SYRACUSE – Whitko hit its first five shots from the field, all in the paint and four by Aly Reiff, to take an early 10-6 lead on Tippecanoe Valley in Monday’s Class 3A Sectional 21 final at Wawasee. The Lady Vikings countered with a 20-2 run to take control of the game, and Whitko got no closer closer than five points the rest of the way as Valley rolled to a 62-36 win over the Lady Wildcats. Whitko head coach Brandon Bradley said the fast start on the scoreboard was nice, but his concern came from the other end of the floor. “We came out and were really aggressive; Aly was really good early offensively,” Bradley said. “The only problem is, defensively I didn’t think we were as solid as we needed to be early. They just weren’t hitting shots. “I think once they started hitting shots, then it really exposed us in our rotation. Then we let the atmosphere get the best of us. I think we were a little too (excited) coming off that 10-6 run to start at that timeout. The game’s a lot longer than 2-1/2 minutes.” Bradley said it wasn’t a lack of effort on his team’s part at all. Instead, it was a matter of how that effort was used in the game. ”Everybody was trying so hard to win, that we got away from our game plan. We got away from what we’ve done the last three weeks,” said Bradley. “We’d won 8 of 9 games coming into tonight, but we did it a certain way, and we got away from that. “We know their personnel back and forth, and we prepared for them, but we didn’t defend like we prepared to defend them. “It goes back to the atmosphere. We have a lot of girls who haven’t played in this type of environment. We only had three on the floor tonight that played in last year’s sectional championship. That’s a big deal, and the younger kids just have to mature and learn from it.” Valley head coach Chris Kindig said a big part of the gameplan for stopping Whitko, playing without sophomore standout Brianna Cumberland, was stopping Reiff. “We watched game film and decided we wanted to start out trying to deny (Reiff) the ball,” Kindig said. “But she does such a good job in the open floor of getting herself open and once she’s in the open floor, she’s tough to guard.” After a timeout less than three minutes into the game, Kindig and Valley made an adjustment. “So we started to trap her and make her give the ball up, and then we wanted to deny her getting the ball back. That was effective for us. It made a difference in the ball game,” Kindig said. “They were able to stay with us because she’s a super, super player. It took a great team effort on defense to stop her.” Valley had some obstacles to overcome both early and late. After taking the lead, senior starter Caylie Teel found herself in foul trouble and sitting on the bench for long stretches of the game. Whitko would also put as many as three people on Anne Secrest in the early going, forcing the Lady Vikings into mid-range shots. Taylor Trippiedi, Hannah Dunn and Karis Tucker, however, came through with 18, 11 and eight points, respectively. Once freed up some, Secrest hit nine of 13 shots and finished with a game-high 21 points. “I’ve had confidence in all those girls all year long,” Kindig said. “We could have seven or eight starters on our team. It truly was a team effort tonight, but it’s been that way all year.” Reiff had 18 points for Whitko, which finished the season with a 16-9 mark. The team tied last year’s team for the second highest win total in school history. This year’s graduating class is the winningest Whitko girls basketball class ever with 48 wins. “It’s a successful season, with the seniors leaving something for us to build on,” Bradley said. “I’m more proud of how they developed as people than I am with their development as a basketball team. We became a family, and that makes this team special.” Ninth-ranked Valley takes a 22-2 record into Saturday’s noon regional game with 16th-ranked Muncie Central (19-5) at Bellmont High School in Decatur. The winner advances to the regional championship and will take on the victor of the 10 a.m. game between 11th-ranked Norwell (18-7) and Fort Wayne Concordia (19-7).
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 62, WHITKO 36 TV 20 13 14 15 – 62 WH 14 12 4 6 – 36 Valley – Taylor Trippiedi 6-16 4-4 18, Karis Tucker 4-7 0-0 8, Meredith Brouyette 1-3 0-0 3, Caylie Teel 0-0 0-0 0, Brynda Krueger 0-1 1-2 1, Hannah Dunn 5-8 1-2 11, Anne Secrest 9-13 3-6 21, Asia O’Connor 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Trippiedi 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan Brazo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-489 9-14 63. Whitko – Jennifer Reiff 2-8 2-6 6, Reghan Craig 1-4 0-0 3, Haley Yohe 0-3 2-2 2, Avaree Freel 0-1 2-2 2, Emily Day 1-4 0-0 2, Aly Reiff 8-15 1-2 18, Maddie Gawthrop 2-4 0-2 4, Michelle Kelsey 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Insley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 7-14 36. Three-pointers – Valley 3 (T. Trippiedi 2, Brouyette), Whitko 1 (A. Reiff); Rebounds – Valley 26 (T. Trippiedi 8), Whitko 22 (A. Reiff 6); Turnovers – Valley 10, Whitko 18; Fouls – Valley 13, Whitko 16; Fouled out – none; Records – Valley 22-2, Whitko 16-9
