SYRACUSE - Playing the Wawasee Lady Warriors can be a tough proposition, but it gets even tougher when those Warriors are fresh off a loss.
Losing to Plymouth Saturday, the Warriors (16-3) looked refocused Tuesday at home, dominating the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings (10-7), 67-42.
"Coming back tonight was a good indication of the character of these kids," Wawasee coach Kem Zolman said. "They bounced back beautifully. The energy we played with was really good. We just got after people, and that's us."
After surrendering 52 points in the Plymouth loss, the Warriors defense swarmed the Vikings, forcing 10 turnovers in the first five minutes, resulting in a 16-2 lead following an Ashlee Ort layup with 3:05 left in the first quarter.
"Wawasee is an excellent basketball team," Valley coach Gary Teel said. "They're ranked No. 6 in the state, and they're very deserving of that. They're very aggressive on defense, and we did not to a good job of taking care of the basketball at the beginning of the game.
"When you get down early to a team like Wawasee, it's hard to fight your way back," he added.
The Wawasee defense forced Valley into 33 turnovers, with senior Taylor Goshert leading the attack with nine steals to go with her 18 points, six rebounds and five steals.
Senior Brennan Mc-Adams led Wawasee with a game-high 19 points, while also posting six steals. Fellow senior Ashlee Ort finished the game with 14 points and six steals.
"With these kids, it all starts with defense," Zo-lman said. "They're very aware of things we have to do offensively. It's just a matter of time. This whole thing may just come together right at the right time. That would be great."
There was never really a right time for the Vikings, who saw the deficit get as large as 32 points at 51-19 after Goshert converted a three-point play with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter.
"They're not that bad of a team," Zolman said about Valley. "We just came out ready to play tonight. I think we were ready to play (Saturday) too, it's just sometimes things hold you back, mentally, from doing things you'd really like to do. When you take the mental part away, 80 percent is gone. I'm just really proud of how they bounced back. They did a real nice job."
One area Zolman would have liked to have seen his girls do better in was rebounding, as Valley held a 33-22 advantage on the boards.
Valley senior Melody Hoffer and junior Kate Myers each had 10 rebounds, scoring 15 and nine points, respectively.
Despite two disheartening losses to fellow Sectional 21 teams, having also lost 51-32 Thursday to NorthWood, the Vikings still sit at 6-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. Valley will look to wrap up a TRC crown with a home win over Manchester Saturday at 6:15 p.m.
"I know Manchester's looking forward to playing us," Teel said. "They defeated Rochester by 33 points the other night, so they're on a high note. They're going to be ready to play, and we're going to have to be ready to play. We don't want to see any complacency out of our kids. Yes, we can share the conference crown, but that isn't what these kids set as a goal."
The Warriors had also hoped to keep a conference title all to themselves, but currently sit in a first-place tie with Elkhart Memorial and Plymouth at 4-1. Hosting the Concord Minutemen Saturday at 1 p.m., Zolman is optimistic his girls will carry the momentum over from their latest conquest.
"What I really liked, was just getting our swagger back," he said. "We're getting that back again, and that's a good thing. We've got three more games to really peak out, and I am really confident the kids are going to do that."
