a basket and a free throw. Then Marci North followed with one free throw at the 0:59 mark and two free throws at the 0:48 mark to move the score to 55-46.

Kauffman sank two more free throws with 36 ticks on the clock to give the Knights the 57-46 win.

"Jessica Hatahway hurt us late in the game," said Teel. "She hit the shots when they needed her to. Those two or three three-point play at the end were key."

Parker led all scorers with 26 points. No other Viking scred in double figures. After scoring 33 points in the Viking win over Jay County in the regional semifinal, Kramer netted five against Luers. Shafer also chipped in five, while Patterson and Jackson netted four each. Heather Rathbun rounded out the Valley scoring with two points.

Luers' twin towers Kaufmann and Hathaway led the Knight scoring with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Gerardot added 14 for Luers.

The Vikings finish the season with a 21-3 mark on the season. Valley will say goodbye to five seniors: Parker, Shafer, Patterson, Jenna McFadden and Carli Anglin.

"This has been a wonderful group of kids," said Teel. "They have meant so much to our program. They have worked so hard all season. I don't think we were ready to see it end yet."

Luers improves to 21-3 on the season and will face off against 17-8 South Bend St. Joseph's Saturday in the Warsaw Semistate.

PERU REGIONAL

Semifinal

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 58, JAY COUNTY 50

Jay County 14 8 12 16 - 50

Valley 20 14 10 14 - 58

Jay County FG FT R S Pts.

*Friddle 5-8 0-0 0 1 4

*Bruggeman 1-7 5-8 5 3 7

*Runyon 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

*Dirkson 3-6 1-1 4 0 7

*Parr 5-11 1-2 3 0 12

Gasparovic 0-1 0-0 1 0 0

Weitzel 2-4 0-0 1 0 5

Laux 2-5 0-2 4 1 5

Redwine 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 18-42 7-13 18 5 50

Valley FG FT R S Pts.

*Kramer 10-16 8-9 6 1 33

*Shafer 2-4 0-0 1 4 5

*Parker 5-12 8-10 7 2 18

*Patterson 0-2 0-0 3 1 0

*Jackson 0-2 2-4 3 4 2

Rathbun 0-1 0-0 2 0 0

McFadden 0-1 0-0 1 0 0

Rohrer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 17-38 18-23 23 12 58

Three-point goals - Jay County 7-13 (Friddle 4-6, Bruggeman 0-1, Parr 1-1, Weitzel 1-3, Laux 1-2), Valley 6-15 (Kramer 5-7, Shafer 1-3, Parker 0-3, Jackson 0-2). Fouls - Jay County 15, Valley 12. Fouled out - None.

Championship

FORT WAYNE BISHOP LUERS 57, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 46

Valley 14 7 15 10 - 46

Luers 15 13 13 16 - 57

Valley FG FT R S Pts.

*Kramer 1-7 3-4 2 2 5

*Shafer 1-6 3-4 2 1 5

*Parker 8-20 8-8 6 3 26

*Patterson 2-3 0-2 2 0 4

*Jackson 2-3 0-0 4 2 4

Rathbun 1-4 0-0 2 0 2

Anglin 0-1 0-0 0 0 0

Rohrer 0-1 0-0 1 0 0

McFadden 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Moore 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 15-45 14-18 19 8 46

Luers FG FT R S Pts.

*North 0-3 3-4 3 2 3

*Merz 1-2 0-0 2 0 2

*Gerardot 6-9 0-2 4 1 14

*Hathaway 7-10 3-3 3 0 18

*Kaufmann 9-12 2-3 5 2 20

Ama. Frieburger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Krouse 0-0 0-2 1 0 0

Amy Frieburger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

DeGrandchamp 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Dawson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Giese 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 23-36 8-14 18 5 57

Three-point goals - Valley 2-8 (Shafer 0-2, Parker 2-5, Jackson 0-1), Luers 3-7 (North 0-2, Merz 0-1, Gerardot 2-3, Hathaway 1-1). Fouls - Valley 11, Luers 11. Fouled out -ÊParker. [[In-content Ad]]