‘Losing is not an option:

’ Mellott, Scorsone score in double figures, lead Valley to sectional final win over John Glenn

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

BREMEN — They have been teammates for a lifetime and friends for seemingly even longer.

Lily Ault, Kaydence Mellott, Molly Moriarty and Corinna Stiles had waited for a lifetime for this moment, and they got help from two unsung teammates as the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team outlasted John Glenn 44-38 in the Class 3A, Sectional 18 final at Bremen High School Saturday.

Mellott, playing against best friend Kennedy Hayden of the Lady Falcons, scored 12 points to lead Valley. She made all four of her free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, including a pair with 1:00 left that pushed the lead up to 42-34.

Millie Scorsone, the post player and Rochester transfer who had been ineligible to play on the varsity for the entire regular season, added 10, including two crucial fourth quarter buckets that gave Valley a 40-32 lead. Scorsone won her third sectional, joining ones she won as a Lady Z in both 2020 and 2021.

Sophia Romer led John Glenn with 13 points, and Hayden had 10.

Winners of their ninth sectional but their first since 2017, Valley improved to 21-3 and will next play Mishawaka Marian in a regional at Jimtown at 1 p.m. this Saturday.

“We got off to a little bit of a lead in that first half,” Valley coach Chris Kindig said. “I think it was 10 points at the half, but they kept coming at us. They got it down to four points with three minutes to go. So we hung in there. We made some plays when we needed to.

“Obviously, Millie was big for us tonight. … She was a force inside. But it was just another team effort. Just like last night. It’s a constant thing about offensive or defensive adjustments depending on what we need at the time. And so, the people that came in knew their roles.”

John Glenn finished 10-15. They have not won a sectional since 2001, and they have never won a sectional in Class 3A.

Valley led by as many as 12 in the first half and by 10 at halftime. They never trailed after the first quarter.

John Glenn scored the first seven points of the second half, and a taffy pull ensued with baskets becoming increasingly hard to come by.

If Scorsone was the first unsung teammate, then freshman Gaby Gonzalez, who handled the point on the JV and again in the fourth quarter of the sectional final, was the second. Her runner along the right baseline got the lead to 34-27 with 5:54 left.

John Glenn would get as close as four in the fourth quarter, the last time at 42-38 on Romer’s layup with 16 seconds left.

But John Glenn was out of timeouts, and Mellott found Macy Petersen, whose hit-ahead pass to an open Chesnee Miller underneath the basket led to a layup with four seconds left to complete the scoring.

“Chesnee is our difference maker on defense in terms of our pressure on guards,” Kindig said. “She’s been doing that all year. It’s not a surprise tonight that she was our best on-the-ball defender by far.”

The celebration was on. Valley players jumped on each other and engaged in a group hug in front of their bench.

Mellott shared an emotional embrace with her father Thadd, a Valley assistant coach.

Moments later, they received the sectional trophy, and the Valley student section poured out of the bleachers to celebrate with them.

“So going into this, my best friend actually plays for John Glenn, and we’ve grown up with each other,” Mellott said. “Since sixth grade, we’ve played basketball our whole lives. … So it was emotional. … And I’ve worked so hard for this, and I wanted this so bad, but it was also just kind of devastating knocking her out.”

Kindig said the seniors were loose going into the game, but that belied Mellott’s main thought – “losing is not an option.”

“We’ve spent the past 12 years of our lives together,” Mellott said. “We’ve gone to school ever since kindergarten. Just growing up with them and sharing this is special.”

Ault hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter as part of a 16-3 run. She said she had been waiting a year for this game after losing to West Noble in last year’s sectional final. She has an indoor court at her home in Warsaw where she put up countless shots.

“They're like my best friends,” Ault said. “We’ve grown up together. We’ve done everything together. We all play golf. We just do all the same sports, so it’s really a family atmosphere.”

Moriarty and Stiles described their bond as sisterly.

“We can be on the court, and we can fight, but as soon as we get off the court, we are literally best friends,” Moriarty said.

Stiles said she has known Moriarty since they were in kindergarten.

“That’s my best friend,” Stiles said. “She’s not even only my best friend. She’s like my sister. I’m with her all the time. … I’m over there. We’re with each other all the time. Anything that we’re doing, we’re doing it together.”

They all welcomed in a fifth senior in Scorsone, who scored in two points in her Valley varsity debut in a 56-33 win over Bremen Friday. She scored off a Stiles assist in the first quarter to make the lead 18-8 and another bucket off a Macy Petersen feed on a high-low play to make it 22-13 in the second quarter. When Scorsone later found Petersen on a drop-off pass for a wide-open layup, John Glenn coach Ted Hayden called timeout as the lead reached 25-13.

“I think it was a lot of fun having a new team,” Scorsone said. “I really wanted them to win since they haven’t been able to win the past three years, so it was good to find a way to win. … They’re all really close. I came in, and they were all really helpful. They helped me in classes getting around the school, and we all bonded together. So, yeah, it was good.”

Stiles said Scorsone not only can score in the post but can also kick out to open shooters. Her personality has also been a fit.

“Millie is the most outgoing, most vocal,” Stiles said. “She’s hilarious. We love her. She fits in so great.”

Valley 44, John Glenn 38

JOHN GLENN (38) (10-15)

Alivia Turnage 2 1-2 6, Kennedy Hayden 3 4-4 10, Sophia Romer 6 1-1 13, Addison Reese 2 0-0 6, Lucy Hayden 0 3-6 3, Danielle Divine 0 0-0 0, Daelynn Nance 0 0-0 0, Keelyn Bradley 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 13 9-13 38

VALLEY (44) (21-3)

Lily Ault 2 0-0 6, Kaydence Mellott 2 6-6 12, Molly Moriarty 1 0-0 3, Corinna Stiles 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Cox 2 0-0 4, Gaby Gonzalez 1 0-0 2, Macy Petersen 1 2-2 4, Chesnee Miller 1 1-2 3, Millie Scorsone 5 0-1 10

TEAM: 15 9-11 44

Three-point field goals:

John Glenn 3 (Reese 2, Turnage),

Valley 5 (Mellott 2, Ault 2, Moriarty)

Total fouls: John Glenn 13, Valley 15

Turnovers: John Glenn 12, Valley 12

Score by quarters

John Glenn 10 7 10 11 – 38

Valley 18 9 5 12 – 44

The Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team won their ninth sectional title in school history and their first since 2017 with a 44-38 win over John Glenn in the Class 3A, Sectional 18 final at Bremen Saturday. Valley, who has not lost since Dec. 29, will carry an eight-game winning streak into its regional game against No. 8 Mishawaka Marian at Jimtown at 1 p.m. this Saturday.