Red Devils remember, answer challenge

The Tippecanoe girls basketball team certainly didn’t need any extra motivation in their MVL rematch against Stebbins last week.

They remember back earlier in the season when the Indians knocked off Tipp in Riverside. This was a game where the Red Devils had three chances in the closing seconds to win but fell short by one point.

This time, they left no doubt.

Opening up a ten-point lead at the half, the Red Devils closed out a big 48-30 victory over Stebbins, a team that was leading the Valley Division of the conference. While the Red Devils are likely finishing second in their half of the division, the Indians dropped into second, with Sidney taking the division lead.

“Yeah, there was no doubt you know we played Stebbins this season earlier at their place lost by a point,” Tipp coach Julian Grasso said. “We'd also played them over the summer and they beat us in that game as well so we were excited to have an opportunity to play them on our home court. We feel like we've gotten a lot better throughout the season and we were really ready to play.”

“We knew it wouldn't necessarily have to be a thing of beauty. We just wanted to play as hard as we can and play Tipp basketball.”

The teams battled in the opening eight minutes. Tipp held a one point lead before the Red Devils completely controlled the second period, holding the Indians to only two points, including scoreless over the final six minutes.

Meanwhile, Emily Aselage connected on a pair of free throws early while Liv Hiser added three points. Mady Turner connected on a pair of free throws.

Abbi Mader added a steal and layup in the final minute and finished the first half scoring with a pair of free throws with 46 seconds left in the half. This gave Tipp a 20-10 lead at the half.

Mader added five free throws in the third period, with Courtney Post adding four in the period before Tipp put the game away in the fourth period with a seven point advantage.

One thing Tipp had to worry about was controlling the high-scoring guard Aubrey Fritz. She torched the Red Devils in their first meeting for 28 points. This time, things went considerably different for Tipp.

They held the Stebbins junior to only six points and Grasso was happy to see his team take that factor out of the game.

“Aubrey was awesome in the first match up. You know she played a heck of a game, and she is a very tough competitor,” Grasso said. “She plays with tremendous attitude and effort, so we just wanted to make sure that she did not take over the game like she did the first time.”

“We have a lot of respect for her and our defense was tuned into making sure that she didn't get going. I was proud of the girls for our level of communication and togetherness on defense.”

Mader led Tipp with 16 points, Turner added ten, and Aselage scored nine.

Tipp also had no trouble with West Carrollton on Saturday, defeating the Pirates 74-36. It was a well balanced attack with Mader leading with 22 points for Tipp, followed by 15 from Hiser, 13 points for Aselage and eight from Ella Combs.

The Red Devils held West Carrollton to 14 points in the second half while they scored 23 in just the third quarter alone.