No team made in the Times-Union coverage area advanced as far into the state tournament as the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings did last year, winning sectional and regional titles before falling to eventual state champions Fairfield in the semi-state round. That team boasted five seniors, including two-time Player of the Year winner Kaydence Mellott.
That Valley team also boasted a lot of young talent as well. Players like point guard Gaby Gonzalez and now-seniors Kelsey Cox and Chesnee Miller were vital parts to the team’s postseason run. According to head coach Chris Kindig, players emerging last year have been what has made sure this year’s 18-3 Valley team hasn’t missed a beat.
“The biggest factor in our success this year is that several of those returners got valuable experience last season and in particular our tournament run,” Kindig said. “We were 10-11 deep last year and I believe that is the case now as well. Expectations are set high every single year and our culture is one that carries over.”
Despite losing that big chunk of talent, the Lady Vikings have answered those expectations all season long, starting the campaign with five wins in a row and eleven in their first 12 games. Heading into the playoffs, the team has won its last five games. Two of Valley’s three losses on the year came to Western, one a regular season contest and the other a tournament affair.
Western was just one of the unusual teams Tippecanoe Valley filled its schedule with this season, as the school is currently in its one-year period without a conference to call home before becoming a founding member of a new conference with Bremen, LaVille, Jimtown, John Glenn and Knox. Instead of going for a third straight Three Rivers Conference title, Valley was playing games against talented 4A schools like Northridge and Kokomo.
“Our schedule was difficult, particularly on nights where we had to play back-to-back games on the road, but it toughens you up for the tournament,” Kindig said. “ I will say I am disappointed for our seniors that they didn’t have the opportunity to play for another conference championship this year.”
Now that the grind of the regular season has reached its conclusion, Valley can focus its attention to 3A Sectional 18 and its field, one the Lady Vikings are extremely familiar with. Tippy Valley boasts a perfect 5-0 record against teams in the sectional and will be the overwhelming favorite to advance out of it. Of those five wins, the closest margin came against Bremen, a team Valley beat by 15 points back on Nov. 2, both team’s first game of the season.
The two sides sit on opposite ends of the bracket, with The Lions taking on John Glenn in the first round with the winner taking on Culver Academies. On the other side, host school Rochester will face off against Knox with the winner taking on the Lady Vikings in the second game on Friday night. Valley defeated Rochester 42-16 on Nov. 21 and Knox 61-15 on Jan. 4.
“We have never been a team that looks ahead or dwells on the past. We truly take them one game at a time and focus on the task at hand,” Kindig said. “Records mean little when you get to the tournament. In order for us to make a run, it’s important that we don’t play out of character and impose our style of basketball on the other team.”
Offensively, Valley is led by senior Warsaw transfer Ava Egolf, who averages 13 points per game. Gonzalez, a crafty sophomore (six points, two assists and three steals a game), runs the point with the defensive specialist Miller (six points, four steals a night) serving as her backcourt mate. The sharpshooting senior Ava Smith and Egolf do well as the team’s forwards while Cox holds it down in the middle with seven points a night to go with five rebounds.
Like last year’s team, the Lady Vikings’ talent goes well beyond its starting five. Coming off the bench are forwards Carlee Snyder and Lucy Hayden. The latter has come on strong over the last few weeks, setting a new career high with 24 points in a win over University on Dec. 23. Dalynne Bussard is another player that can leave her mark on a game in a hurry, averaging just over three PPG in just five minutes a game.
“I expect us to play within our system and that means the defense comes first. Our seniors have led us all year and I don’t expect that to change,” Kindig said.
Valley’s fifth senior, Macy Petersen, was averaging 6.4 PPG and five rebounds per game before being lost to the season to injury. The Lady Vikings will begin their sectional journey on Friday night at Rochester against either the Zebras or Knox.