Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BOURBON - Tippecanoe Valley varsity girls basketball coach Gary Teel knew Triton would make runs Wednesday night. He also knew his team would have to withstand those runs to upset the Class 2A No. 6 Trojans on their floor.
Indeed, Triton, the two-time defending state champions, made runs at Valley. The Vikings withstood those runs and came away with a 65-53 win, halting a 17-game Trojan win streak.
"We just couldn't get over the hump," said Triton coach Mark Heeter, whose Trojans' last loss came to Rochester in the regular season a year ago. "We got it down to three, and then we gave up a big basket and then we gave up a three."
A rebound and bucket by junior Ashli Senff cut Valley's lead to 39-36 with 3:10 left in third quarter, but the Vikings got a field goal from sophomore Rebekah Parker and a three-pointer from junior Sherise Denny to push the count to 44-36.
Triton got no closer than five the rest of the way, dropping their season record to 6-1. Valley, which took a 6-4 lead and never trailed afterward, improved to 7-1.
"Triton and Mark Heeter do a great job," said Teel, whose Valley squad's only loss came to 4A No. 9 Warsaw. "I knew they would make runs, we just had to withstand them. This is a big week for us, and Triton is a good ball club. We had to play undefeated Triton, and now we play undefeated North Miami Saturday. Every game is big, and this was a nice win for us."
Led by Parker, the Vikings jumped out to a 10-4 lead early in the first quarter and led 22-15 going into the second.
The 5-foot-10 frontliner scored 10 points in the frame and finished with a game-high 19. She also pulled down eight rebounds and made five steals. Junior Kathy Prater scored 15 points and came away with 10 rebounds, while senior Tabitha Pratt scored 11 points. Denny finished the game with six points.
While Parker and Valley found open shots and scored in the opening quarter, the Trojans struggled, turning the ball over eight times to Valley's two. Triton finished the game with 23 turnovers, while the Vikings committed just 10.
"The girls didn't play with any passion tonight," Heeter said. "We're a better team than we showed. Valley's a good team. Give them credit, they made us play their game, and usually when you do that you win."
The Vikings continued their defensive pressure in the second stanza, forcing the Trojans into seven more turnovers and allowing just three field goals. Valley went to halftime with a 34-23 lead over sixth-ranked Triton.
"We tried to play uptempo defense with full-court pressure," Teel said. "It helped the kids get in the flow. We're not gonna steal the ball every time down the floor, but it took them out of their offense."
Trailing 46-36 after three quarters of play, the host Trojans made one last run, cutting the Valley lead to 52-47 with 3:16 to play when Alison McClarnon made good on two free throw attempts.
But just as it had all game, Valley quickly responded. Shafer drilled a three-pointer, and then Parker converted a three-point play to push the lead back to 11.
"I'm sure the kids are gonna take it hard, we haven't lost in a while," Heeter said. "This was a team they really wanted to beat. If they learn from it it's a valuable experience, but if they don't it's a worthless loss. We've had too many easy games. They had a little adversity thrown at them and they didn't respond."
Junior Gina Westafer led Triton with 16 points, while Senff finished with 15.
Triton is at Bremen Friday, while Valley is at North Miami Friday.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 65, NO. 6 (2A) TRITON 53
Valley (7-1) 22 12 12 19 - 65
Triton (6-1) 15 8 13 17 - 53
Valley FG FT R S Pts.
Shafer (G) 2-5 1-6 2 2 6
Denny (G) 2-7 4-6 2 2 9
Pratt (F) 4-7 1-2 4 0 11
Parker (C) 8-15 3-5 8 5 19
Prater (F) 6-11 3-4 10 4 15
Zehr 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Rosenstiel 2-5 1-2 3 0 5
Green 0-1 0-2 1 0 0
Clauson 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Totals 24-51 13-28 30 13 65
Triton FG FT R S Pts.
Senff (G) 6-18 2-4 4 2 15
Westafer (F) 4-4 6-6 7 0 16
McClarnon (G) 2-6 2-2 2 3 6
A. Feldman (F) 2-9 0-2 13 2 4
Bell (C) 2-5 0-0 1 1 4
Meister 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
C. Feldman 2-2 0-1 2 0 4
K. Feldman 2-3 0-0 3 0 4
Totals 20-50 10-15 32 8 53
Three-point goals - Valley 4-10 (Pratt 2-3, Denny 1-5, Shafer 1-2), Triton 3-16 (Westafer 2-2, Senff 1-6, A. Feldman 0-4, Bell 0-2, Meister 0-1, McClarnon 0-1). Fouls - 18, Triton 22. Fouled out - Pratt.
JV - Tippecanoe Valley 40, Triton 27
Valley scoring - Kara Kramer 12, Carli Anglin 8, Beth Leckrone 5, Jenna McFadden 5, Caty Patterson 2, Heather Rathbun 2, Holli Jackson 2, Emily Weaver 2, Danielle Howard 2
Triton scoring - Ashley Rosas 12, Shadow Trent 4, Cally Feldman 4, Ashley Westafer 3, Holly Heckaman 2, Echo Rosinski 2
