AKRON – Tippecanoe Valley ended the calendar year with a loss to West Noble. Coach Chris Kindig and the Lady Vikings certainly want to avoid ending their season with one. Valley, which fell 75-62 to the Lady Chargers on Dec. 29, will meet West Noble Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Class 3A Sectional 21 action at NorthWood High School. The Lady Vikings enter the state tournament on a two-game win streak and with a 7-12 record, while West Noble is 14-7 and has lost three of its last five games. “I think it’s an OK draw for us,” said Kindig. “We can’t look past anyone, but if we play the way we’re capable, we can compete with whoever we play.” NorthWood and Wawasee get the action underway Tuesday at 6 p.m., followed by Valley and West Noble. On Friday at 6 p.m., Fairfield will play the winner of NorthWood and Wawasee, while Lakeland will play either Valley or West Noble in Friday’s second semifinal game. Saturday’s championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with the winner earning a berth in the Bellmont Regional. The Lady Vikings have won five sectional titles in the program’s history, but are looking for their first since 2007. Playing on its home floor, ranked in the top five in the state in 3A and with a 19-3 record, NorthWood has to be considered the favorite. Other than the Lady Panthers, however, Kindig says the sectional is balanced and there should be some good games. “Other than NorthWood, I think it’s a pretty balanced sectional,” said Kindig. Somebody is going to have to play very well to knock NorthWood off, but if that happens, it’s anybody’s sectional.” When Valley lost in Ligonier in late December, 6-foot-2 Ball State recruit Haley Richardson led West Noble with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Kelsie Peterson added 19 points, seven assists and six steals that day for the Lady Chargers. “They have a Ball State recruit, she’s about 6-2, and long,” said Kindig. “She scored 25 the first time we played them. We have to do a lot better job on her. “They’ve also got a guard (Peterson) that handles the ball for them,” he added. “They have two really good players and some role players who really know their roles.” During the phone interview for this story, Kindig said he heard West Noble had two starters who were injured, but he didn’t know their status for Tuesday’s game. Valley’s regular-season finale at South Bend Clay was cancelled Thursday because of weather. The Lady Vikings could have gone into the sectional on a three-game win streak. As it is, Valley’s current two-game win streak is the only time this season it has won back-to-back games. “We were disappointed it was cancelled,” said Kindig. “Nothing compares to game experience. We’ve played well the last two or three games. We’ve figured out how we need to play to be successful.” Junior Cara Hoffman leads Valley in scoring at 11.3 points per game, while sophomor Caylie Teel adds 9.5 points per game, sophomore Taylor Trippiedi chips in with 6.6 and junior Kelsey Ball averages 5.7. Ball leads the team in rebounds at 7.4 per game.
