After flying high against the Lafayette Jefferson Bronchos last Tuesday, the West Lafayette Red Devils came back down to earth. West Lafayette fell just short of Tippecanoe Valley by a score of 32-30. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat West Lafayette has suffered yet this season.
When it comes to explaining why West Lafayette lost on Friday, one person who can't be blamed is Adrianne Tolen. Despite the final result, she dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 rebounds. Tolen is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Molly Andrew, who scored five points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
West Lafayette struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Tippecanoe Valley's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kelsey Cox, who scored seven points.
West Lafayette has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-9 record this season. As for Tippecanoe Valley, they pushed their record up to 15-3 with that victory, which was their 17th straight at home.
West Lafayette will take on McCutcheon at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. That game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Lillie Graves and Tolen. Tippecanoe Valley won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Kokomo at 12:00 p.m. on January 20th. Hopefully Kokomo focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 on Friday.
