Riding a three-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s game against Triton at the Trojan Trench, the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team used pressure-packed defense and a balanced scoring attack to extend the streak to four with a 49-32 win over the Lady Trojans.
The Lady Vikings enjoyed a lightning-fast start on the road, scoring the first six points of the game in the first two minutes of the contest. Four of those game in the span of 10 seconds by Ava Egolf. The defense of Tippecanoe Valley was incredibly suffocating all night long, a trend that began at the opening tip. The Lady Trojans found it incredibly difficult to move the ball past half court, with two and sometimes three Valley defenders hounding ball handlers and coming away with steals.
“We were able to ride that defense all night. It was big for us to be able to come up with some big steals and get some buckets in transition,” Valley head coach Chris Kindig said after the game. “We’re a team that’s going to pressure you all night and take advantage of what we can.”
A matchup that was worth watching early on was the battle between the two centers, Valley’s Kelsey Cox and Triton’s Addyson Viers. The two seniors took turns backing each other down low in the paint, making for some entertaining basketball early on. Both players led their teams in scoring after a quarter, with Cox putting up six points while Viers scored five.
While the press was doing wonders most of the time for the visitors, it did lead to some problems as well, specifically early foul trouble. The Lady Trojans were able to take advantage of this, getting into the bonus early and staying aggressive to maximize attempts at the free throw line. The Triton makes at the charity stripe made it a three-point game heading into the second.

    Senior Jenna Bules of Triton brings the ball upcourt against the defense of Valley's Ave Egolf. Photo by Gary Nieter

A minute into the second quarter, things were tied up. Following this short spurt by Triton to even things at 16, Chesnee Miller and Ava Smith got it going for the Lady Vikings, combining for an 8-0 run to create some separation once again. Miller, known more for her defensive prowess than her offensive abilities, had it going in this one, becoming the first player in the game to reach double figures scoring.
“Some nights you just don’t know who’s going to lead the way,” Kindig said. “We’re a deep team but we’ve had some injuries and that forced some players to get into situations they might not be comfortable in but they’re figuring it out.”
Because of this run, Valley was able to get back to pressing and was able to extend the lead into double digits because of it. Triton was able to stay somewhat close thanks to a pair of timely three pointers by Sydney King. With four players scoring at least six points in the first half for Valley, the Lady Vikings held an eleven-point advantage heading into the third.
There wasn’t much scoring to speak off as the second half began, as both sides were able to make just one shot in the first three minutes of the third. A little after the midway point of the quarter, Egolf was able to put together another spurt, scoring six straight points for her team while grabbing a steal in the process to join Miller in double figures.
Triton would not back down under the pressure. The Lady Trojans got a pair of big shots to fall for Jenna Bules and Mylie Groves late in the quarter to win it, shrinking the Lady Viking lead down to 10 as the fourth quarter began.
Like the third quarter, the fourth was a defensive slugfest to start. Both teams stepped up the intensity quite noticeably, leading to some tough play all over the court. With the Lady Vikings still leading by a considerable amount, Triton needed a spark immediately.
Instead, it would be the visitors that would take advantage of the sluggish pace, taking their time offensively and using some crisp passes to create open looks. With three minutes left in the contest, Valley’s lead had jumped up to 16.
This would be enough for the Lady Vikings to hold onto a hard-fought victory. Egolf led all scorers in the game with 16 points. Not far behind her was Miller with 14 while Smith scored eleven. For Triton, Viers scored nine while King led the Lady Trojans with 10 points. Jocelynn Faulkner scored six.
Tippecanoe Valley (9-1) is on the road Friday night at North Miami while Triton (3-7) remains home to face off against Elkhart Christian on Thursday.
“I feel like we can still get a little bit better defensively, but I don’t feel like we’ve scratched the surface on how good we can be offensively,” Kindig said. We’re still figuring out some different roles but we’re a hard team to scout because you don’t know who’s going to bring it on any given night. Our goal is to have four or five players bringing it every night.”