AKRON – Fourth-year coach Chris Kindig said his Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team has played well in spurts this season. To win the Class 3A Sectional 21 championship at NorthWood High School this week, the Lady Vikings will have to put it all together. “We’ve played well in spurts,” said Kindig. “Against NorthWood (on Jan. 14 in Nappanee), we played a good first quarter and a great fourth quarter, but we struggled in the middle two quarters. We have to put four quarters together. We can’t play 16 minutes and expect to win. It may sound cliché, but we have to bring our A game every game.” Valley is in search of its first sectional title since 2007 and sixth in the program’s history. The 39th annual girls tournament begins Tuesday at 64 sites around the state. At NorthWood, action begins Tuesday when West Noble and Whitko square off. On Wednesday, Fairfield and Tippecanoe Valley are slated to play, followed by Wawasee and the host Lady Panthers. Lakeland and either West Noble or Whitko play in the first game Friday, followed by Wednesday’s winners. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday night. “NorthWood is the favorite, no question,” said Kindig. “They’re a very good team, and they’re playing on their home floor. We haven’t played Fairfield, but we’ve played some of the other teams. This sectional has some very good teams in it. Whoever wins it is going to earn it.” The Lady Vikings, who are 12-6 this season, are 2-1 against the rest of the sectional field. Valley beat Whitko 70-51 in Three Rivers Conference play on Dec. 21, lost 52-38 to NorthWood on Jan. 14 and beat West Noble 55-39 on Jan. 22. The Lady Vikings enter tournament play having won five-straight games. Fairfield is 15-6 this season and is 4-2 against fellow Sectional 21 teams, having defeated Lakeland twice, Wawasee once and splitting with West Noble. Fairfield also lost to NorthWood. “We’ve played West Noble, and they split with Fairfield,” said Kindig. “I think Fairfield and West Noble are very similar in terms of personnel. Fairfield plays extremely hard.” Fairfield averages 48 points per game and gives up an average of 35 points per game. Valley scores an average of 54 points per game, while giving up 48. “We play better as a team, when we get everybody involved and spread the ball around,” said Kindig. “We’re starting to get Anne (Secrest) more touches and spread the ball around. “We have three girls that average about 10 points per game, and other girls who do a lot of other things beside score,” added Kindig. “We play better when we play as a team.” Senior Cara Hoffman leads the Lady Vikings in scoring at 14 points per game, while Times-Union Player of the Year Anne Secrest, a freshman, averages 13 points and 11 rebounds per game. Junior Caylie Teel and freshman Meredith Brouyette chip in with nine and seven points per game, respectively, while sophomore Karis Tucker and Kesley Ball contribute four points per game. Teel leads Valley in steals and is second in blocked shots, while Ball is tops in assists and second in rebounds.
