Tippecanoe Valley Uses Big Second Half To Hold On Against Triton
December 9, 2021 at 3:28 a.m.
Tippecanoe Valley Uses Big Second Half To Hold On Against Triton
By Connor McCann-
“We were trying a whole bunch of things in the first half, and they were really hurting us with their dribble penetration,” Kindig said. “We went to a 2-3 zone in the second half and I think that was the difference in the basketball game. We controlled them getting the ball in the paint and it was defensively what we wanted.”
The defensive switch up led to a 3rd quarter dominated by the Lady Vikings to the tune of a 14-2 run that turned a four point deficit into a eight point lead. Tippy Valley wouldn’t look back, and would hold on for a victory, its fifth in six games. The Lady Vikings reach .500 for the first time this season at 5-5, while Triton has a five game win streak snapped and falls to 7-4.
Both teams spent the majority of the first quarter trying to get the metaphorical lid off of the basket. Made shots were hard to come by for both teams, as hardnosed defense was a theme throughout the evening. Triton would take an 11-9 lead after the opening period, which was capped off by a Lily Ault three-pointer at the buzzer for Valley to trim the lead to two.
Leading the way for Triton in the first half and majority of the game was the duo of senior Taren Yates and sophomore Addyson Viers. Yates finished the first half scoring 12 of Triton’s 24 first half points. She would finish the game with 14 points seven assists and 4 steals. Viers also made her presence felt in the first half, scoring eight points. But it was the second half where she did her best to take over, scoring eleven more to finish with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds. She also added a pair of blocks and three steals.
The momentum change in the second half was immediate. The Lady Vikings came out firing, with junior Kaydence Mellott making two three-pointers back-to-back to turn the four point deficit into a two point lead Valley would never give up. Mellott was fantastic once again for the Lady Vikings, finishing with a game-high 26 points, including going 11-12 from the free throw line with the game in the balance late.
“You need to have the right people shooting the ball at the right times. Obviously it was intentional for us to get her the ball at the end there,” Kindig said. “She’s such a good shooter and the other girls are starting to come along too, I was happy to get a few other nice performances tonight.”
Among the other top performers for Valley were junior Corinna Stiles, who finished with six points and eleven rebounds. Junior Molly Moriarty finished with nine points and three steals.
“I’m not sure we were favored to win this game, so it was a great win for us,” Kindig said.
Next up for Valley is a home conference matchup against North Miami Friday, while Triton will have a quick turnaround, hosting a non-conference game against Elkhart Christian Thursday.
“We were trying a whole bunch of things in the first half, and they were really hurting us with their dribble penetration,” Kindig said. “We went to a 2-3 zone in the second half and I think that was the difference in the basketball game. We controlled them getting the ball in the paint and it was defensively what we wanted.”
The defensive switch up led to a 3rd quarter dominated by the Lady Vikings to the tune of a 14-2 run that turned a four point deficit into a eight point lead. Tippy Valley wouldn’t look back, and would hold on for a victory, its fifth in six games. The Lady Vikings reach .500 for the first time this season at 5-5, while Triton has a five game win streak snapped and falls to 7-4.
Both teams spent the majority of the first quarter trying to get the metaphorical lid off of the basket. Made shots were hard to come by for both teams, as hardnosed defense was a theme throughout the evening. Triton would take an 11-9 lead after the opening period, which was capped off by a Lily Ault three-pointer at the buzzer for Valley to trim the lead to two.
Leading the way for Triton in the first half and majority of the game was the duo of senior Taren Yates and sophomore Addyson Viers. Yates finished the first half scoring 12 of Triton’s 24 first half points. She would finish the game with 14 points seven assists and 4 steals. Viers also made her presence felt in the first half, scoring eight points. But it was the second half where she did her best to take over, scoring eleven more to finish with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds. She also added a pair of blocks and three steals.
The momentum change in the second half was immediate. The Lady Vikings came out firing, with junior Kaydence Mellott making two three-pointers back-to-back to turn the four point deficit into a two point lead Valley would never give up. Mellott was fantastic once again for the Lady Vikings, finishing with a game-high 26 points, including going 11-12 from the free throw line with the game in the balance late.
“You need to have the right people shooting the ball at the right times. Obviously it was intentional for us to get her the ball at the end there,” Kindig said. “She’s such a good shooter and the other girls are starting to come along too, I was happy to get a few other nice performances tonight.”
Among the other top performers for Valley were junior Corinna Stiles, who finished with six points and eleven rebounds. Junior Molly Moriarty finished with nine points and three steals.
“I’m not sure we were favored to win this game, so it was a great win for us,” Kindig said.
Next up for Valley is a home conference matchup against North Miami Friday, while Triton will have a quick turnaround, hosting a non-conference game against Elkhart Christian Thursday.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092