AKRON – The Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team opened conference play Tuesday night in a big, big way.

The Vikings began defense of their Three Rivers Conference title by crushing Maconaquah 73-27 in their league opener for the 2015-16 campaign.

The undefeated Vikings, who checked in at No. 7 in this week’s Class 3-A poll, built a 17-6 lead after the opening period and led 31-14 at halftime. Valley, which was the Class 3-A state runner-up last year, then outscored the Braves 28-7 in the third quarter to turn the game into a blowout.

Junior star Anne Secrest led the way for the Vikings, who went undefeated to win the TRC last season, with 18 points.

Addy Miller had a big game for Valley with 16 points. Brynda Krueger netted nine points and Meredith Brouyette eight for coach Chris Kindig’s talented team.

Sophie Bussard and Asia O’Connor each had six points and Olivia Trippiedi five for the winners, now 4-0. Hannah Dunn added three points and Morgan Brazo two for the Vikings.

Maconaquah, in its first season in the TRC, falls to 0-4 overall and 0-3 in league play.

Valley (4-0) will host its own Thanksgiving Classic Saturday. The Vikings face Portage in the opener at 10:30 a.m., followed by Westfield versus Fort Wayne South. The consolation game is at 6:15 p.m. Saturday with the championship contest to follow.

Maconaquah hosts Wabash Saturday afternoon in another TRC game.