Anne Secrest never stopped smiling following the final buzzer of Saturday’s regional title win over Norwell. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

DECATUR – Every team wants to make a deep postseason run. Some teams even think they can. But it takes a special team to know that it belongs on an elite level. The Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team knows were it belongs this postseason and the Lady Vikings made it one step closer to that destination Saturday at the Bellmont Regional.

An overtime win against Muncie Central in the afternoon’s semifinal match proved to be a fitting start to Valley’s day as the Lady Vikings would again need an extra frame to survive its opponent in the title game. Valley outlasted Norwell 47-45 to claim its first-ever regional title.

“This team just refuses to lose right now,” remarked Valley head coach Chris Kindig. “In particular, our seniors were not ready for this season to end. We have great senior leadership. They played their guts out tonight, the whole team did.”

For the third time this postseason, Valley dipped into bonus playing time. For the third time this postseason, Valley was not phased by the added pressure.

The Lady Vikings began the extra session with a 6-0 run behind five points from Anne Secrest. A few bad possessions by Valley allowed Norwell to hang around, but the seniors came through for the Lady Vikings.

A loose ball at center court was fought for by Caylie Teel. The senior sold out to corral the rock and eventually was able top tip it out to fellow senior Taylor Trippiedi. Trippiedi had a straight shot to the basket and laid in two to put Valley up 45-39 with 34.8 seconds to play. Teel would later add a big free throw to put her team up four points.

Teel’s free throw was sandwiched by a pair of threes from Norwell’s Hanna Smith. Smith’s clutch shooting kept her team in the game, but her final three came with just 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime, forcing Norwell to foul. Secrest hit the second of her two attempts which left the door open for the Lady Knights to tie or win the game.

Valley’s defensive presence coupled with poor awareness from Norwell led to there not even being a shot attempt from the Lady Knights on the game’s final possession.

As the final buzzer sounded, Valley’s celebration began. It was the biggest win in program history and it was more than a year in the making for this squad.

“It all starts back at the end of last season,” Kindig stated. “The amount of time that these girls put in over the summer, open gyms, preseason, practices. There’s a lot of true basketball players on this team that love the game.

“It means a lot to them. When it means a lot to you, you’re going to play your heart out. I’ve got maximum effort from these girls, absolute maximum effort. It’s hard to beat a team that plays that way.”

Valley has faced several close calls in its tourney run so far, but the Lady Vikings continue to endure and inspire. As Kindig implied, it starts with tremendous senior leadership. Teel and Trippiedi have provided that all season and to see it all pay off with a regional title nearly had Trippiedi at a loss for words.

“Words really can’t describe how happy I am right now,” and ecstatic Trippiedi remarked. “I’m just so proud of these girls. I knew we could do it, but I’m just so proud of my teammates.

“We all play to our best ability. We knew we had nothing to lose tonight so we played our hardest and played our hearts out and it showed.”

Trippiedi finished the night with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. Teel led the team with five assists and added eight points. Secrest was her usual self as she led all players with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.

It’s been “survive and advance” to this point and now it’s “win and you’re in” as the Lady Vikes move on to semi-state to play Three Rivers Conference rival Rochester. Valley downed Rochester 52-40 earlier this season.

The two teams will meet next Saturday at either the Crown Point or Warsaw semi-state. The site and time will be announced by the IHSAA on Sunday, February 22. Other TRC member Wabash also advanced to the semi-state round in Class 2A.

UPDATE: Valley will play Rochester at 6:00 p.m. in the Warsaw Semi-state. Wabash and Fort Wayne Canterbury will play at 4:00 p.m.