For a while, shooting free throws was all Valparaiso’s Becca Gerdt could do.
With the Vikings’ season on the line, however, the senior forward’s extra time dedicated to one of basketball’s basics during her recovery from a torn ACL proved vital.
“That was one of the first things I was able to do because it didn’t require any jumping,” she said. “I’d struggled with free throws in the past, but I’ve been working on that.”
Gerdt hit nine straight free throws in the fourth quarter as part of her team-high 15 points on Tuesday as the Vikings held off Chesterton to win 55-49 in the first round of the Class 4A Valparaiso Sectional.
The Vikings (16-7), who will play Portage (12-11) in the sectional semifinals on Friday, survived a furious comeback by Chesterton (16-8). Valparaiso led by as many as 13 points in the second half. But the Trojans rallied behind senior guard Ciara Bonner, who scored 15 of her game-high 20 points after halftime.
That put the pressure on Gerdt, whose junior season ended when she tore the ACL and meniscus in her left knee during a Duneland Athletic Conference game against, coincidentally, Chesterton on Dec. 16, 2022. But her extra work and improved shooting made her confident as she stepped to the line. She has made 72% (59-82) this season, up from 63% last season.
“I just blocked out the noise,” Gerdt said. “I was like, ‘OK, I just have to make these.'”
Valparaiso sophomore guard Lillian Barnes, who also scored 15 points against Chesterton, recalled watching Gerdt’s endless free-throw shooting sessions while the rest of the team was practicing over the summer.
“She couldn’t run around, but she’d be at the line, on the side, just shooting free throws for the whole practice,” Barnes said. “That’s why everybody on the team has so much trust in her.”
Perhaps no one on the Valparaiso bench cheered harder for Gerdt’s free throws than Barnes, who fouled out with 5:28 left in the game.
“I was confident with Becca at the line because she’s been making her free throws the entire season,” Barnes said.
Valparaiso coach Candy Wilson, who picked up the 400th victory of her career, also believed Gerdt would deliver at crunchtime.
“She’s a senior, a captain, and she’s been doing this for a long time,” Wilson said. “I felt very confident with her at the line.”
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Gerdt actually came close to missing her second straight postseason. She suffered a sprained right ankle during Valparaiso’s regular-season finale against Morgan Township on Jan. 25.
“She was on crutches for a couple of days,” Wilson said.
Gerdt then aggravated the injury with about three minutes left on Tuesday.
“I knew I just needed a minute and I could get back in,” she said.
But Wilson may take an extra precaution or two in case she needs Gerdt to hit more crucial shots in the postseason.
“We’re going to Bubble Wrap her,” Wilson said.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.