Lady Vikings Perfect In The TRC AgainAKRON – Tippecanoe Valley came out blazing on senior night, bolting to a 5-0 lead just 32 seconds into the game and forcing 10 turnovers in the first quarter. The Lady Vikings rolled to a 61-27 win over Manchester Thursday that clinched the Three Rivers Conference title for a third straight year. Valley used a full-court press to disrupt Manchester early, and on one early possession the Lady Squires passed the ball four times and turned it over before crossing the Valley free throw line. The result was Valley turning its defense into a lot of easy baskets in the first 12 minutes of the game, until Manchester demonstrated it could handle the pressure. “That’s how we would have liked to have played all year long. It seems like in the last half-dozen games or so we’ve really put that all together, not only playing better together offensively, but defensively,” Valley head coach Chris Kindig said. “Our man (defense) has been pretty darn good. The last two games we’ve held teams in the 20s, and that’ll get it done, especially around tournament time. I like the way we’re playing and our style right now. It’s conducive to success in the tournament if we’re able to do that.” Once Manchester crossed the time line, Valley packed its defense, whether playing man-to-man or zone, inside the arc to force the Lady Squires to shoot three-pointers. “We watch a lot of film, and at times they’ve struggled to hit some outside shots this year,” Kindig said. “So we felt like that was the best way to go, and I thought we were pretty successful tonight. It still involves a lot of hard work, and our girls were working at it, and it’s really showing right now.” Manchester head coach Jacob Everett felt like once his team settled down some, it played a lot better. But by then his team had more turnovers than points and the damage had been done. “We executed all right, I would say. We got the ball to some of our spots after we calmed down from their initial jump,” he said. “We were able to execute a little bit of our press breaker and get the ball toward the middle. It was off and on for us. “I felt like we had some good shots that we weren’t able to hit. It was a physical game on both sides, and we weren’t able to finish through the contact.” Everett said his team wasn’t too discouraged by the Valley game as it heads into Wednesday’s game against Wabash in the 2A Northfield Sectional. “We continue to compete. we have some things we need to shore up on defense. But Valley is just so talented, and they expose your weaknesses so well. That was the story tonight; they exposed our weaknesses and executed.” Sydney Day had 10 points for Manchester (12-10, 4-5 TRC). Ellie Milam had seven points, hitting three shots in four possessions in the fourth quarter. Anne Secrest had 23 points and Meredith Brouyette 12 in their final game on the Valley court. The win gave Valley its third straight undefeated season in TRC play, and extended its conference winning streak to 28 games. The Lady Vikings’ last loss in conference play was at Rochester (63-53) on Jan. 18, 2014. The Lady Vikings (20-4, 9-0 TRC) have a first-round bye in the 3A West Noble Sectional and await the winner of Tuesday’s Wawasee/NorthWood game.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 61 MANCHESTER 27 M 7 5 4 11 – 27 TV 18 13 14 16 – 61 Manchester – Kiera Hatfield 0-1 0-0 0, Kennedy Fierstos 0-3 0-0 0, Ellie Milam 3-8 0-0 7, Emma West 1-4 0-0 2, Sydney Day 3-6 4-6 10, Kerigan Hatfield 1-3 2-3 4, Rae Bedke 0-0 0-0 0, Erika Kendall 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Cave 0-2 0-0 0, Bailey Sewell 0-3 0-0 0, Cierra Carter 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 10-37 6-9 27. Valley – Olivia Trippiedi 3-4 0-0 6, Meredith Brouyette 5-9 0-0 12, Taniesha Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Addy Miller 2-9 0-0 6, Sophie Bussard 4-8 0-0 8, Emily Peterson 0-3 0-0 0, Asia O’Connor 2-4 0-0 4, Makenzie Woodcox 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Dunn 1-3 0-0 2, Anne Secrest 8-10 6-7 23. Totals 25-50 6-7 61. Three-pointers – Manchester 1 (Milam), Valley 5 (Miller 2, Brouyette 2, Secrest); Rebounds – Manchester 24 (Sewell 7), Valley 25 (Bussard 6, Secrest 6); Turnovers – Manchester 24, Valley 14; Fouls – Manchester 8, Valley 10; Fouled out – none; Records: Manchester 12-10 (4-5 TRC), Valley 20-4 (9-0 TRC). JV – Manchester 32 Tippecanoe Valley 29 Manchester – Raniessa Shambarger 4, Mackenzie Day 4, Gabbie Brewer 4, Kiera Stacy 3, Kennidy Lauer 3, Bailey Mooney 2, Kirsten Eakright 2, Rachel Cave 2. Valley – Sarah Tucker 10, Emma Craig 7, Jillian Walls 4, Faith Kamp 4, Makenzie Woodcox 4.
