GREENVILLE – The unbeaten Tippecanoe Lady Red Devils continued their dominant run Friday night, defeating the Greenville Lady Wave 62-31 in Miami Valley League action to remain perfect at 12-0 on the season.
Already riding an 11-0 mark entering the night, Tippecanoe once again showed why it is regarded as one of the state’s elite programs and a legitimate postseason championship contender.
“We proved that we can play with them a little bit,” said Greenville first-year coach Shane Hillard. “I told them in the pregame, make them beat us because they are better, not because we go home tonight saying, ‘if we had done this better.’ For the most part, I think that was the case.”
“They were just better,” Hillard added. “That’s not like losing games to a team you shouldn’t lose to. That’s a really good basketball team, and they are well-coached. I think we did a good job of what we tried to get accomplished today.”
Following the win, Tippecanoe improved to 10-0 in league play, averaging 58.7 points per game while holding opponents to just 18.1 points per contest.
Greenville stayed competitive defensively in the first half, surrendering 14 points in the opening quarter and 13 in the second, while scoring 16 of its own to trail just 27-16 at the break.
“We’ll keep ourselves in it defensively,” Hillard said. “I told them at halftime we’re playing better than the score looks, but when you’re playing a team like that, every mistake you make just piles up. The next thing you know, you’re not playing badly, and it’s 10, and then it’s 20.”
Tippecanoe seized control in the third quarter behind sophomore Abbi Mader and sharpshooter Morgan Sessions. Mader poured in 10 points in the period, while Sessions connected on three of her five 3-pointers on the night, fueling a decisive 28-7 run that gave the Lady Red Devils a commanding 55-23 lead heading into the final quarter.
Greenville outscored Tippecanoe 8-7 in the fourth, but the outcome was well in hand, sealing the 62-31 conference victory for the visitors.
“All in all, this is another time we showed we can play with whoever is in front of us,” Hillard said. “We just have to put it together and get rid of some of those other things that show up every once in a while.”
Tippecanoe finished 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, while Greenville went 3-of-10 at the charity stripe.
Mader led all scorers with 21 points for Tippecanoe, while Sessions added 15 points, all from beyond the arc. Greenville sophomore Leah Force paced the Lady Wave with 11 points.
BOX SCORE:
TIPPECANOE 62, GREENVILLE 31
TIPPECANOE – A. Mader 21, M. Sessions 15, C. Post 10, M. Turner 4, R. Hoover 4, S. Clawson 3, L. Hiser 3, E. McCormick 2 – TOTALS 14 13-14 7 62
GREENVILLE – L. Force 11, J. Lyons 8, M. Loudy 5, A. Baumgardner 3, R. Davidson 3, M. Legenzoff 1 – TOTALS 8 3-10 4 31
3-POINTERS
Tippecanoe 7 (M. Sessions 5, S. Clawson 1, A. Mader 1)
Greenville 4 (A. Baumgardner 1, L. Force 1, M. Loudy 1, R. Davidson 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
14-13-28-07 62 Tippecanoe
04-12-07-08 31 Greenville
