Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
AKRON - The target squarely on Warsaw's back, Tippecanoe Valley's varsity girls basketball team hit the bullseye Friday night.
Behind some impressive guard play, the Class 3A No. 8 Vikings caught visiting Warsaw off guard, downing the 4A top-ranked Tigers 54-45.
Five-foot-7 Viking junior guard Kara Kramer led all scorers with 19 points, while seniors Rebekah Parker and Abby Shafer added 14 and eight, respectively, in the upset victory.
"This is a big win for our program," said Valley coach Gary Teel, standing in a quiet hallway, though the noise of an on-court celebration could still be heard. "All the coaches on the staff, all the players over the years, have worked very hard to get us to this point. This is a big win over the No. 1 team in 4A, but we still have to keep things in perspective. We have other games to play, and we want to win the TRC and the sectional. We have to keep things in perspective, but yeah, this is a big win for our program."
Just how big was Valley's nine-point upset of Warsaw?
The last time a varsity girls basketball team from Valley topped the Tigers was 1981, nearly half a decade before any of the players in Friday night's game were born.
The last time the Vikings downed their county rivals an up-and-coming basketball star named Michael Jordan was a senior in high school, Ronald Reagan was in the White House, and Tippecanoe Valley High School had been around for just six years.
"We talked all week about what a great opportunity we had to play the No. 1 team in the state," Teel said. "We looked at that opportunity as a challenge, and the kids believed."
They certainly did, and the look of disbelief could be seen in the eyes of Warsaw's players on the bench as the final seconds ticked off the clock and Valley's fans ran on the court.
Valley's over the Tigers was just the second in school history, and stopped a streak of 30 straight losses to Warsaw.
In 39 games in the overall series, Warsaw holds a commanding 37-2 edge, though it wasn't evident Friday night.
After Warsaw made some quick steals and took a 6-0 lead, the host Vikings - playing the role of David in this matchup of big-school, little school - ended the opening quarter with a 5-0 run on a field goal from Parker and a three-pointer from Shafer.
Valley trailed 11-10 after eight minutes of play, but a Parker three-pointer to open the second stanza sparked a Valley run that put the Vikings up 20-13 with 6:09 remaining in the half.
Though Warsaw tied the game at 27 when junior frontliner Rebekah Reichard beat the halftime buzzer, and then used a 5-0 run to cut the Viking advantage to 39-36 after three quarters, it was Valley controlled the game.
"Lady Tiger Basketball, the coaches and everyone involved, didn't focus on what we needed to be focused on," said 18th-year Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst. "We were more worried about the polls and what would happen if we lost. Tippy Valley, in my opinion, played about as well as they could have. They played a great game. They got the ball where it needed to go. They spread things out and made us chase them, that's hard to do early in the season. It's an old cliche, but we played not to lose, rather than playing to win."
On paper, Warsaw was the team with more talent, returning all five starters and its bench from last year's 21-2 team that beat Valley by 14 to open the season.
However, on the court, it was the team that clearly had more heart that got the win, as the undersized Vikings weren't intimidated by Warsaw's height or No. 1 billing.
Just two girls on Valley's roster - junior Heather Rathbun and senior Caty Patterson - are listed as taller than 5-9.
Warsaw's roster, on the other hand, features six players over 5-9.
While the 5-11 Reichard finished the game with 12 points for the Tigers, 6-1 senior center Michelle DeGeeter fouled out with just six points.
Six-foot senior Jaclyn Leininger led the Tigers with 16 points, but scored just two in the second half. Sophomore point guard Julie Seiss added eight, while junior Mallory Hepler rounded out the Warsaw scoring with a three-pointer.
A basket by Seiss cut Valley's lead to four, 49-45, with 46 seconds left in the game, but free throws down the stretch sealed the deal for the Vikings, whose student section chanted "overated" at the Warsaw crowd.
To go with the 41 combined points from Kramer, Paker and Shafer, the Vikings got four points each from Holly Jackson and Rathbun, three points from Patterson, a two points from Lela Rohrer.
"This is totally a team effort," Teel said. "Those three (Kramer, Paker, Shafer) are gonna lead us in scoring, but everyone did their part tonight. The kids in practice, the cheerleaders, everyone did their part."
While Teel praised his team for getting everyone involved, Wienhorst felt like his team stood around and waited for someone to take over.
Though showed signs of life, but the Tigers never found their hero.
"We got within three (45-42) and I told the girls we can go out and play defense and put ourselves in position to score," Wienhorst said. "What we didn't do is play defense. We stood around waiting for someone else to do the job."
The win improved Valley to 2-0 on the season, while Warsaw sits at 0-1. The Tigers have no time to lick their wounds, as they host tradition-rich Crown Point tonight.
NO. 8 (3A) TIPPECANOE VALLEY 54,
NO. 1 (4A) WARSAW 45
Warsaw (0-1) 11 16 9 9 - 45
Valley (2-0) 10 17 12 15 - 54
Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.
* Seiss 4-13 0-2 5 4 8
* Reichard 5-6 2-3 5 0 12
* Hepler 1-4 0-2 2 1 3
* DeGeeter 3-5 0-0 8 3 6
* Leininger 7-11 0-0 2 4 16
Mayer 0-4 0-0 0 0 0
Kindig 0-0 0-0 2 1 0
Totals 20-44 2-7 24 13 45
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
* Jackson 2-5 0-2 2 2 4
* Kramer 7-11 4-4 7 1 19
* Shafer 2-7 2-3 1 4 8
* Parker 5-13 2-4 8 3 14
* Patterson 1-3 1-2 2 0 3
Rohrer 0-1 2-2 2 0 2
Rathbun 2-2 0-0 2 1 4
Totals 19-42 11-17 24 11 54
Three-point goals - Warsaw 3-9 (Leininger 2-3, Hepler 1-3, Seiss 0-3), Valley 5-15 (Parker 2-6, Shafer 2-5, Kramer 1-2, Roher 0-1, Jackson 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 17, Valley 13. Fouled out - DeGeeter. Turnovers - Warsaw 19, Valley 18.
JV - Warsaw 35, Valley 21
Warsaw scoring - Logan 12, Clay 10, Scherer 5, DeGeeter 4, Hathaway 2, Johnson 2
Valley scoring - Prater 6, Rhoades 4, Stoll 2, Ramsey 2, Kindig 2, Sitts 2, Hartle 2, Royer 1
