AKRON - One win is all Tippecanoe Valley's girls basketball team needed Saturday night to claim the Three Rivers Conference title outright as rival Manchester came to town.
Although the Lady Vikings squandered an 11-point lead with less than three minutes to play, they held on for a 54-53 win and the conference championship."I am proud of the way this team played together and earned this championship," said Valley coach Gary Teel. "They worked so hard this year and it wasn't easy at times. For these kids to go 7-0 in the conference is outstanding."
Valley started the game with an 8-0 run and never trailed, although Manchester came withone point on three occasions.
"The girls did a great job tonight," said Manchester coach Mark Underwood. "When we were down 11 late in the game they never gave up. They just kept battling and almost pulled it off."
Stacie Hoffman of Valley started the game with two straight three point baskets and scored 11 points in the first quarter to lead Valley to a halftime lead of 29-25.
Hoffman finished the game with 15 points.
"Stacie did a nice job scoring for us," said Teel. "She has been struggling lately. Hopefully this will give her more confidence going into sectionals."
Valley started the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to lead by 11 at 53-42. Hannah Boggs started the run with a three-point play. Boggs finished the game with six points and added three steals, two of them late in the game.
Manchester's Amber Fratus rebounded the second of two missed free throws by Noelle Patrick and was fouled going to the basket with 2:32 left in the game. Fratus hit both free throws and started an 11-1 Manchester run to finish the game. Fratus finished with 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
"Valley gave us some opportunites late in the game and we capitalized on them," said Underwood. "We just came up short. Valley did a nice job tonight."
With 9.5 seconds left Boggs hit the front end of a one-and-one to seal the victory for the Lady Vikings at 54-50.
Jessica Bedke hit a three-point basket as time expired to finish the game at 54-53 in favor of Valley. Bedke scored 10 points and added three steals and six rebounds for the Lady Squires,
"Mark Underwood has done a great job with his team and program," said Teel. "They just kept battling and never gave up. You have to give them credit."
Katie Bowers scored 15 points on the night and had 10 assists for Manchester. She also finished with six rebounds and one steal.
"Katie has been a leader for us this year," said Underwood. "She continually battles hard and never gives up. Sometimes graduation is not fun for us coaches."
Patrick led all Manchester scorers with 16 points, including 11 in the first quarter. She also had three rebounds.
Whitney Sparkman led Valley in scoring with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Sparkman also had one blocked shot and pulled down six rebounds.
Melody Hoffer contributed nine points and seven rebounds to the Valley cause. Katie Myers also added eight points and six rebounds.
Valley, 11-7 overall and 7-0 in conference play, finished with 23 of 54 from the field and 5 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Manchester, which has played eight games in the last 15 days, shot 18 of 44 from the field and 8 of 15 from the free throw line.
The Lady Squires are now 11-8 overall and 3-4 in the TRC as they go into their last game of the regular season.
"It will be nice to give the girls a chance to slow down," said Underwood. "They deserve the break and we need to catch our breath."
The Vikings will play their last home game Tuesday night as they host Peru.
Three-point goals - Manchester 9 (Patrick 4, Bowers 2, Bedke 2, Fratus), Valley 3 (Hoffman 3). Rebounds - Manchester 25, Valley 24. Turnovers - Manchester 21, Valley 16. Fouls - Manchester 10, Valley 15. Fouled out - none. Records: Manchester 11-8, 3-4 TRC, Valley 11-7, 7-0 TRC.
