Lady Satellites Drop Nail-Biter to Vikings
In what has been an awkward year, an odd matchup took place at South Central Union Mills High School Tuesday night, as the Lady Satellites played host to Tippecanoe Valley High School. The matchup was not a conference game, nor was it a potential preview of a Sectional matchup as South Central competes in class 2A, while the Lady Vikings are a 3A program. The only thing that mattered Tuesday night, these high school athletes had the opportunity to compete during a time where uncertainty is rearing its ugly head on a daily basis. What a treat given to the limited crowd at South Central.
South Central entered the game against Tippy Valley with a perfect 3-0 record, while the Lady Vikings entered with a 1-1 record, having had their game against Warsaw on November 13th postponed. The Lady Vikings would get off to an intense start on both ends of the floor, relying heavily on a stingy zone defense to frustrate the Lady Satellites early in the ballgame. Throughout the course of the first half, the Lady Vikings would be able to poke the ball away from South Central or anticipate where a pass was going, causing problems all night for the Lady Satellites. 5’7 Senior Sidney Wagner would run the show for Tippy Valley on both ends of the floor from start to finish. The star guard would put up almost ten points in the first four minutes of the game, knocking down shots from the outside as well as at the free throw line. Turnovers would be the biggest part of the first quarter surge by the Lady Vikings, as South Central would turn the ball over nine times in the first eight minutes as Tippy would jump out to 14-2 lead as the first quarter came to an end.
The second quarter would see the Lady Satellites begin to calm down on both ends of the floor, as they cut down their turnovers significantly, going from nine in the first quarter, to just two in the second. Not coincidentally, South Central would outscore Tippy Valley 17-8 in the second quarter. Part of the second quarter offensive surge was due to the play of 5’8 Sophomore forward, Olivia Marks, who would score six tough points in the second quarter to help her Lady Satellites fight their way back into the game. Senior teammate Elle Kimmel would also make her mark in the second quarter, as she helped loosen up the Vikings’ defense by knocking down two big three-point shots, helping the Satellites to chip away at the deficit. By the time the horn sounded to end the first half, South Central had cut the lead down to three, 22-19.
The back-and-forth between the two unfamiliar opponents would continue throughout the second half, with both teams having scoring explosions from individuals, who were unusually quiet in the first half. Tippecanoe Valley’s Kaydence Mellott would score ten of her fourteen points in the second half, knocking down three of her four three-point field goals in the third and fourth quarters. Not to be outdone, South Central Junior, Delanie Gale, would pour in all of her team-high sixteen points in the second half, knocking down four of her team’s five made three-point shots in the final two quarters. At game’s end, the Lady Satellites would have seven girls on their roster put up at least two points in the effort. The slow start in the first quarter would ultimately be the undoing for South Central. After being outscored 14-2 in the first quarter, the Lady Satellites would outscore the Lady Vikings 47-37 in the final three quarters.
“As a team we can really get inspired fast”, Satellites’ Coach Wes Bucher said following the game. “It would’ve been nice to come out sharp in the beginning. It didn’t happen, but we have a team here, we can put anyone out on the court, we just found the right group that was working at the time. We had Sadie Marks out there as a Freshman, she came out there and played big minutes. We got the Marks girls in there working hard, we got some good looks, then all of a sudden we start getting some shots from the outside falling. Elle Kimmel came in big in the second quarter and hit a couple three’s for us. I was really impressed with how Lillian Tolmen took charge at the point tonight, she did a really good job”.
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came with 1:06 left in the game, when Sidney Wagner got a steal and a basket to put Tippey Valley up 51-47.
The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI also went to Sidney Wagner, who ended the game with 26 points, which included three made 3-pointers, as well as 7-10 at the free throw line. She also pulled down seven rebounds while logging eight of her team’s thirteen steals in the game!
South Central will be back in action on Friday when they play host to 4A Chesterton, while Tippy Valley will host Fort Wayne South on Saturday afternoon.
Game Statistics
Scoring:
Tippecanoe Valley(51): Sidney Wagner-26, Lily Ault-6, Kaydence Mellott-14, Ashley Butler-2, Mercedes Snapp-3
South Central(49): Delanie Gale-16, Elle Kimmel-6, Lauren Bowmar-2, Abbie Tomblin-3, Sadie Marks-7, Lillian Tolmen-5, Olivia Marks-10
3-Point Shots Made:
TV(9): Sidney Wagner-3, Lily Ault-2, Kaydence Mellott-4
SC(8): Delanie Gale-4, Elle Kimmel-2, Abbie Tomblin-1, Lillian Tolmen-1
Free Throws:
TV: 10-20 50%
SC: 1-1 100%
Rebounding:
SC(22): Delanie Gale-2, Falyn Anthony-2, Abbie Tomblin-1, Sadie Marks-5, Lillian Tolmen-3, Olivia Marks-7, Kate Welsh-2
TV(16): Sidney Wagner-7, Lily Ault-2, Ashley Butler-4, Mercedes Snapp-3
Steals:
TV(13): Sidney Wagner-8, Lily Ault-4, Ashley Butler-1
SC(10): Delanie Gale-2, Falyn Anthony-1, Abbie Tomblin-3, Olivia Marks-4
*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*
