Valley girls basketball preview: Lady Vikes have experienced guards but will be smaller

Val T.
2 hours ago
5 min read

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball coach Rebekah Parker described last season as a whirlwind.

In her first season, she had to get to know new players while playing 12 games in a 41-day span before Christmas.

They emerged from it with a 13-11 record. They never had more than a two-game losing streak and finished the regular season with consecutive wins over Kokomo, Wawasee and Elkhart, all of whom finished with winning records.

They made it a four-game winning streak with a 40-19 win over West Noble in the sectional quarterfinals before a nine-point loss to Fairfield in the sectional semifinals ended their season.

Naturally, it might be less fast-paced for Parker in her second year.

“Last year was definitely a whirlwind as far as just getting things in brand new every single night,” Parker said. “This year, we have gotten through … way more drills, those kind of things much easier. Just with people knowing and having an idea of what we did in the past has made such a big difference.”

But while it might be less of a whirlwind, it is also worth noting that Valley played 12 games before Christmas last year, and they will play 14 games before Christmas this year. So they got out of town more this summer seeking more competition.

“We did a lot more playing this summer,” Parker said. “Last summer, with it being my first year, we stayed in and practiced a lot more just in house. We went and had a few kids play in AAU and then our June was pretty full. We played at a Warsaw league a couple nights a week, and then we had a couple shootouts where we went down to the Charlie Hughes Shootout (in Fishers) and the Indiana Wesleyan Shootout.”

The most experienced area of the team is its guards. Senior point guard Gaby Gonzalez has been playing varsity since she was a freshman, and junior Hadley Wise emerged at the shooting guard spot last year.

Parker called Gonzalez an “extension of the coaches” on the defensive end. She is also capable of scoring off the dribble using her quickness and from the perimeter as well, according to Parker.

“I think Gaby last year was the focal point of everyone’s defense,” Parker said. “So I hope this year, she’s had a year of experience of that, and I think she’s developed into a multi-level scorer if she wants to be. As long as she is consistent with that aggressiveness to be a scorer for us, I think she’ll have a great year.”

Wise brings sprinter’s speed on the basketball court. Parker called Wise “a tough kid on both sides of the ball.”

“She is pretty athletic and defensively can kind of lock a lot of people up as long as she keeps her hands off people,” Parker said. “She’s a tough scout, I think. I think she definitely grew last year, and I think she’s going to find out what Gaby found out last year. She’s going to be a lot of the focus. She took a lot of minutes last year, and people found out more about Hadley Wise last year on the varsity level.”

Hailey Stookey is another experienced guard.

“She’s got to be a knockdown shooter for us this year, and I think she understands that role,” Parker said. “She really has developed in her ballhandling and on-ball defensive skills. I think we have a lot of kids that can contend for the starting spots, which is a good position to be in.”

The frontcourt is less experienced. Carlee Snyder graduated and is now playing at Olivet Nazarene University. Lydia Craig graduated. Lucy Hayden transferred to South Bend St. Joe.

“Well, we’ve got to get really good at rebounding, really good at rebounding from all five spots,” Parker said. “We can’t just turn and think we’re going to go get the basketball. Because of our height disadvantage, that’s probably going to happen most nights. So we’ve got to get good at that. And then I think we increased in speed this year, and so hopefully we get up and down the floor a little bit more, push the pace. Those kids will be missed, but we’re hopefully adding some pieces to the puzzle that will make us a little bit faster and more unpredictable.”

The most experienced player in the frontcourt is senior forward Dalynne Bussard. Bussard is also a star on the Valley softball team and a future college softball player.

“I say this a lot, but Dalynne has played at a high level softball-wise, and playing at that high level, I think, has translated into her basketball game, meaning that she gets it,” Parker said. “She’s able to fill those roles that we need without a ton of reps, experience, whatever. … She’s skilled offensively, and that’s something that we lack.”

Senior Betty Shepherd will move into a varsity role after playing JV last year. Shepherd is a former state qualifier in track in the 300 hurdles and an explosive leaper who led the volleyball team with 216 kills.

“She’s definitely an athlete, and you want to hone those skills, right? But on the defensive side of it, we just want Betty to be Betty,” Parker said. “We want her to go out there and turn people over and turn defense into offense, and hopefully, that turns into easy buckets for us.”

Others who might contend for playing time in the frontcourt include Izzy Woodruff, Maycee Koch, Malaynie Costello and Savana Miller.

Other newcomers include Lillie Koch and Kinley Crabb.

“Again, I think on any given night, we’ll have to figure out a little bit rotations with this and groups that mesh well together versus who we’re going against or who our opponent is,” Parker said. “But I think those kids can definitely help us and give us a little bit of a boost.”

Valley girls basketball schedule

Schedule additions include DeKalb, coached by former state championship coach Mark Pixley; defending Class 2A regional champion Whitko; Maconaquah, who won their Class 3A sectional last year; and DeMotte Christian. Valley will also travel to Alexandria for a four-team tournament Nov. 29.

The season begins tonight with a game against defending Class 3A state champion Norwell.

Altogether, Valley will play seven teams that at least won a sectional last year.

“We didn’t make it super easy,” Parker said. “Our changes didn’t make anything easier, which is OK with me.”

Nov. 4 – at Norwell, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 6 – vs. Northwestern, 8 p.m.

Nov. 11 – at Culver Academy, 7:45 p.m.

Nov. 14 – vs. Knox, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 – vs. LaVille, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 25 – vs. Rochester, 7 p.m.

Nov. 29 – at Alexandria tournament (field includes Alexandria, Austin, Carroll (Flora))

Dec. 3 – at Plymouth, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 6 – at John Glenn, 7:30 p.m.