Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball preview: Kindig wants Lady Vikings to push the pace

Val T.

Nov 2, 20225 min read

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team played a slower, steadier pace last year, and it helped them win 17 games and the Three Rivers Conference title.

However, that has typically not been the means of how Valley has gone about compiling nine consecutive winning seasons under coach Chris Kindig.

Though Mercedes Snapp graduated, Valley should have more depth with Kindig saying that he will have to choose between nine or 10 potential starters each night.

“If you think about last year, we’ve got nine of our top 10 back, plus we’ve added a couple,” Kindig said.

While the slow, steady approach worked last year, Kindig would like a more pedal-to-the-metal style of defense.

“A lot,” Kindig answered when asked how much pressure he wants to play with defensively. “We did that a lot this summer too. We did a really nice job with it, and we’ve got some girls that can really play that and understand that, and I think we will be fun to watch. … There were times this summer where we were overwhelming.”

Valley is also again loaded with 3-point shooters, and Kaydence Mellott, who averaged 17.4 points per game last year and was fourth in the state with 75 made 3-pointers, is the prime sharpshooter.

However, Kindig sees a player growing in other facets.

“I think every year Kaydence has improved in some aspect of her game,” Kindig said. “I think last year, one of the things where she really got a lot better was as a freshman and a sophomore for the most part, she was a jump shooter. She didn’t do a lot with the basketball. Especially against zones, she was pretty tough, but I thought last year she did a much better job of taking the basketball to the basket, drawing some fouls and getting to the free throw line a little more. … She’s getting a lot better off the dribble and those kind of things. I would expect her to be even better at that this year. Again, every year, she’s improved on something.”

Mellott is one of three senior guards along with Molly Moriarty and Lily Ault. Moriarty averaged seven points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals per game last year. Ault was second on the team with 28 3-pointers, six of which came in one game at Peru. Kindig said he hopes for more consistency from Ault.

“She was a big key for us last year,” Kindig said of Moriarty. “I thought maybe early on, she struggled – and the team as a whole and her – with our turnovers earlier in the year. … But we got through the first four or five games, and she kept getting steadily better and better at that part of it. … She led us in assists, and she led us in steals, and she was a big key for us in really turning things around last year.”

Kindig sees Ault, junior Chesnee Miller and 6-0 senior Corinna Stiles helping out with the ballhandling. Ballhandling figures to be part of a full plate for Stiles, who is also Valley’s second leading returning scorer (9 ppg) and leading returning rebounder (9.5 rpg). Kindig said he expects Stiles to average a double-double.

“Since we got a little more size underneath this year, we’re going to pull her out a little bit more and have her handle the ball more, and she’s more than capable of doing that,” Kindig said. “She’s tall and long, and it’s just a matter of her developing a little more confidence, but I think she’s going to be one of those keys for us too.”

The fifth senior listed on the varsity roster is Millie Scorsone, a 6-0 post player and a move-in from Rochester. Scorsone played in the scrimmage against Caston on Oct. 27, but Kindig declined comment when asked about her, except to say she has “limited eligibility” as of right now.

Miller provides quickness and defensive effort, and Kindig said her skills fit well off the bench.

“The area she improved on was that she would come into the game and play the way she plays but without fouling,” Kindig said. “So we had a lot less problems with her last year getting in foul trouble and having to sit her all the time. But also, naturally, it was a little bit easier for her to come off the bench because she could see the game and let it come to her, so when she came out there on the floor, she was a terror on defense. … I think she’s on her way again this year too.”

Other juniors include 5-7 guard-forward Ava Smith, 5-7 forward Macy Petersen and 6-0 post player Kelsey Cox.

Smith is capable of being a good defender, especially in a press, according to Kindig, and he would also like to see her be able to handle the ball more. Petersen is much improved after an injury-plagued 2021-22 season, and Kindig said she looks a “couple steps quicker.”

Cox is a move-in from Warsaw and could contribute immediately.

“She is a hard-nosed, tough player that is really going to help us big time,” Kindig said. “She goes hard all the time. (She’s) going to toughen us up a lot, and she already has a lot. We really expect her to be a big-time player for us this year, another possible double-double player.”

Carlee Snyder saw varsity minutes late last year as a freshman after Snapp got hurt. She’s now listed at 6-0 and could split quarters between the varsity and JV.

“Carlee is long. She is very athletic. She runs the floor really well,” Kindig said. “She needs to get some strength, and I think that from a varsity standpoint is where she’s struggling right now in being able to guard the post. She’s 6-0, 6-1 with long arms and really came on last year. … She’s battling with some of these other new girls we’ve got for minutes. Right now, I can’t tell you where she’s going to be.

“There’s still some things to be decided here about who’s going to be where, but it’s a good thing because they are challenging each other in practice every day. I haven’t had this kind of depth in a few years seriously.”

Schedule

Valley has added South Bend St. Joe and John Glenn and dropped Logansport and Oregon-Davis.

The holiday tournament on Dec. 30 has moved to Trine University and will now consist of eight teams. Valley will play Fort Wayne Northrop, a Class 4A team that won 15 games last year, at that tournament.

Nov. 3 – at Bremen, 7:45 p.m.

Nov. 5 – at South Bend St. Joe, 1:30 p.m.

Nov. 8 – vs. Culver Academy, 7:45 p.m.

Nov. 10 – at Warsaw, 7:45 p.m.

Nov. 12 – at Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 18 – vs. NorthWood, 7:45 p.m.

Nov. 19 – at John Glenn, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 22 – at Maconaquah, 7:45 p.m.

Dec. 1 – vs. Plymouth, 7:45 p.m.

Dec. 3 – vs. Wabash, 7:45 p.m.

Dec. 7 – vs. Triton, 7:45 p.m.

Dec. 9 – vs. North Miami, 7:45 p.m.