Warsaw’s Kaylee Patton redirects the shot of Valley’s Olivia Trippiedi Friday night in a 42-32 Tiger win. (Photos by Mike Deak)

AKRON – In between the normal white noise of the girls basketball game Friday night between Warsaw and host Tippecanoe Valley, thunder and the pelting of a downpour echoed above the Valley gym. On the court, Warsaw did its best to avoid Valley’s reign of threes, holding on for a 42-32 win.

What was a largely Warsaw-controlled first half turned into a four-point game in the fourth quarter. A putback by Brielle Harrison with four seconds left in the half gave Warsaw a 25-13 lead, which piggybacked a 22-8 lead earlier in the quarter after Halle Shipp and Kaylee Patton hit back-to-back threes. But after Jillian Walls buried a pair of threes in the third, and Sophie Bussard hit a shot to open the fourth, Valley found itself down just 34-30.

Valley’s Jillian Walls takes a shot over Warsaw’s Halle Shipp.

Asia O’Connor made a layup and was fouled moments later, keeping Valley within four, but missed the free throw. At 36-32, that would be the closest Valley would get to their rivals from the county seat. The Vikings missed their final eight three-point attempts, the duo of Addy Miller and Emily Peterson combining for 2-14 from deep on the night. Valley altogether was 5-19 from behind the arc.

“Those shooters have the green light,” said Valley head coach Chris Kindig. “I’m tellin’ ya, there are going to be nights when they are hitting, and we are going to be awfully hard to beat. Obviously tonight wasn’t one of them. They got good looks, and it’s hard to put the breaks on that as good of shooters as they are. Two for 16 is not good, it’s a bad night. It is what it is.”

Warsaw would do the little things during Valley’s shooting woes, limiting Valley to just one shot on each of those possessions. Kacy Bragg was a major player inside, working for a pair of key rebounds in the final three minutes and scored four of her game-high 12 points late in the game. Bragg had five rebounds total.

“We told Kacy Bragg in the huddle during a timeout, I don’t need you to worry about getting the basketball. I need you to make sure your person doesn’t get it,” said Warsaw head coach Lenny Krebs. “We were willing to take one for one and chance we would get it everywhere else. But ultimately in the end, we pulled down some big rebounds at the end of the game when they missed some outside shots. And we got the job done. Not the way we wanted it, but we’ll take it.”

Maddie Ryman added 11 points in the game, but nearly didn’t play in the game at all. Rolling her ankle during the warmups, Ryman tearfully limped to the lockerroom and got her ankle worked on, returning to make the start and play over 28 minutes. Valley’s injured guard, Sophie Bussard, also returned after injuring her ankle last Saturday. While not starting, Bussard recorded 10 points, four boards, an assist and five steals in nearly 29 minutes of play. Her energy was a key factor throughout.

Valley’s Addy Miller works around Warsaw’s Kennedy Patton.

“For where she was at Monday to where she was at tonight, it’s amazing that she was able to do what she did,” Kindig said of Bussard.

Added Krebs on not being able to gameplan for Bussard’s question mark status, “I’ve seen Tippy Valley play three times prior to this game and she is a great player. She adds so much to that team. She is just a huge key for them. When she’s not on the floor, it puts people in different roles.

“Credit to (Walls), by golly, she stepped up and hit some big shots for them. She’s a huge part of what they do.”

Patton had a nice game for the Tigers with seven points, eight assists and six rebounds. Harrison added four points and five boards.

Warsaw moves to 4-1 overall with a big home matchup Tuesday against Penn. Valley, ranked No. 3 in the latest Class 3-A poll, falls to 3-1 and will begin its defense of the Three Rivers Conference title Tuesday at home against Maconaquah.

The JV contest was a one-possession contest into the fourth, but Kensie Ryman and Kendall Wayne each hit three-pointers to give Warsaw enough cushion for a 34-24 win. Ryman led Warsaw with 13 points, while Wayne and Brooklyn Fitzgerald both ended with nine points. Emma Craig paced the Vikings with six points.