Taylor Trippiedi and her Tippecanoe Valley teammates will play Muncie Central this Saturday at the IHSAA Class 3-A Bellmont Girls Basketball Regional. (Photos by Mike Deak)

AKRON – Monday was a chance for Chris Kindig and his Tippecanoe Valley Lady Viking basketball team to enjoy its accomplishments. Holding the sectional trophy in their hands after defeating Fairfield, NorthWood and Whitko in succession was a feat to treasure. The party, however, ended Tuesday as the team got back to work with the Bellmont Regional on the horizon.

Valley (22-2) haven’t been in a regional since 2007, but Kindig wasn’t worried about the pressures of postseason basketball. After his team won tournament titles at its own holiday shootout and at Lakeland, plus adding an undefeated Three Rivers Conference title to its résumé, the Vikings should be more than accustomed to working in pressure situations.

Anne Secrest scored 65 points in the three sectional wins.

“We had to face the three toughest teams in the sectional on back-to-back-to-back occasions, there isn’t much more pressure than that,” Kindig said following the sectional. “These girls have been through it, so we’ll just look at the regional as another opportunity to play.”

The Bellmont Regional isn’t full of ‘world beaters’ but does have plenty of programs that know how to win. In front of Tippecanoe Valley is Muncie Central, which won its sectional in overwhelming fashion. The 19-5 Bearcats won its three games in the Blackford Sectional by an average of 27 points, including an 18-point win over the host Bruins in the sectional final.

Muncie Central has won eight consecutive games and 14 of its last 15 dating back to Dec. 20. The Bearcats have won back-to-back sectional titles.

Central is led by its prolific scorer, Jayla Scaife, who dropped 29 points and 15 rebounds on Blackford on 14-20 shooting from the floor.

Scaife, however, was the only scorer to reach double digits for the Bearcats against Blackford. Ke’Chell Tate had eight points and a pair had seven, which isn’t unlike what Tippecanoe Valley has faced this season, but does look similar to how the sectional laid out.

Valley did a job on NorthWood and its scoring machine, Jordyn Frantz, despite Frantz getting loose for 24 points in the double overtime thriller in the semis. Aly Reiff was on her way to the night of her life, scoring 16 points for Whitko in the first half against Valley in the sectional final. But just two points by Reiff in the second half after Valley switched to a zone defense made a huge difference.

Caylie Teel hit some big shots against NorthWood in the sectional semi-final.

“We’ve played awfully well in the second half of the season, we’ve won nine in a row,” Kindig said. “I really felt like our competition level throughout the year really prepared us for this tournament.”

Anne Secrest has been the sparkplug for Valley, scoring 65 points and hauling in 40 rebounds in the three sectional games. Caylie Teel, while dealing with foul trouble in the tourney, made huge shots in the NorthWood win and Taylor Trippiedi scored 18 points in the Whitko win. Major contributions from Karis Tucker, Brynda Krueger and Hannah Dunn all helped Valley’s cause.

On the other half of the bracket at Bellmont, two teams with plenty of postseason history face off. Fort Wayne Concordia (19-7) will meet Norwell (18-7) in game one of the regional, with both clubs coming into the regional with impressive championship wins at their respective sectionals.

Norwell knocked off No. 6 Columbia City, 44-43, to escape the Norwell Sectional finals. Norwell also beat No. 12 Eastbrook in the semis, which two of Eastbook’s three losses came via Norwell. The Knights have made the regional five straight years and were in the semi-state a year ago. Norwell also won the head-to-head meeting with Concordia by 15 in November, for good measure.

Fort Wayne Concordia has plenty of tournament history, with two 3-A state titles under its belt in 2010 and 2012. Concordia has eight sectional championships, winners of five of its last six sectional tournaments. In beating Emma Wolfe and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers in the sectional final, Concordia needed Shania Kelly’s 18 points and 20 rebounds and 18 more points from DeJour Young.

Concordia and Norwell will meet at 10 a.m. in the first game of the Bellmont Regional, with Valley and Muncie Central in game two at approximately 12:30 p.m. The two winners will meet for the championship at 8 p.m.

Tippecanoe Valley celebrates with the Wawasee Girls Basketball Sectional trophy Monday night after defeating Whitko in the championship game.