By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The Fishers girls basketball team got two things out of its 72-60 win over Avon Saturday afternoon at the Tiger Den.
First, it was the Class 4A No. 4 Tigers’ Senior Day, always a reason to want to win. Secondly, Fishers clinched at least a share of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship with this victory. The Tigers are 6-0 in HCC play, with one more game to go, Friday at Franklin Central. Before that, Fishers will play at Lawrence North on Tuesday.
“We got two more games,” said Fishers coach Lauren Votaw. “First up is LN on Tuesday, so trying to stay focused for them. And then of course the conference game next Friday. I’m still just loving coaching this team and very proud for them that they earned themselves at least a piece of that title tonight.”
The Orioles scored the first basket of the game, but it was all Tigers after that. Katie Burton scored Fishers’ first seven points, then Olivia Smith made a layin to get the Tigers up 9-2. Fishers continued to roll through the quarter, which finished with a Burton jumper to give the Tigers a 22-12 lead after one.
Fishers embarked on a 8-0 run early in the second period. Burton and senior Tamia Perryman made back-to-back 3-pointers, then senior Lydia Stullken finished it with a layin. Avon hit a pair of 3s late in the quarter, but the Tigers held a 38-25 lead at halftime.
“We knew that they had the size advantage, but we thought that we had the speed and the depth advantage, so we really wanted to make sure that we took care of that initially,” said Votaw. “I was really proud of our kids and the way that they took care of the basketball while still pushing the pace. That’s something that we’ve worked on and so I was really proud of that today.”
Another Orioles 3-pointer cut Fishers’ lead to 10 to start the second half. The Tigers responded with a 10-0 run to go up 48-28. Perryman made consecutive layins to get the lead up to 20 points, then answered an Avon basket with one of her own, giving Fishers a 50-30 advantage.
Senior Kaitlynn Feagan hit a 3-pointer late in the third to push the Tigers ahead 60-36. Early in the fourth quarter, Fishers used a 6-0 run to get its biggest lead of the game, 67-40; Hailey Smith finished the run with a layin. Avon tried to make a comeback in the final six minutes of the game, but the Tigers’ lead was too much to overcome.
Burton led Fishers with 25 points and also collected seven rebounds. Perryman scored 16 points and handed out four assists, while Hailey Smith added 10 points. Stullken pulled six rebounds and Audra Emmerson dished out nine assists.
The Tigers are 19-1 overall.
FISHERS 72, AVON 60
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Audra Emmerson 0-1 2-2 2 3
Kaitlynn Feagan 1-2 4-6 7 1
Tamia Perryman 7-9 1-3 16 1
Lydia Stullken 1-6 0-0 2 0
Katie Burton 9-17 5-6 25 2
Katie Howard 2-4 0-0 5 0
Hailey Smith 3-3 4-4 10 1
Olivia Smith 1-3 3-4 5 3
Shae Shaffer 0-0 0-0 0 0
Kaiya Walker 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 24-45 19-25 72 11
Score by Quarters
Avon 11 14 13 22 – 60
Fishers 22 16 22 12 – 72
Fishers 3-point shooting (5-14) Burton 2-6, Howard 1-3, Feagan 1-1, Perryman 1-1, Stullken 0-2, O. Smith 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (20) Burton 7, Stullken 6, O. Smith 4, Emmerson 3.
Fishers’ Tamia Perryman scored 16 points for the Tigers during their Hoosier Crossroads Conference win over Avon Saturday at the Tiger Den. (Kirk Green)
Lydia Stullken collected six rebounds for the Tigers. (Kirk Green)