AKRON – Perseverance has paid off for Karis Tucker.

The Tippecanoe Valley senior has signed to continue her basketball career at John Wood Community College.

Tucker, a 5-3 point guard for the Vikings, overcame a knee injury prior to her senior season. She returned from offseason surgery after missing eight games to help lead Valley to another outstanding season in 2015-16.

Tucker played in 19 games her senior season for coach Chris Kindig’s squad. She averaged 3.7 points and 1.3 assists per game as the Vikings finished 25-2 overall and won their second straight Three Rivers Conference championship, going 9-0 in league play. Valley also won its second straight Class 3-A sectional title before losing to eventual state champion Heritage Christian 72-47 in the regional final.

Tucker turned in a huge performance in Valley’s biggest conference win of the season. She came off the bench to score 19 points as the Vikings beat Class 2-A No. 1 and rival Rochester 61-51 at Rochester in late January.

Tucker had a strong junior season as the Vikings finished as Class 3-A state runner-up in 2015. She averaged 4.6 points and 1.9 assists per game as the team’s starting point guard as Valley posted a 25-3 mark, losing to Notre Dame recruit Jackie Young and Princeton 72-44 in the state championship contest. The Vikings won the program’s first regional and semistate titles in 2015.

John Wood, coached by Norman Rodriguez, is a junior college that competes in the Mid-West Athletic Conference. The Blazers, who are located in Quincy, Illinois, posted a 13-17 mark during the 2015-16 campaign.