Lady Vikings wrap up title with 63-26 win over Manchester
Posted
Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
AKRON – For the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings, there was plenty of reason to celebrate Saturday night. And celebrate they did ... posing for pictures while wearing their conference championship T-shirts. Following a ceremony to honor senior girls basketball players Caylie Teel and Taylor Trippiedi, as well as manager Jordan Fraser, Class 3A No. 10 Valley put the finishing touches on a perfect Three Rivers Conference season with a dominating 63-26 win over the Manchester Lady Squires. The Lady Vikings left no doubt as to who the best team in the conference was this year, as they won their seven TRC games by an average of 20 points. Only two of Valley's conference wins were by fewer than 12 points. In Saturday's 37-point victory, the Lady Vikings led 22-6 after one quarter of play, 34-11 at halftime and 47-21 at the end of the third quarter. “This is a big win for us,” said Tippecanoe Valley coach Chris Kindig, whose team improved to 18-2 overall, while Manchester fell to 7-14 and 1-6 in TRC play. “To go 7-0 in the conference is a big deal. It's a big accomplishment. It was one of our goals entering the season.” Valley got the job done Saturday night they way it has the majority of the season, with an active defense and plenty of options on the offensive end. The Lady Vikings allowed Manchester to make just four field goals in the first half. Valley scored 22 points in the first quarter, while the Lady Squires didn't have that many points until freshman guard Sydney Day's bucket with 7:45 remaining in the game cut the home team's advantage to 47-23. “We wanted to play well for 32 minutes, and we were close tonight,” said Kindig, whose team was also impressive at the free throw line by making 26 of 27 attempts. “We wanted to get an early lead, and we did that. I think we were up by 25 or so at halftime, that's what we wanted. We wanted to play our tempo, and we did that. We were able to do a lot of the things we wanted to.” Trippiedi led Valley with a game-high 14 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter. Sophomore Anne Secrest added 13 points, five rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Meredith Brouyette and junior Karis Tucker scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Teel, who earlier in the day signed to play volleyball at Grace College, filled the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. For Manchester, sophomore Cierra Carter led the way with 12 points. Day chipped in with five points for the Lady Squires, while sophomores Ellie Milam and Rae Bedke scored four points each. Sophomore Drew Thompson rounded out Manchester's offensive output with a free throw. The Lady Squires, a team with a first-year head coach and just two seniors and one junior on the roster, are a work in progress. They're making strides, as they've gone from one win last season to seven so far during the current campaign. Allowing Valley to get out to a big lead early Saturday night doomed the young Manchester squad. “That's kind of the way we've played the last couple games,” said Manchester coach Jake Everett. “We came out a little flat, and we dug ourselves a big hole. Sometimes when you're youthful like we are, that happens, and it really affects your confidence.” Valley’s home game with Peru tonight has been cancelled. The Lady Vikings will finish the regular season at Culver Academy Thursday. The Lady Squires close the regular season with a home game Thursday against Adams Central.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 63, MANCHESTER 26 Man 6 5 10 5 – 26 TV 22 12 13 16 – 63 Manchester – Drew Thompson 0 1-2 1, Tiffany Johnson 0 0-0 0, Ellie Milam 2 0-0 4, Brooklyn Howard 0 0-0 0, Sydney Day 1 3-4 5, Bethany Collett 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Anguilm 0 0-0 0, Rae Bedke 2 0-0 4, Rachel Cave 0 0-0 0, Celina Carter 0 0-2 0, Erika Kendall 0 0-0 0, Bailey Sewell 0 0-0 0, Cierra Carter 6 0-0 12. Valley – Taylor Trippiedi 6 0-0 14, Karis Tucker 2 6-7 10, Meredith Brouyette 3 2-2 11, Olivia Trippiedi 1 0-0 2, Addy Miller 0 2-2 2, Caylie Teel 1 4-4 6, Brynda Krueger 1 1-1 3, Asia O’Connor 0 0-0 0, Morgan Brazo 0 0-0 0, Hannah Dunn 0 2-2 2, Anne Secrest 2 9-9 13. Three-pointers – Manchester 0, Valley 5 (Brouyette 3, T. Trippiedi 2); Turnovers – Manchester 19, Valley 9; Fouls – Manchester 17, Valley 8; Fouled out – none; Records: Manchester 7-14 (1-6 TRC), Valley 18-2 (7-0 TRC) JV – Valley 43, Manchester 19
