Tipp sweeps Sidney, opens tourney play Friday

Coming off a tough loss at top-seeded Carroll, it was a big regular season finale last Saturday afternoon. The Tippecanoe girls basketball team hosted Sidney to head into the postseason on a big note. The Red Devils opened up a solid lead in the second half and held on for a 61-56 win over the Yellow Jackets.

The win for Tipp completes the two-game season sweep over Sidney in the MVL.  The Red Devils secure second overall in the league with a 15-3 conference record. Butler finished 17-1 on league play to win the MVL, with Sidney and Stebbins both 14-4 to place third.

“Shoutout to Sidney, who has two great senior players. They have played the season without one of their best players, and they have played well and are heading into a sectional where they could be favored to win that sectional,” Tipp coach Julian Grasso said. “They have done a great job.”

“Sidney started out well and we started out kind of slow. Senior Night can be tough at the beginning and the game started out slow.”

Kelis McNeal had a big first quarter for Sidney scoring nine of the Yellow Jackets first quarter points. They led Tipp 16-10 after the opening quarter of play.

The second quarter saw a slow turnaround for Tipp as Liv Hiser, who had a career day. She opened with a three to start the quarter and scored the first seven points of the period to give Tipp a 17-16 lead just 90 seconds gone in the second quarter.

Tipp held a 23-18 lead at 3:45 of the quarter. They took the lead to six before Sidney could answer.

Mady Turner knocked down a big three inside 20 seconds left in the half. The Red Devils took a 36-27 lead into the intermission.

“We talked before the game that sometimes on Senior Night, it’s an underclassman who plays well and shined because they want to do that for their teammates,” Grasso said. “She had her career high tonight, and she did that for her senior teammates.”

McNeal kept Sidney in the game in the third period, but Tipp took a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Red Devils pushed their lead to 59-47, but the Yellow Jackets closed the gap to 59-52 with 1:47 left following a three from Jordan Scully, who was held in check all night by the Red Devils.

Mader added 16 for Tipp, with Emily Aselage Turner each scoring seven.

With the win, the Red Devils now head into the sectional tournament Friday night at Springfield to battle Franklin; tipoff is 5:30 p.m.