Valley Opens Sectional Play With Win Over West Noble
February 4, 2025 at 7:45 p.m.
The Tippecanoe Valley girls’ win on Tuesday night wasn’t the prettiest, but at this time of year that doesn’t matter. The team was able to survive and advance with a victory in the opening game of the 3A Sectional Tournament at Fairfield, pulling away late to defeat West Noble 40-19.
The Lady Vikings were able to put up plenty of shots in the opening minutes with West Noble doing little in terms of taking care of the ball, yet had a hard time turning those shots into points. Just over two minutes into the game, Hadley Wise finally put her team on the board with a midrange jumper.
On the other side, the Lady Chargers had a hard time getting shots up at all, with Valley playing some suffocating defense and forcing a plethora of turnovers. Points continued to be scarce as the first quarter rolled on, with the Lady Vikings scoring the only four of the game thus far six minutes into the contest.
Things started to pick up in the final minute of the first, as Hailey Stookey drained a three for Valley that was quickly matched by a floater on the other end for West Noble’s first points of the night. That would give the game its score after eight minutes of play, as the Lady Vikings led the slugfest 7-2 heading into the second.
Gaby Gonzalez began the following quarter with a defensive highlight, stripping the opposing guard of the ball and taking it all the way to the hoop for the steal and score. The ball movement was much better for Valley here, as players were making the extra pass to find that open teammate. Lucy Hayden in particular did a good job passing out of the post down low, turning those passes into more points.
The Lady Chargers, despite scoring just four points 12 minutes into the game, were still very much in striking distance. With the Lady Vikings unable to put together the run that would give them some much-needed separation, it remained a single digit game.
With three minutes until halftime, senior Carlee Snyder put in her first basket to put her team up by eleven. While the points still weren’t coming in bunches, the defense remained stout. Offensively, it was a team effort for the ladies in green, as seven different players scored in the first half.
Stookey finished off the second quarter with a floater near the free throw line to put Valley up 19-7. Although things had gotten off to a rocky start, it seemed as if the Lady Vikings were starting to take control.
Tippecanoe Valley junior Lucy Hayden works under the basket to score two of her game-high nine points...Nieter
West Noble looked the best it had the entire game to open up the second half, attacking the rim with purpose and picking up steals to create extra opportunities. After a Valley turnover, the Lady Chargers were able to convert on a three pointer to make it just a seven-point game.
Plagued by going long stretches without a bucket all season long, Valley’s Achilles heel had struck again at the worst possible team. It took three minutes of play in the third quarter before Izabella Woodruff finally put her team on the board to stop the bleeding. Moments later, Hayden was able to put in a layup to help steer the ship back on course.
Hayden added an and-one a possession later to extend Valley’s lead back up to 14. After a scary stretch to begin the quarter, it appeared that the Lady Vikings had gotten back on track. West Noble was able to keep it from getting any worse, but Valley was still up by 13 at 30-17 with just eight minutes left in the game.
That score didn’t change for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, and while Valley would have liked to extend its lead at this point, time was their ally and their defense was still going to work. Betty Shepherd scored the first points of the period with 5:30 left to extend the lead to 15.
West Noble wouldn’t get on the scoreboard until a little over three minutes were left in the game. Despite needing to make up a lot of ground, the Lady Viking defense was forcing the Lady Chargers to take their time to find open looks. With not enough shots going up to make a real difference in the lead, the team was unable to make a real run at things late as Valley was able to finish off the victory.
Valley (13-10) will take on host school Fairfield on Friday night in the first semifinal game.
The Tippecanoe Valley girls’ win on Tuesday night wasn’t the prettiest, but at this time of year that doesn’t matter. The team was able to survive and advance with a victory in the opening game of the 3A Sectional Tournament at Fairfield, pulling away late to defeat West Noble 40-19.
The Lady Vikings were able to put up plenty of shots in the opening minutes with West Noble doing little in terms of taking care of the ball, yet had a hard time turning those shots into points. Just over two minutes into the game, Hadley Wise finally put her team on the board with a midrange jumper.
On the other side, the Lady Chargers had a hard time getting shots up at all, with Valley playing some suffocating defense and forcing a plethora of turnovers. Points continued to be scarce as the first quarter rolled on, with the Lady Vikings scoring the only four of the game thus far six minutes into the contest.
Things started to pick up in the final minute of the first, as Hailey Stookey drained a three for Valley that was quickly matched by a floater on the other end for West Noble’s first points of the night. That would give the game its score after eight minutes of play, as the Lady Vikings led the slugfest 7-2 heading into the second.
Gaby Gonzalez began the following quarter with a defensive highlight, stripping the opposing guard of the ball and taking it all the way to the hoop for the steal and score. The ball movement was much better for Valley here, as players were making the extra pass to find that open teammate. Lucy Hayden in particular did a good job passing out of the post down low, turning those passes into more points.
The Lady Chargers, despite scoring just four points 12 minutes into the game, were still very much in striking distance. With the Lady Vikings unable to put together the run that would give them some much-needed separation, it remained a single digit game.
With three minutes until halftime, senior Carlee Snyder put in her first basket to put her team up by eleven. While the points still weren’t coming in bunches, the defense remained stout. Offensively, it was a team effort for the ladies in green, as seven different players scored in the first half.
Stookey finished off the second quarter with a floater near the free throw line to put Valley up 19-7. Although things had gotten off to a rocky start, it seemed as if the Lady Vikings were starting to take control.
Tippecanoe Valley junior Lucy Hayden works under the basket to score two of her game-high nine points...Nieter
West Noble looked the best it had the entire game to open up the second half, attacking the rim with purpose and picking up steals to create extra opportunities. After a Valley turnover, the Lady Chargers were able to convert on a three pointer to make it just a seven-point game.
Plagued by going long stretches without a bucket all season long, Valley’s Achilles heel had struck again at the worst possible team. It took three minutes of play in the third quarter before Izabella Woodruff finally put her team on the board to stop the bleeding. Moments later, Hayden was able to put in a layup to help steer the ship back on course.
Hayden added an and-one a possession later to extend Valley’s lead back up to 14. After a scary stretch to begin the quarter, it appeared that the Lady Vikings had gotten back on track. West Noble was able to keep it from getting any worse, but Valley was still up by 13 at 30-17 with just eight minutes left in the game.
That score didn’t change for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, and while Valley would have liked to extend its lead at this point, time was their ally and their defense was still going to work. Betty Shepherd scored the first points of the period with 5:30 left to extend the lead to 15.
West Noble wouldn’t get on the scoreboard until a little over three minutes were left in the game. Despite needing to make up a lot of ground, the Lady Viking defense was forcing the Lady Chargers to take their time to find open looks. With not enough shots going up to make a real difference in the lead, the team was unable to make a real run at things late as Valley was able to finish off the victory.
Valley (13-10) will take on host school Fairfield on Friday night in the first semifinal game.