Parker Heading Home To Coach At Valley
MENTONE – Rebekah Parker was one of the greatest players ever to suit up for the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball program.
The former Viking star is returning to her alma mater now as a coach.
Parker, a 2004 Valley graduate, was approved Monday night as the new junior varsity girls basketball coach for the Vikings. She will also teach physical education at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School.
Parker, a hard-nosed hardwood competitor, led coach Gary Teel’s Valley teams to a 73-21 overall mark, including a 22-6 record in Three Rivers Conference play, during her illustrious prep career. She helped Valley win the first three sectional championships in program history in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Parker, a 5-10 guard, averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game her senior season as Valley went 21-3. She was an Indiana All-Star following her senior season in 2004 and was second in scoring at 10.5 points-per-game for the All-Stars in the annual two-game series versus Kentucky.
Parker, who was an assistant coach in the Plymouth girls basketball program this past season, ranks second in career scoring at Valley with 1,420 points. Valley star and 2017 grad Anne Secrest, who led her team to sectional titles the past three years and a Class 3-A state runner-up finish in 2015, is No. 1 with 1,580 career points.
Parker went on to have a prolific collegiate career at the University of Evansville. She started all 120 games in her college career and earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors three times. Parker finished her Evansville career with 1,480 points, 650 rebounds and 409 assists. Two of Parker’s teammates at Evansville were former Triton star Ashli (Senff) Faulkner and former Rochester standout Courtney Felke. Senff helped coach Mark Heeter’s Triton teams win back-to-back Class 1-A state titles in 2000 and 2001. Felke led coach Tony Stesiak’s Rochester squad to a Class 2-A state championship in 2004 and was also a teammate of Parker’s on the All-Star team that year.
Parker played professionally in both Finland and Germany following her college career. She then spent four years, including three as an assistant coach, at the University of Toledo. Tricia Cullop, who coached Parker at Evansville, was the Toledo coach when Parker served on her coaching staff.
Parker, a native of Silver Lake, is the daughter of Lynn and Dianna Parker. She has eight siblings.