Lady Tigers Rout No. 4 ValleyIn the first quarter, Class 3A No. 4 Tippecanoe Valley played solid basketball. Over the final three quarters Friday, it was the Warsaw Lady Tigers who played like title contenders. Warsaw’s Dayton Groninger had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and she had a lot of help from her teammates in shutting down Valley for a 66-42 win at the Tiger Den. The final score was the most lopsided in the series since a 61-23 Warsaw home win on Nov. 19, 2004. Warsaw’s defense was at its best in the final three quarters. After Valley opened with six field goals in the first eight minutes, the Lady Vikings made only six more shots the rest of the game. Three-time Times-Union player of the year Anne Secrest led Valley with 14 points, and Addy Miler had 10 points on 12 shots for the Lady Vikings, who were 12 of 35 from the field overall and 3 of 17 from the arc. “That was one big key that we talked about; we had to play great defense. We couldn’t allow them to get off easy three-point shots,” Warsaw head coach Michelle Harter said. “We knew that Secrest was going to get her points, she’s a great player. But you have to limit everybody else. “The girls did a great job responding after that first quarter; getting out on the shooters and even holding Anne below what she typically gets. What a great job the girls did of adjusting to what they wanted to do in their offense, just coming out and stopping them with a great effort.” On the offensive end, Warsaw looked like it wanted to take the air out of the ball and keep the score low. Tippecanoe Valley was coming off a 94-point game at Logansport on Tuesday, and averaged 77 points a game before Friday. Harter said it was more a matter of being patient to get good shots, but early on her Lady Tigers may have been too patient. “In the first quarter we were patient, but we were timid. We talked about ‘yes, we want to be patient and take the shots we want, but you also have to dictate where it is you want to go,’” she said. “When we started to push the tempo a little bit, and looked to attack, that’s when we got things running.” Groninger had a 31-point game a week ago against Huntington North. Warsaw was much more balanced on offense this time, with Madi Graham leading all scorers with 15 points, and Kenzie Welk adding 12. Freshman Kaylee Patton and senior Mariah Rivera had eight points each. “You have to have other players step up. You can’t have one person that carries you all the time. The teams we play scout us, and they’re going to know,” Harter said. “Dayton pressed herself early on, but then let the game come to her. But everybody else stepped up when they needed to. And that’s what you want when you talk about having a great team effort.” Valley head coach Chris Kindig also talked about how Warsaw dictated the style and pace of play. The Lady Vikings were held without a second-half field goal until 4:35 left in the game, and scored just three points in the third period. “Before the game we talked about playing our game and not getting caught up playing their game. In the first quarter we did a pretty good job of that,” he said. “We didn’t play particularly well in the second quarter, and things started getting tight in the third quarter. We just got away from they way we need to play, and that was kind of the end of it there. “Give Warsaw a lot of credit, they played extremely well. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well; I think we were 3 of 17 from the three-point line, but a lot of that was we were scrambling in the second half to make some headway. But when you score three points in a quarter, it’s pretty tough to make that up. “It just wasn’t a great effort from us in the second half.” The Lady Vikings will take a 3-1 record to Bunker Hill Tuesday where they take on Maconaquah (0-2) in their Three Rivers Conference opener. Warsaw improved to 4-0 and takes on another ranked opponent, 4A No. 6 Penn on Tuesday.
WARSAW 66, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 42 TV 14 9 3 16 – 42 W 6 17 16 27 – 66 Valley – Olivia Trippiedi 0-0 0-0 0, Kilee Slone 0-0 0-0 0, Meredith Brouyette 0-5 3-4 3, Addy Miller 3-12 2-2 10, Sophie Bussard 3-4 1-1 7, Emily Peterson 1-5 1-5 4, Asia O’Connor 1-1 0-0 2, Hannah Dunn 0-1 2-2 2, Anne Secrest 4-7 6-7 14. Totals 12-35 15-21 42. Warsaw – Kennedy Patton 0-0 0-0 0, Page Desenberg 3-5 0-0 6, Mariah Rivera 2-2 3-6 8, Kenzie Welk 4-6 3-4 12, Dayton Groninger 4-13 5-7 13, Madi Graham 4-11 6-7 15, Kacy Bragg 2-2 0-0 4, Kaylee Patton 2-5 1-2 8. Totals 21-44 18-26 66. Three-pointers – Valley 3 (Miller 2, Peterson), Warsaw 6 (Groninger 3, Rivera, Welk, Graham); Rebounds – Valley 24 (Brouyette 4), Warsaw 29 (Groninger 10); Turnovers – Valley 14, Warsaw 5; Fouls – Valley 22, Warsaw 21; Fouled out – Bragg, Brouyette; Records: Valley 3-1, Warsaw 4-0. JV – Warsaw 59, Valley 24 Valley – Sarah Tucker 8, Emma Craig 6, Makenzie Woodcox 4, Gabby Olson 4, Hannah Gibbons 1, Faith Kamp 1 Warsaw – Maddie Ryman 13, Kaylee Patton 13, Halle Shipp 9, Kennedy Patton 8, Madelyn Smith 5, Kenzie Martz 4, Naomi Phillips 4, Grayson Kilburn 3
