Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BOURBON - Mark Heeter had reason to be nervous.
It had been nine days since his team last took the court in a win over Knox and he was concerned with how sharp his team would be against Tippecanoe Valley on Monday. However, his team answered the bell and jumped out to a 9-2 lead in defeating Valley 57-54.
"Normally we don't play extremely well after we've had a long time off," Heeter said. "Tonight I thought we played pretty well considering we haven't played a game in more than a week. Traditionally we don't play well on Monday, so all in all, it was a real good performance against a good team."
Once Triton went ahead early, the Trojans never fell behind. Valley pulled even at 26-26 late in the second quarter, but the Vikings were fighting an uphill battle the entire game.
The second quarter may have been the most important for Triton despite just tying Valley 15-15 in that eight-minute stretch. With four Trojan starters sitting on the bench with two personal fouls for the majority of that quarter, Heeter was happy to see his players hold the three-point lead they manufactured in the first quarter.
"The bench in the second quarter came through for us," Heeter said. "We didn't really want to risk getting three (fouls) on any of our starters. That quarter was big; the bench really came through for us tonight."
Leading 29-26 heading into the third quarter, Triton jumped out much like the first going on a 12-3 spurt to take a 41-29 lead. Sophomore Melissa Nifong scored six points during the run as Valley went just 1 of 7 in the first four minutes of the quarter compared to Triton's 6 of 9.
But just as Valley looked dead, Kelly Walters woke up and scored on a three-point play and added a pair of free throws in the final three minutes as the Vikings closed to 43-36 with eight minutes to play.
In the fourth quarter, Triton kept Valley at arms' length and led 50-41 when the Vikings began to make a run. Brandi Fisher scored five of her game-high 20 points on a jumper and a three-pointer to make the score 50-46 with 2:46 to play.
At 54-48 in favor of Triton, Jenny Sanders nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead in half with 24 seconds to play. However, Triton made its free throws down the stretch and the Trojans held on by three points.
Despite the loss, Fisher's play was a positive. She scored her 20 points on four three-pointers and was 8 of 15 shooting on the game.
"We talked to Brandi before the game," Valley head coach Mike Walters said. "Brandi played tonight like she is capable of playing. That's the way she played in our holiday tournament both games."
Valley's Andria Parker added nine points and eight rebounds.
Chris Scott had a solid all-around game for Triton with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Jessica Kintzel struggled through foul trouble in the first half, but stepped it up in the second half with six points and nine rebounds. She ended with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"She is an animal on the boards," Heeter said. "I can't say enough about her play so far this year. She gives 110 percent every time she's out there, and she is not to be denied when she goes for that ball. She's a tough kid."
Triton (5-1, 2-0) will be at Bremen on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Trojans will not hook up again after that game until a Jan. 9 game at Glenn. Valley (3-5) will host Winamac Wednesday at 6:15 p.m.
