WARSAW – It hasn’t been that much of a shocker lately, but it’s still a head turner. Anne Secrest’s jumper with 4.7 seconds left in the game lifted Tippecanoe Valley to a 38-36 girls basketball win at Warsaw Friday night.

Tippecanoe Valley’s Anne Secrest skies for a shot attempt over Warsaw’s Page Desenberg. (Photos by Mike Deak)

Valley had plenty of reason to cheer after the final horn sounded in the Tiger Den, having knocked off Warsaw now two years in a row. The win streak against the Lady Tigers is the first ever of its kind in the series, which has been dominated by Warsaw, 45-5, but the win Friday by Valley was the fourth in 12 years. Valley last won at Warsaw in the 2006-07 season.

Tippecanoe Valley got there by showing tremendous patience on offense in the final two minutes in a rotation carousel to milk the clock. Around 10 seconds left, Secrest found space in the middle of Warsaw’s zone and hit a straight-away jumper from the free throw line for the lead. Warsaw’s last two shots were blocked as time expired.

“I would have liked to have taken that shot with two or three seconds on the clock so Warsaw couldn’t have had as good of a look as they did,” exclaimed Tippecanoe Valley head coach Chris Kindig with a wry grin. “But Anne is going to hit that shot all night. She hits those 15-foot shots all the time. It’s her shot. Warsaw did a good job collapsing on her most of the night, she just got a good look.”

Warsaw’s Madi Graham takes a shot against Tippecanoe Valley.

As the score might indicate, offensive production was at a premium. Neither team found success shooting the ball, combining to make just 24 of 84 total shots in the game, both teams landing under 30 percent from the floor.

Secrest finished with eight points, eight boards, two blocks and two steals. Meredith Brouyette led Valley with nine points, and drilled a huge three-pointer in the fourth to give Valley a 36-33 lead.

Valley also danced on egg shells for most of the second half, with Secrest and Caylie Teel both finding third fouls in the second quarter and both taking a fourth foul in the second half.

Karis Tucker of Tippecanoe Valley goes up for a layup attempt against Warsaw’s Page Desenberg.

Kindig was very happy with his top-seven rotation, which spelled his stars while they rode the pine.

“We talked at halftime that offensively we were really out of character,” Kindig said. “For us, we would have liked to score a few more points. But we needed to slow down. I felt like our struggles were more on the offensive end than the defensive end.”

Warsaw had Vicki Harris and Madi Graham each score 10 points, the two combining to hit four-of-seven three-point attempts. Graham’s second three tied the game at 36. The remainder of the roster, however, made just six-of-25 shot attempts and missed some key free throws along the way.

Vicki Harris of Warsaw lines up one of her made threes against Tippecanoe Valley.

“Tonight was a great game and I told the girls they have nothing to hang their head about,” Warsaw head coach Michelle Harter said. “From Tuesday night until tonight, that effort was 100 percent better. We played with energy and excitement. And we played as a team.

“We got ourselves a chance to win at the end, attacked and did what we asked them to do, but we have to step up and hit our free throws. Six of 12 is not going to cut it for us.”

Warsaw’s JV jumped out to an early lead and kept it in a 52-36 win over Valley. Kenzie Welk led Warsaw with 14 points and Alyssa Atkins added 10 points and six boards. Addy Miller led Valley with 15 points and four rebounds.

Warsaw (1-2) will get right back at it tomorrow with a trip to Noblesville while Tippecanoe Valley (2-0) will host it’s four-team tournament next Saturday, playing Portage in the first game. Westfield and Fort Wayne South are on the opposite side of the bracket.

Meredith Brouyette of Tippecanoe Valley seeks a teammate during the game against Warsaw.