Valley Wins Sectional Opener; Peterson Injured
January 31, 2018 at 5:44 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
On one hand, the Class 3A No. 6 Lady Vikings opened Sectional 21 at Fairfield High School with a 53-29 win over the Lakeland Lakers and advanced to Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against county rival Wawasee.
On the other hand was the concern surrounding Times-Union All-Area selection Emily Peterson, who suffered a knee injury during the third quarter.
The 5-foot-8 junior forward was helped to the locker room and later emerged using crutches and with a large icepack on her left knee.
Following the 24-point win, Valley coach Chris Kindig apologized for not being more excited during his postgame comments. Kindig’s demeanor and soft-spoken tone spoke volumes of his concern for Peterson, who scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds before the injury.
“We’re going to have to come together,” said Kindig, whose team improved to 20-3, while Lakeland finished its season at 10-13.
“When something like that happens you can kind of go one of two ways – you can be in shock, or you can suck it up, and I thought we played pretty well that last quarter and a half after she got hurt.
“We have to find some offense from somewhere. That may come from Jillian Walls or Makenzie Woodcox, but we’re gonna have to find it. It’s gonna be a tougher game on Friday night now, no question about that.”
Valley beat Wawasee 46-33 last week after trailing 20-14 at halftime.
In Tuesday night’s win over Lakeland, Valley’s first step in capturing a fourth straight sectional title, the Lady Vikings led 13-5 after one quarter of play, 25-16 at halftime and 43-24 heading into the final frame.
Junior Sophie Bussard, this season’s Times-Union Area Player of the Year, led Valley with 16 points and five rebounds.
Senior Asia O’Connor added eight points and seven boards, senior Addy Miller finished with seven points and three steals, and sophomores Woodcox and Walls scored six and five points, respectively, off the bench.
“Emotionally, we could have packed it up after Emily’s injury and said we’re done, but I thought we played together that last quarter and a half,” said Kindig. “It would have been nice to play that way the whole game.
“I thought Walls came in and hit some big shots, Woodcox hit some shots, and I thought Asia O’Connor played really well tonight on both ends of the floor. Sophie was her normal self. And really, we got contributions from everybody.
“That’s the way the tournament is, we know we’ve got to play together, and if we can do that, we’re gonna be fine. We’re minus one (Peterson), so everybody else is just gonna have to step it up.”
Freshman Madison Keil led Lakeland with eight points, while senior Beka Stroop and freshman Bailey Hartsough scored six points each, and sophomore Beth Stroop tallied five points.
NorthWood beat West Noble 56-36 in Tuesday’s second game and will play No. 3 Fairfield in Friday’s second semifinal.
Friday’s winners will play in the championship game Saturday at 7 p.m.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 53, LAKELAND 29
TV 13 12 18 10 – 53
L 5 11 7 5 – 29
Valley – Olivia Trippiedi 1 0-0 2, Emma Craig 1 0-2 2, Jillian Walls 2 0-0 5, Sidney Wagner 0 0-0 0, Addy Miller 3 0-0 7, Sophie Bussard 8 0-0 16, Emily Peterson 3 0-0 7, Asia O’Connor 1 6-7 8, Makenzie Woodcox 2 2-4 6, Hayley Woodcox 0 0-0 0, Karina Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-13 53.
Lakeland – Beka Stroop 2 0-0 6, Madison Keil 2 2-2 8, Hailey Alleshouse 0 0-0 0, Beth Stroop 2 0-0 5, Bailey Hartsough 2 1-5 6, Tanner Metcalf 0 0-0 0, Makayla Mast 0 0-0 0, Sadie Edsall 1 0-0 2, Isabelle Larimer 1 0-0 2, Ella Lewin 0 0-0 0, Jasmine Ryan 0 0-0 0, Taylor Targgart 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 3-7 29.
Three-pointers – Valley 3 (Walls, Miller, Peterson), Lakeland 6 (Bek. Stroop 2, Keil 2, Bet. Stroop, Hartsough); Turnovers – Valley 9, Lakeland 14; Fouls – Valley 12, Lakeland 10; Fouled out – none; Records: Valley 20-3, Lakeland 10-13
Other game: NorthWood 56, West Noble 36
Records: NorthWood 16-8, West Noble 18-7
On one hand, the Class 3A No. 6 Lady Vikings opened Sectional 21 at Fairfield High School with a 53-29 win over the Lakeland Lakers and advanced to Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against county rival Wawasee.
