Lady Vikings Having Fun While Taking Game Seriously
Posted
Mark Howe-mhowe@timesuniononline.com
How in the world can something so life-changing, like playing in a state championship game, be so much fun while being taken quite seriously? Tippecanoe Valley’s girls basketball team, as everyone who cares already knows, is playing in the biggest basketball game of the year on Saturday, as the ninth-ranked Lady Vikings will play No. 4 Princeton in the Class 3A state finals. At Media Day earlier this week, reporters such as yours truly learned while the players aren’t sure where Princeton, Ind., is, the team coming from there is talented and also belongs in the title game. To be fair, it’s easy to imagine people in and around Princeton wondering “where in the world is Tippecanoe Valley.” For the record, Princeton is in Gibson County, about 28 miles straight north of Evansville, and has a population of around 8,600. On Tuesday, Valley head coach Chris Kindig said he and his staff hadn’t looked at enough tape of the Tigers to develop a strategy for stopping Notre Dame recruit Jackie Young. “We’re going to have to mix it up a little bit. I don’t think we’re going to be able to do just one thing and expect it to work the whole game,” he said. “If she scores 40, I don’t think we have a chance of winning the basketball game, honestly. And really, I think we’re going to have a difficult time if we allow her to get 33, which is her average. So we need to slow her down some, but she’s a great player. She’s very unselfish, she’s very athletic and runs the floor very well. We definitely have our hands full.” “She’s also surrounded with a lot of good players, and she’s not afraid to pass the ball to those players. And she can turn it on when she wants to; she’s been turning it on this entire tournament.” There’s also a quiet, humble confidence about the Lady Vikings. They know they’ve earned the opportunity through a lot of hard work. “There was a really huge commitment at the end of last year, that they were going to put the time in,” Kindig said. They were at every open gym. A lot of these girls were on AAU teams, but their No. 1 priority was our high school basketball team. That’s special. “Then we get into our preseason stuff, and again, great attendance at everything. They worked on their skills, and a lot of these girls are a lot better than they were last year, and that’s a credit to the work they put into the offseason and during the season. “So you add an improvement in skill level, and an improvement in leadership and team chemistry and camaraderie, and it all fits into an answer ‘we are where we are because of that.’” The players, while fully aware of the task in front of them, and progressing toward that task, are taking the time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. From the moment the buzzer sounded ending the semistate win over Rochester and the trip back from Warsaw to the week preceeding the trip to Indianapolis, it’s been a time to celebrate and enjoy. Sophomore Anne Secrest talked about the trip home. “What we did is we rolled down windows and screamed at people who were waving and yelling at us, and we danced to music,” she said. “We’re making great memories with everybody on the team.” And the best dancer on the team? “Actually, it’s our manager, Jordan Fraser, is really good, And Morgan Brazo is really good,” Secrest smiled. Senior Caylie Teel said support comes from all kinds of angles, and she even hears it while serving people coffee. “Honestly, you’d be surprised how many people come in to the place I work and say ‘you’re from Valley! Congratulations!’” she said. “I’ve had so many congratulations, and so many people have come to the games that even after the games we hear ‘we’re so proud of all of you,’ because they know how hard we’ve worked and they’ve been around this system and this program for a long time. “(The crowd in Warsaw) was amazing, and I want to do it again. I’m hoping even more people come to state. I loved it.” Fortunately, the ride to the state finals hasn’t been too much to handle, according to senior Taylor Trippiedi. “It’s not been overwhelming. It’s been crazy, but a good crazy,” Trippiedi said. “This is our dream; this is where we’ve always wanted to be. And we’ve worked so hard to get to this moment. I think we’ll need to calm down a little bit because of all the busyness going on, and focus on Saturday. But it’s been an amazing week, and we’re looking forward to Saturday.” So are we, Lady Vikings. Good luck on Saturday.
