Sophie Bussard lines up a jumper for Tippecanoe Valley Saturday. The star junior canned 32 points in a brilliant performance to pace the No. 4 Vikings past Concord 74-61 in the championship game of the Concord Invitational.

DUNLAP – It was a tale of two halves for the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball game Saturday.

In the end it was a tale of another championship performance too for the Vikings.

Valley got downright defensive to ignite a second-half rally that netted them a 74-61 win over host Concord in the title tilt of the Concord Invitational.

The Class 3-A No. 4 Vikings used energy and effort in the final half to claim the championship of the event for the fourth straight year. Valley, which was playing for the first time Saturday in 14 days, improves to 14-1.

It was defense and a big dose of Sophie Bussard that sent the hardware home with the Vikings, who have now won 11 straight games since their lone loss to Warsaw 42-32 way back on Nov. 17.

Addy Miller was outstanding with 21 points for the champs.

Valley outscored Concord 52-23 in the final half as junior Bussard exploded for 24 of her game-high 32 points in the final 16 minutes.

Valley erased a 19-point deficit in the third quarter by outscoring the hosts 26-7 over the final five minutes of the pivotal period. The Vikings exploded for 30 points in the quarter to turn a 38-22 halftime hole into a 52-52 tie at the end of the period.

Valley used a fullcourt 1-3-1 pressure defense to force Concord into 10 turnovers in the key third period. Bussard scored 13 points in the quarter and Addy Miller stopped up big time with nine points in the rally.

The Vikings then opened the final frame with a 12-0 run, sparked again by the brilliance of Bussard, to take a 64-52 lead en route to the win.

Valley fell behind 38-22 at halftime after a lackluster start versus a vastly-improved Concord team. The Vikings, who beat West Noble 58-56 in a semifinal earlier in the day, were allowing just 35 points-per-game prior to play Saturday.

“Coming into the locker room at halftime, we were not happy and coach was not happy,” said Bussard of the talk at intermission. “He got on us about not giving our full effort. We just had to come out and play hard and together in the second half.

“Personally, defense is a mindset. We knew that we had to come together and chip away at their lead. We knew that defense in the second half would win this game for us and that’s what we did.

“I feel like we are improving each game and that’s all that matters. I like my role of leading the team, but my teammates are all doing a great job. It’s nice to see us having 3-4 players score in double digits.”

Valley led 3-0 to open the game before Concord went on a 9-0 run. The hosts closed the first quarter with a 7-0 run to lead 18-10. The Vikings did not take another lead until a layup by Jillian Walls with 7:19 to play in the contest put her team ahead to stay at 54-52.

Emily Peterson looks to score in the paint.

“We stepped up the intensity in the second half and changed the  momentum of the game with our defense,” said Valley coach Chris Kindig. “We just had more effort in the second half and that’s a mindset.

“At halftime, we talked about allowing 38 points. That’s probably as poor a half defensively as we have played in 2-3 years. And Concord just played harder than us in that first half. I was not concerned with our offense.

“I was concerned with how we would play today. We had 10 days off and we have a lot of illness. Olivia (Trippiedi) is out with mono and that hurts our depth right now.

“We were looking to see who would step up and Sophie answered the bell in the third quarter for us. Addy (Miller) is playing extremely well for us too and Emily (Peterson) played really well in this game.”

Miller also had an outstanding effort for the champs. The senior guard finished with 21 points, including nine in the key third period. She also drained four treys for the winners.

Junior Emily Peterson added 15 points for Valley. Sophomore Walls scored five points and sophomore Emma Craig one.

Junior Alexa Porter led Concord with 17 points. Sophomore Jadelyn Williams and junior Chandyn Redmond each had 10 points and sophomore Sydney Simon nine for the hosts.

Concord, which finished 4-19, last year, is now 6-9. The Minutemen had 23 turnovers in the game, including 18 in the final half.

The Vikings hit 22-31 free throws in the title game, while Concord went 8-10 from the line.

Valley beat West Noble 58-56 in the second semifinal game Saturday. The Vikings led 24-11 after the opening period in the contest. Miller led the way with 20 points, while Bussard had 16 and Asia O’Connor 11.

Valley hit 25-39 free throws in the win over the Chargers. West Noble, which will be in the Fairfield Sectional with the Vikings, was 9-16 from the line. Junior Madison Schermerhorn led West Noble with 19 points and sophomore Kristina Teel added 13.

Concord beat Lakeland 74-67 in the other semifinal matchup as Redmond poured in 26 points. The 74 points were the most in a game by the Minutemen since 2010.

West Noble topped Lakeland 56-37 in the consolation game.

Tippecanoe Valley lost to Concord 40-35 in the consolation game of the JV Invitational Saturday. The JV Vikings lost to West Noble 34-24 in a semifinal contest.

Valley hosts Northfield in a key Three Rivers Conference game Thursday night. The Vikings, who have won 32 in a row in league play, are tied atop the TRC with Manchester at 4-0. Northfield is 4-1 in conference action.

The Tippecannoe Valley girls basketball team is all smiles after winning the championship of the Concord Invitational Saturday. The Class 3-A No. 4 Vikings beat Concord 74-61 in the title game to improve to 14-1 on the season.