MENTONE - The defining moment of Thursday's girls basketball game between Wawasee and Valley came on the first play of the second half.

Trailing 23-20, Tippecanoe Valley got onto the floor first after the break and set up under the Wawasee basket. The Warriors, who stepped onto the floor late, just assumed that they were playing defense on that side of the floor. However, when Valley inbounded the ball to Rhonda Doud, she simply turned around and walked in for an easy basket to cut the lead to one point.

However, Wawasee woke up after that play and went on a 10-1 run to take a 33-23 lead and held off Valley late for the 51-43 victory that pulled the Warriors to .500 on the season with their second straight win.

Valley did a good job on Wawasee leading scorer Lydia Carpenter, holding her to 10 points, six of those in the second quarter, and four rebounds. According to Wawasee head coach Mark Sumpter, Carpenter didn't have much of a chance to accomplish much inside.

"They were sandwiching her. Everywhere she'd go, they had a front and back on her. At halftime we tried to make some adjustments, and we started getting some shots. We know, (our opponent) is always going to try to shut Carpenter down."

For Valley, the offense and defense were rolling right along for the first seven minutes, but it all caved in after that. With a minute to play in the opening period, the Vikings led 15-7. Brooke Fisher came out on fire with four points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists.

However, Wawasee's guards stepped up as Mary Cockburn knocked in a jumper and Kari Wortinger followed with a three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to close the score to 15-12.

In the second quarter, Wawasee added to the run by scoring the first six points of the period, all from Carpenter. Valley came storming back with great defense as Wawasee could not score for the next four minutes, and the Vikings scored five points to take a 20-18 lead. But Sara Frantz made two free throws and Karissa Evans had three points as Wawasee went ahead 23-20 at the break.

After Valley's ingenious play and Wawasee's 10-1 run to go ahead 33-23, it became a free-throw battle. Wawasee made enough, 8 of 14, in the fourth quarter to hold off a run that saw Valley close to within five points with 38 seconds to play. Frantz was 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 6 of 7 for the game.

"(Frantz) has been stepping up ever since Christmas," Sumpter said. "The Christmas break has really done her well. She's starting to get confidence, she's getting some more playing time now. She has some good offensive moves and she's a treat to watch when she's one-on-one."

For the game, Wawasee made 44 percent of its shots, while Valley, after knocking in 7 of 11 in the first quarter, made just 26 percent in the final three quarters.

Carpenter was the only Warrior in double digits in scoring, while Cockburn and Evans each scored eight points.

Rhonda Doud led all scorers with 12 points for Valley, but Andria Parker had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Wawasee (7-7) will host Mishawaka on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. Valley (5-9) will host Rochester on Monday at 6:15 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]