On the other hand was the concern surrounding Times-Union All-Area selection Emily Peterson, who suffered a knee injury during the third quarter.
The 5-foot-8 junior forward was helped to the locker room and later emerged using crutches and with a large icepack on her left knee.
Following the 24-point win, Valley coach Chris Kindig apologized for not being more excited during his postgame comments. Kindig’s demeanor and soft-spoken tone spoke volumes of his concern for Peterson, who scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds before the injury.
“We’re going to have to come together,” said Kindig, whose team improved to 20-3, while Lakeland finished its season at 10-13.
“When something like that happens you can kind of go one of two ways – you can be in shock, or you can suck it up, and I thought we played pretty well that last quarter and a half after she got hurt.
“We have to find some offense from somewhere. That may come from Jillian Walls or Makenzie Woodcox, but we’re gonna have to find it. It’s gonna be a tougher game on Friday night now, no question about that.”
Valley beat Wawasee 46-33 last week after trailing 20-14 at halftime.
In Tuesday night’s win over Lakeland, Valley’s first step in capturing a fourth straight sectional title, the Lady Vikings led 13-5 after one quarter of play, 25-16 at halftime and 43-24 heading into the final frame.
Junior Sophie Bussard, this season’s Times-Union Area Player of the Year, led Valley with 16 points and five rebounds.
Senior Asia O’Connor added eight points and seven boards, senior Addy Miller finished with seven points and three steals, and sophomores Woodcox and Walls scored six and five points, respectively, off the bench.
“Emotionally, we could have packed it up after Emily’s injury and said we’re done, but I thought we played together that last quarter and a half,” said Kindig. “It would have been nice to play that way the whole game.
“I thought Walls came in and hit some big shots, Woodcox hit some shots, and I thought Asia O’Connor played really well tonight on both ends of the floor. Sophie was her normal self. And really, we got contributions from everybody.
“That’s the way the tournament is, we know we’ve got to play together, and if we can do that, we’re gonna be fine. We’re minus one (Peterson), so everybody else is just gonna have to step it up.”
Freshman Madison Keil led Lakeland with eight points, while senior Beka Stroop and freshman Bailey Hartsough scored six points each, and sophomore Beth Stroop tallied five points.
NorthWood beat West Noble 56-36 in Tuesday’s second game and will play No. 3 Fairfield in Friday’s second semifinal.
Friday’s winners will play in the championship game Saturday at 7 p.m.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 53, LAKELAND 29
TV 13 12 18 10 – 53
L 5 11 7 5 – 29
Valley – Olivia Trippiedi 1 0-0 2, Emma Craig 1 0-2 2, Jillian Walls 2 0-0 5, Sidney Wagner 0 0-0 0, Addy Miller 3 0-0 7, Sophie Bussard 8 0-0 16, Emily Peterson 3 0-0 7, Asia O’Connor 1 6-7 8, Makenzie Woodcox 2 2-4 6, Hayley Woodcox 0 0-0 0, Karina Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-13 53.
Lakeland – Beka Stroop 2 0-0 6, Madison Keil 2 2-2 8, Hailey Alleshouse 0 0-0 0, Beth Stroop 2 0-0 5, Bailey Hartsough 2 1-5 6, Tanner Metcalf 0 0-0 0, Makayla Mast 0 0-0 0, Sadie Edsall 1 0-0 2, Isabelle Larimer 1 0-0 2, Ella Lewin 0 0-0 0, Jasmine Ryan 0 0-0 0, Taylor Targgart 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 3-7 29.
Three-pointers – Valley 3 (Walls, Miller, Peterson), Lakeland 6 (Bek. Stroop 2, Keil 2, Bet. Stroop, Hartsough); Turnovers – Valley 9, Lakeland 14; Fouls – Valley 12, Lakeland 10; Fouled out – none; Records: Valley 20-3, Lakeland 10-13
Other game: NorthWood 56, West Noble 36
Records: NorthWood 16-8, West Noble 18-7
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