Valley 4/868

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

AKRON — A new chapter in the history of Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball is about to start.

Chris Kindig is out after 14 seasons as coach.

Valley is a member of the new Indiana Northern State Conference.

And Valley graduated four starters – Ava Egolf, Chesnee Miller, Ava Smith and Kelsey Cox – from the team that went 19-4 before losing to Bremen 55-53 in overtime on Feb. 3 in the sectional final.

A fifth senior, Macy Petersen, suffered a season-ending knee injury last year and is currently playing at North Central University in Minnesota.

The new coach is Rebekah Parker, a former University of Evansville and professional player and a 2004 Valley grad. Parker also has previous coaching experience at Plymouth and Valley as well as collegiate coaching experience as an assistant at the University of Toledo.

Kaylynn Cumberland, who is Parker’s sister, will be the JV coach, and Kaylee Patton and Blaine Hartzler will join her on the staff.

Parker said the program is starting over.

“We’re really focused on us at this point and not looking ahead to anything,” Parker said. “We’re just taking it a day at a time and getting through practices and just learning. I mean, we’re at ground zero. … We’re absolutely starting a program. So as far as offenses and defenses and just terminology and the way I talk versus what they’ve heard in the past is totally different.

“And so it’s been a whirlwind. They’re learning. I’m learning them. … We’ll just take those games as they come.”

The four players who played in the sectional final and who are returning are guards Gaby Gonzalez and Hadley Wise and forwards Dalynne Bussard and Lucy Hayden.

Another player who is returning is senior forward Carlee Snyder, who has signed to play at Olivet Nazarene.

Gonzalez is the leading returning scorer. She will balance the responsibility of trying to set up her teammates with trying to score herself.

“Gaby’s a great facilitator,” Parker said. “There’s a lot of times when I would like for her to be a little bit more selfish and aggressive in her own right. I think that her vision and ballhandling and stuff is something that is huge for our team going forward. Her challenge is always to be that aggressive 100 percent of the game.”

Wise led the JV in scoring last year, and she also has experience as a point guard.

“Hadley’s a really good athlete,” Parker said. “You watch her run, and it’s kind of crazy to see how effortless she can run. So that will be nice to have her on both ends of the floor. Defensively, I think we’re going to try to get her to get after it a little bit. Offensively, it’s hard because you want her to play aggressive and play fast and do all those things, but on offense, I’m always telling her, ‘Slow down, slow down, slow down.’ Hadley’s going to help us for sure. In what exact capacity, I couldn’t probably tell you.”

Parker said she chose to keep the atmosphere insular this summer with a new team. She said she “cannot complain” about the players’ work ethic while acknowledging that it has been a “whirlwind” as she tries to teach numerous concepts in a short period.

“We did not do any leagues,” Parker said. “We did nothing except for stay in the gym and try to learn each other and get a little bit better fundamentally. I felt like with me just getting hired in June that it was best suited for us to just stay here and figure each other out and get better that way instead of going and playing a bunch of different teams and traveling and stuff.”

Snyder is a 6-1 senior with post and perimeter skills.

“Just from talking to her a little bit, I know before she had made the decision, I know she was stressed out about it, wanting to make the right decision,” Parker said when asked how Snyder’s college decision has affected her mindset for her final high school season. “And it is a big decision. Once she was able to do that and sign, I think a weight’s lifted off her shoulders, and she was able to just focus on the task at hand every single day and not have that other distraction.”

Lydia Craig is the other senior. She is playing for the first time since the 2022-23 season, and Parker said she will be a contributor.

Lucy Hayden is a junior who spent much of last season on the JV.

“We’re going to try to find ways to get Lucy the ball in the post with her back to the basket and use her physicality,” Parker said. “Obviously, Carlee faces up a little bit more than Lucy does, but Lucy’s capable of that as well.”

Parker acknowledged that Bussard’s primary pastime is softball – she is both one of the area’s top pitchers and hitters – but added that it has not affected her focus in the gym.

“Dalynne can do whatever she puts her mind to doing,” Parker said. “Excited for her. She has a focus of softball but has really tried to be present here with us and give us everything she has when she’s here. So I appreciate that knowing that she has other things on her mind at times, which I totally understand.”

In addition to Gonzalez, Bussard and Hayden, other juniors in the program include Karley Hallstrom, Hailey Stookey and Betty Shepherd.

Hallstrom and Shepherd are new to the program. Shepherd was a state qualifier in the 300 hurdles in track last spring.

“It’s hard to say because we have such a unique team in that I think anybody can step in at different times and contribute,” Parker said. “And so that’s what I’ve been trying to preach with them, about roles and knowing and doing your job and doing it well. Because I think a lot of them could just do that and do things well for us. … I think we’re going to be interchangeable a lot.”

Other sophomores include Lillie Koch, Maycee Koch, Lindahl Walls and Izzy Woodruff.

Parker also said that seven freshmen came out for basketball and that the plan is to play a “C” team schedule.

Parker said she wants her players to be “threats to score” and to “go downhill,” which will increase the likelihood of shooting free throws.

Defensively, she sees her team as capable of pressing and said “time and score” will dictate how often she presses.

“I do think that we bring back a lot of speed and athleticism and stuff, and hopefully, we can work that to our advantage defensively and get after people,” Parker said.

Valley girls basketball schedule

Nov. 5 – vs. Norwell, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 – at Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 12 – vs. Culver Academy, 7:45 p.m.

Nov. 15 – at LaVille, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 19 – vs. NorthWood, 7:45 p.m.

Nov. 20 – vs. Western, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 22 – vs. John Glenn, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 26 – at Rochester, 7 p.m.

Dec. 5 – vs. Plymouth, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 7 – vs. Bremen, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 11 – vs. Triton, 7:45 p.m.