Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
AKRON - Some of what his varsity girls basketball team has gone through this season, eighth-year Tippecanoe Valley High School coach Gary Teel likens the situations to life lessons.
"We told the girls to keep working hard, something good will happen," said Teel, whose Vikings will play NorthWood Saturday in the first semifinal game of the Class 3A Peru Regional. "It's happened for us, and now the girls believe. Sometimes things don't go your way, but you have to keep working hard, and eventually things will go your way. All of our hard work is paying off."
Things, as the season played out and continues to play out, have gone Valley's way. And yes, the Vikings' hard work is paying off.
After starting the season with a 2-5 record, and despite entering the state tournament with a 9-11 record, the Vikings find themselves among just 16 teams still playing for the Class 3A state championship.
Valley will play NorthWood (19-4) Saturday at 10 a.m., while Jay County (12-10) and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (20-4) battle in the second semifinal game at approximately noon.
The winners will meet in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. with a berth in semistate on the line.
While Valley enters Saturday's game with 11 wins, NorthWood enters on a 13-game win streak.
On paper, NorthWood may be the odds-on favorite, but don't be quick to count Valley out. The Vikings play at NorthWood Jan. 9. NorthWood had to rally in the fourth quarter on its home floor to pull out a 46-43 win.
"We feel good about playing NorthWood," said Teel, whose Vikings have won five of their last seven games and who are looking for the program's first-ever regional championship. "I know (NorthWood coach) Steve (Neff) will have something up his sleeve. We have to maintain our defensive intensity. If we can do that, I feel good about our chances of getting into the championship game."
Of the first meeting between his team and NorthWood, Teel said the Vikings played "loose with the ball" and that some turnovers late in the game proved costly.
"In the first game, I was pleased with the kids' defensive effort," said Teel. "I thought the kids did a great job defensively. We had a lead in the fourth quarter, we just got loose with the ball and had some turnovers."
Prior to 2002, the girls basketball program at Tippecanoe Valley High School hadn't won a sectional championship.
The Vikings have won four sectional championships in the past five years.
The first three titles came while Rebekah Parker, who now plays at Division I University of Evansville, played for Valley.
Teel said his program still benefits today from what Parker was able to accomplish.
"She's one of those kids that comes along once in a lifetime," Teel said of Parker. "She's an all-around good player. She did so much for us. She was a great kid and she brought class to our program. She was a great kid and a great person for our young kids to look up to."
What makes Valley's most recent sectional championship special, other than the fact that the Vikings beat Norwell by one point after losing to Norwell by one point in the title game last year, is that Valley's players bought into what the coaches told them and believed in themselves.
Valley's 12-person varsity roster includes just two seniors, Lela Rohrer and Jennifer Hathaway, a transfer from Warsaw.
Six of Valley's players are freshmen and sophomores.
While the future looks bright for Valley, these young Vikings want to shine Saturday against NorthWood, a program that lays claim to 19 sectional championships, 10 regional titles, two semistate championships and the 1999 Class 3A state title.
"With Steff Neff, you know you're facing an excellent program," said Teel. "He's a Hall of Fame coach. Year in and year out, NorthWood is a super team. I know these kids will go down there and give everything they have. They believe they can win."
Junior Chelsea Rhoades leads the Vikings in scoring with 12 points per game. She also averages 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Sophomore Hannah Krueger averages 11.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Roher averages 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and Hathaway averages nearly seven points and three boards per game.
Other Vikings who have played in at least 12 varsity games this year include juniors Rachel Sitts and Kayla Newman, sophomore Jessica Rice and freshmen Whitney Sparkman, Stacie Hoffman, Melody Hoffer and Karla Vogel.
