AKRON – Wawasee went on a 7-2 run to open the second half and outscored Class 3A No. 4 Tippecanoe Valley 15-11 in the fourth quarter. It was way too little, way too late for Wawasee, however. The Lady Vikings scored the first 14 points of the game, led 26-8 after the first quarter and 50-16 at halftime and cruised to a 72-38 win over the visiting Lady Warriors. The two teams meet again next week in the opening round of the Valley Sectional. Valley junior Meredith Brouyette opened the scoring with a pair of three-pointers on the Lady Vikes’ first two possessions. After Anne Secrest made her first bucket, Wawasee Kem Zolman called timeout to try and help his team regroup. But the Lady Warriors turned the ball over nine times in the quarter, Brouyette and Secrest combined for 18 points and, in spite of Zolman calling two more timeouts, the rout was on. Wawasee had as many points in the first half as turnovers, and that includes Hannah-Marie Lamle’s first three-pointer of the season as time expired in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Valley turned the ball over only four times in the first half. Secrest scored 21 of her game-high 23 points in the first 16 minutes, and Addy Miller added seven points in the second period to help expand the lead. “Well, I think we were just really focused tonight. The last three or four games we hadn’t gotten off to great starts, so it was really nice to see that tonight,” said Valley head coach Chris Kindig. “Fifty points in the first half is a nice start for us.” Beginning in the second period the Lady Vikings, who dressed 10 players for the game, used their bench extensively. “We were able to play all 10 girls tonight, and were able to mix some things up offensively and defensively to see what we might want to do for next week, and get it on tape. So there were a lot of benefits for us tonight. It was a good effort by these girls; they played well. “One of the frustrations I had last week was when we turned the ball over 21 times against NorthWood. We needed to clean that up, and I think that was an aberration for us. Tonight was more normal. Wawasee came out and played a 1-2-2 trap, played a little match-up zone and put pressure on the top. I’m sure Wawasee will run that again next week, and we’ll be prepared for it.” Kindig said he wasn’t sure if it was advantageous for either team to play each other so close to the sectional opener. “I’m not particularily fond of playing a team twice within a week’s span. But you know the draw is what it is; it’s a blind draw and you get what you get,” he said. “For us, I’m not going to complain because we’re playing at home, and we haven’t had a home sectional game in a long time. And obviously that’s an advantage for us in a lot of different ways. So hopefully we can come out and play with that same intensity next Tuesday. “This group’s got a lot of good experience, and I don’t think we’ll overlook Wawasee at all. The score was a little lopsided tonight, but we’ll come out ready to play Tuesday.” Wawasee coach Kem Zolman was not available for comment after the game. The Lady Warriors were led by Aubrey Schmeltz’s 10 points, while Hannah Haines scored nine. Wawasee fell to 7-14 on the season and closes out the regular season and Northern Lakes Conference season at Concord Thursday night. Miller finished with 12 points and Brouyette 10 for the Lady Vikings. Tippecanoe Valley won for the 20th time this season, a school record for regular season wins, and will try to win the Three Rivers Conference title outright Thursday night at Manchester. The Lady Vikings get the title with a win or if Rochester loses at Northfield Thursday night.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 72, WAWASEE 38 W 8 8 7 15 – 38 TV 26 24 11 11 – 72 Wawasee – Kabrea Rostochak 0-2 1-2 1, Hannah-Marie Lamle 3-8 0-1 7, Casey Schroeder 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Haines 4-9 1-1 9, Aubrey Kuhn 1-8 0-4 2, Kylee rostochak 2-9 4-5 8, Madison Beaman 0-0 0-0 0, Erin Wiktorowski 0-2 0-0 0, Seaquinn Bright 0-1 1-2 1, Aubrey Schmeltz 4-9 2-4 10. Totals 14-18 9-15 38. Valley – Olivia Trippiedi 0-0 0-0 0, Karis Tucker 0-2 0-1 0, Meredith Brouyette 4-6 0-0 10, Addy Miller 4-11 2-2 12, Sophie Bussard 4-7 0-0 8, Brynda Krueger 1-4 0-0 2, Asia O’Connor 1-3 3-5 5, Morgan Brazo 2-3 0-0 4, Hannah Dunn 3-6 2-3 8, Anne Secrest 10-12 3-3 23. Totals 29-54 10-14 72. Three-pointers – Wawasee 1 (Lamle), Valley 4 (Brouyette 2, Miller 2); Rebounds – Wawasee 25 (Lamle 4), Valley 34 (Secrest 9); Turnovers – Wawasee 21, Valley 14; Fouls – Wawasee 15, Valley 15; Fouled out – none; Records: Wawasee 7-14, Valley 20-1 JV – T. Valley 45, Wawasee 32 Wawasee leaders– Sara Pritchard 10, Caitlin Wortinger 7, Faith Swihart 4 Valley leaders – Kilee Slone 12, Asia O’Connor 10, Taniesha Brown 8, Sarah Tucker 8
