AKRON – Entering his fifth season, coach Chris Kindig smiles when he says his Tippecanoe Valley High School girls basketball team had its best offseason since he took over the program. Kindig and the Lady Vikings hope their offseason work ethic translates into regular season and postseason success during the 2014-15 campaign. “We had the best offseason since I've been the coach here,” said Kindig, whose team was 13-7 overall and 5-2 in the Three Rivers Conference last season. “We had a great summer. The girls worked hard every day. This team is hungry.” The Lady Vikings open their season Thursday when they travel to Bremen. Valley then plays at county rival Warsaw on Nov. 21, before hosting its annual Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 29. “We start the season on the road,” said Kindig. “That brings about issues as far as playing scared or under pressure. Our schedule is pretty tough. There's no gimmes.” Though there are just two seniors on Valley's 10-player varsity roster, there is plenty of experience returning in seniors Caylie Teel and Taylor Trippiedi, juniors Karis Tucker, Brynda Krueger and Morgan Brazon, and sophomores Anne Secrest, Hannah Dunn and Meredith Brouyette. Also listed on the varsity roster are freshmen Olivia Trippiedi and Addy Miller. “Of our 10 varsity players, we have five upperclassmen and five lower classmen,” said Kindig. “We've got a couple juniors that were on the JV team last year that will contribute a lot. We probably have seven girls that could be starters, girls that have started at one time or another. All seven are capable of doing things to help this team win.” The 6-foot Secrest headlines Valley's list of returning players. En route to earning Times-Union Area Player of the Year honors as a freshman, Secrest averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and one block per game. “We talked to Anne at the end of last year about what she could do to get better,” said Kindig. “She had a great freshman year, and she came back this year with a left-handed shot that's going to be hard to defend. She's continuing to develop her game. She loves the game and is the kind of player that will get better every year.” Teel, a three-sport standout and the Lady Vikings' most athletic player, averaged 10 points per game last season and led the team in assists and steals. “Caylie Teel is as athletic of a kid you're going to find,” said Kindig. “She's a slasher, a driver, and can defend. She can play three or four different positions, whatever we need her to do.” Brouyette played in all 20 games as a freshman last season and averaged eight points per contest. “Meredith Brouyette is capable of lighting it up,” said Kindig. “We need to get her to be more consistent. She'd scored 20 points one night, and two or four the next night. We need to get her to a point where she's more consistent and scores in double figures each night. She definitely has that potential.” Kindig said he's not concerned about where his team is offensively, as he believes he has scorers. Kindig is focusing on his team's defensive effort. “We're focusing on defense,” said Kindig. “I'm not concerned where we are offensively. We've got scorers. We've got kids in the post, and we've got outside shooters and some quickness. The key for us will be whether or not we can stop people. We scored 64 points in the sectional game last year. You're gonna win the majority of your games if you score 64 points. We've got to be able to play defense.” As it is every year, winning a conference championship is among Valley's goals. The Lady Vikings open TRC play Dec. 6 by hosting Wabash, which enters the season ranked ninth in Class 2A. “Wabash won last year,” said Kindig when asked who the favorites in the TRC might be. “They have a new coach, but they're going to be good again. Until someone else wins it, Wabash is the team to beat. Wabash, Whitko and Rochester will all be good. Southwood and Northfield should be good. Whoever wins the TRC is going to earn it.”
