AKRON – Tippecanoe Valley coach Chris Kindig said his team didn’t get an “ideal draw” for this week’s Class 3A sectional at Wawasee High School. Games are won on the court, however, not on paper. “It’s probably not an ideal draw for us, but we know you have to show up and play well, no matter who you are,” said Kindig. “It’s going to be a challenge, but the girls are confident we can play with anybody we play.” After posting a 15-5 record in the regular season, including a share of the Three Rivers Conference championship with a 5-2 mark, the Lady Vikings are now focused on Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. sectional date with Fairfield (15-5). Wawasee (5-15) and Lakeland (5-15) open sectional play Tuesday at 6 p.m. On Friday at 6 p.m, West Noble (12-8) will play the winner of Tuesday’s first game, followed by NorthWood (19-3) and the winner of Tuesday’s second game. The championship game is slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday. “Any team can beat any other team on a given day, but NorthWood is going to be the favorite going in,” said Kindig, whose team lost 50-36 at NorthWood on Jan. 10. “They have nice size inside with their post players. When you have two big post players like that, you’re tough to beat.” NorthWood, looking for its third sectional title in four years, is 4-0 against the rest of the sectional field this season. The Lady Panthers have played and defeated each team except West Noble. “NorthWood is a great program and they have a great coach,” Kindig said of the Lady Panthers and veteran coach Steve Neff, who is second in Indiana girls basketball history with 609 wins. “We’re not thinking about NorthWood or anybody else though, we’re focused on Fairfield.” Valley and Fairfield have three common opponents, and they have the same record against those opponents. Both teams beat Wawasee and West Noble handily and lost to NorthWood. “We played them this summer,” Kindig said of Fairfield. “They’re a very good team. They’re very good defensively. They have very balanced scoring.” Sophomore Haley Brown leads Fairfield in scoring with 11 points per game, while senior Megan Beasley adds eight points per game and senior Becca Kropf, junior Ellen Line and Jenna Kieper all score right at six points per game. Senior Emily Beasley chips in with an average of five points per game. Valley, looking for its first sectional championship since 2007, is led in scoring by senior Staci Groom, who averages 22 points per game. Senior Tory Keirn adds 10 points per game, while sophomore Kelsey Ball chips in with five points per game and junior Danielle Bussard and freshman Caylie Teel add four points per game. A year ago, The Lady Vikings had a first-year coach and went into the sectional with a 4-14 record. Valley won the sectional opener over Lakeland, but fell in the semifinal round to eventual champion Wawasee. The Lady Vikings are a different team going into the state tournament this year. “The girls are more comfortable with my style, and they know the things we need to do,” said Kindig. “We played some games over the summer, and the team really gelled together. We’ve also had great senior leadership from Staci Groom, Tory Keirn and Megan Bibler.” The Lady Vikings enter sectional play having won four of their last five games.
