.png)
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
AKRON — Scoring in the post might not be the first skill on a basketball court one might think of when one thinks of Tippecanoe Valley senior guard Kaydence Mellott, but she showed a self-deprecating wit describing how she has become an adept post scorer following her team’s game against visiting Plymouth on Dec. 1.
“I have benched 105 pounds this year,” Mellott said with a smile. “That’s my new best.”
Mellott showed off that strength, scoring 18 of her game-high 30 points in the second quarter and leading the Lady Vikings to a 62-36 win at Rita Price Simpson Court.
Mellott hit two 3-pointers in that big quarter and four for the game, adding to her legacy as one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the state. But with Plymouth guarding her tight on the arc early and Plymouth’s top forward Taylor Delp on the bench in foul trouble, Mellott posted up her Lady Pilgrim opponents.
She scored on a drop step move on the first possession of the second quarter and then again in the post on Valley’s second possession to put Valley ahead for good at 14-12.
Mellott’s ability to get to the rim and draw fouls resulted in her making eight of nine free throws in the second quarter and 12 of 15 for the game. Mellott made more free throws than the entire Plymouth team attempted (11).
Most of her 3-point attempts came in transition.
“Sometimes with her that’s the only time you can get her open,” Valley coach Chris Kindig said. “Teams are really clamping down on her and rightfully so. Sometimes that’s a good thing, or it could be a bad thing. If you’re flattening out and shooting that 3-pointer in the corner instead of taking a layup, it may not always be a good thing, but with her, she’s got the green light to do that.”
Corinna Stiles added nine points, and Macy Petersen had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench for Valley.
Senior guard Claire McDonald led Plymouth with 13 points. Delp added 10 before fouling out with 3:43 left.
Valley improved to 7-2. Plymouth fell to 3-5.
Valley went on an 18-2 run covering the first and second quarters, turning around a seven-point first-quarter deficit and building a 23-14 lead on a Mellott 3-pointer.
Valley led 33-23 at halftime, and after a McDonald transition layup cut the lead to eight, Mellott scored seven straight Valley points on a 3-pointer from the left corner, a back door layup and two free throws.
After a scoreless first quarter, Mellott outscored the entire Plymouth team 30-24 over the final three quarters. She said part of that is being a senior and feeling stronger than her opponents.
“It was a slow start, but then I got into it more, and then I caught a heater, and then it just went from there,” Mellott said.
Already leading 51-36, Valley closed the game on an 11-0 run. They also forced 27 Plymouth turnovers, and Kindig complimented his players on their defensive pressure over the final two-and-a-half to three quarters.
Valley also contained Delp, a 6-0 senior forward. She scored 24 points against Valley last year.
“She hurt us bad last year big time,” Kindig said. “Absolutely that was the case. We were trying to take advantage of that a little bit. So I think she was kind of that way throughout the game. She picked up her third (foul) – what? – midway through the second quarter, so that took her out of the game a little bit, and that was another big key for us.”
Valley 62, Plymouth 36
PLYMOUTH (36) (3-5)
Lena Jones 2 0-0 5, Claire McDonald 5 0-1 13, Ellie Jones 2 1-2 5, Rylee Mann 0 2-4 2, Taylor Delp 4 2-2 10, Tynley Gantz 0 1-2 1, Eva Sheedy 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 13 6-11 36
VALLEY (62) (7-2)
Lily Ault 0 1-2 1, Kaydence Mellott 7 12-15 30, Molly Moriarty 2 0-0 5, Corinna Stiles 3 1-3 9, Kelsey Cox 2 2-2 6, Gaby Gonzalez 0 1-2 1, Ava Smith 0 0-0 0, Macy Petersen 3 2-4 8, Chesnee Miller 1 0-0 2, Carlee Snyder 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 18 19-28 62
Three-point field goals:
Plymouth 4 (McDonald 3, L. Jones),
Valley 7 (Mellott 4, Stiles 2, Moriarty)
Total fouls: Plymouth 21, Valley 13
Fouled out: Delp (PLY), 3:43, fourth; Mann (PLY), 1:54, fourth
Turnovers: Plymouth 27, Valley 18
Score by quarters
Plymouth 12 11 8 5 – 36
Valley 9 24 15 14 – 62
Comments