By Baylen Hite
News Now Warsaw
Urgency … That was the common theme preached by first-year head coach Rebekah Parker at Tippecanoe Valley High School during a preseason practice.
Urgency is nothing new to Parker who was one of the all-time greats as a player at Valley. The all-time steals and assist leader Parker played collegiately at Evansville before an international playing career and JV coaching experience. She now will add head coach to that resume at her alma mater.
Looking back to last year, Valley is coming off of a 19-4 season that ended in the 3A sectional finals. Although the cabinet isn’t empty for the Vikings, they lose four of their five starters including leading scorer (13.5 ppg) and rebounder (5.8 rpg) Ava Egolf.
The only returning starter will be junior Gaby Gonzalez who was the 2nd leading scorer (6.8 ppg) and distributed a team-high 2.8 assist per game. Adding to the backcourt will be sophomore Hadley Wise who saw her playing time increase as the year went on as a freshman and put up considerable point totals at the junior varsity level. Also returning for the Vikings will be juniors Lucy Hayden and Dalynne Buzzard who averaged 4.8 and 3.1 points per game respectively. They will join Olivet Nazarene signee senior Carlee Snyder who averaged 3.9 points per game and 3 rebounds per game to form an imposing frontcourt of three players at or above six feet tall.
The most encouraging sign, though, was the increased number of players who came out for the team — 22 girls participated in practice. The increased number of players will benefit the program’s development for years to come.
Schedule Outlook
The month of November is a busy one for the Lady Vikings with 8 games. The biggest thing to watch this season is how the TVHS fairs inside the newly created Indiana Northern State Conference. The conference favorite to begin the year is semi-state runner-ups Bremen as they return a bulk of their team from a year ago. Outside of the Lions the conference is wide open. This could be the measuring stick for the Vikings this season. How well they compete in the INSC will be a great metric for the Vikings.
Game to Watch
One of the most important matchups for the Vikings this year will be on Dec. 7 vs. Bremen. With only one matchup per season against each conference opponent, this could be the game that determines the Vikings’ chance at a conference title.
The Lions will be the favorite coming into the year and this game will provide an excellent opportunity for the Vikings to see how much they’ve grown after one month of play.
Valley Girls Basketball Broadcast Schedule
107.3 WRSW will broadcast 15 girls’ basketball games this season in the 50th season of broadcasting by Rita Price! Listen along on the following dates to these games.
Tuesday 11/12 CMA AT VALLEY | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Friday 11/15 VALLEY AT LAVILLE | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Tuesday 11/19 NORTHWOOD AT VALLEY | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Wednesday 11/20 WESTERN AT VALLEY | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Friday 11/22 JOHN GLENN AT VALLEY | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Tuesday 11/26 VALLEY AT ROCHESTER | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Thursday 12/5 PLYMOUTH AT VALLEY | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Saturday 12/7 BREMEN AT VALLEY | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Wednesday 12/11 TRITON AT VALLEY | BROADCAST START 7:05 PM
Wednesday 1/8 NORTHRIDGE AT VALLEY | BROADCAST 7:05 PM
Saturday 1/11 KNOX AT VALLEY | BROADCAST 7:05 PM
Thursday 1/23 VALLEY AT WARSAW | BROADCAST 7:05 PM
Tuesday 1/28 VALLEY AT WAWASEE | BROADCAST 7:05 PM
Wednesday 1/29 ELKHART AT VALLEY | BROADCAST 7:05 PM
*Games and time are subject to change
