By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – If the Indiana girls basketball world isn’t paying attention to Westfield yet, then perhaps they’d better start.
The Shamrocks are on a roll, getting their third consecutive win Saturday at The Mill in Noblesville. Westfield shrugged off an early deficit to take control in the third quarter and go on to a 53-45 Hoosier Crossroads Conference win over the Class 4A No. 9 Millers.
“Any time you can go on the road and win in our conference, it’s a great win, but I feel like today we were a solid squad across the board,” said Shamrocks coach Ginny Smith.
Noblesville started the game well, leading 11-2 as the first quarter ticked to its later stages. Reagan Wilson scored five points in that run, including a 3-pointer, and Mallory Miller also hit a 3.
Westfield answered with its first big run, which started at the 2:34 mark of the period when Olivia Robey hit a free throw. The 8-0 run stretched into the second quarter, with Gigi Eldredge scoring five points. The senior ended the first period with a basket, then added a layin to begin the second. Eldredge’s later free throw brought the ‘Rocks to within 11-10.
Westfield took its first lead midway through the second when Jadeyn Hammes drained a triple and put the Shamrocks up 13-12. Free throws from Ashlynn Shade and Miller got Noblesville back ahead, and the Millers were up 16-14 at halftime.
The Noblesville lead increased to 17-14 after Dani Mendez hit a free throw. Then Westfield’s Alyssa Crockett took over. The 6-foot-3 junior with multiple Division I college offers showed her versatility early in the third quarter, making back-to-back layins before nailing a 3-pointer. It was seven straight points for Crockett, and it put the Shamrocks up 21-17.
Westfield held the lead for most of the remainder of the game, except late in the third quarter when the Millers tied it at 27-27 when Miller made a free throw. Hammes responded with a three-point play to get the ‘Rocks ahead 30-27, and they never trailed again. Chesney Tebbe also had six points in the third, including a putback to end the quarter and give Westfield a 32-29 lead.
“We didn’t necessarily have a great offensive half the first half,” said Smith. “We shot 22 percent in the first half and we talked about it at halftime, we got to get it into the paint, got to get some high-low looks. Let’s get some high-percentage shots. Let’s build some confidence.”
The Shamrocks did just that in the third quarter, and continued that into the fourth period by scoring 21 points. Jessica Castor helped Westfield stay in front at the end by scoring seven points, including making 5 of 6 free throws. Olivia Robey did her part to ice the game by going 4-of-4 from the line.
“Our kids just came together,” said Smith. “It all came down to being able to execute a game plan and handle their defensive pressure and I felt like we did that.”
Crockett led all scorers with 15 points, while Hammes added 10 points. Crockett and Tebbe both collected eight rebounds, while Robey pulled seven. Tebbe and Robey both handed out four assists, while Crockett blocked three shots.
Shade and Miller both scored 11 points for the Millers, and Shade reached double-double status by pulling 11 rebounds. Miller made six steals and Wilson had five rebounds. Noblesville struggled from the floor, making 17 percent from field goal range.
“Overall, I didn’t really think we played poorly, I just though we didn’t execute in terms of the shooting,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “Seventeen percent’s not going to win games.”
Westfield is 1-1 in conference play and 6-3 overall. The Shamrocks will play two home games next week, hosting Brownsburg Tuesday in a makeup HCC game, then welcoming Yorktown on Wednesday.
The Millers are 2-2 in the conference and 7-3 overall. Next up for Noblesville is a Tuesday trip to Northwestern.
WESTFIELD 53, NOBLESVILLE 45
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Alyssa Crockett 6-16 1-3 15 4
Chesney Tebbe 3-5 2-2 8 3
Jessica Castor 1-4 5-6 7 3
Olivia Robey 0-2 5-6 5 3
Hailey Remaks 1-3 0-0 2 3
Jadeyn Hammes 4-7 1-1 10 1
Madi Kerrigan 0-0 0-0 0 0
Gigi Eldredge 2-5 2-5 6 3
Emmrey Collinsworth 0-0 0-0 0 0
Mikayla Rudolph 0-1 0-0 0 1
Ellie Kelleher 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 17-43 16-23 53 21
Westfield 3-point shooting (3-12) Crockett 2-5, Hammes 1-2, Tebbe 0-2, Castor 0-1, Remaks 0-1, Rudolph 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (43) Crockett 8, Tebbe 8, Robey 7, Castor 4, Eldredge 4, Remaks 3, Hammes 2, Kelleher 1, Kerrigan 1, team 5.
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Ashlynn Shade 1-8 9-10 11 1
Reagan Wilson 2-11 2-2 7 3
Mallory Miller 2-14 6-8 11 4
Brooklyn Smitherman 0-0 0-0 0 3
Emily Wood 1-6 1-2 3 4
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 2-9 0-0 6 2
Dani Mendez 1-2 5-6 7 4
Jayla Jones 0-2 0-0 0 0
Brooklyn Ely 0-2 0-0 0 0
Totals 9-54 23-28 45 21
Noblesville 3-point shooting (4-22) Shoemaker 2-6, Wilson 1-6, Miller 1-6, Ely 0-2, Jones 0-1, Shade 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (31) Shade 11, Wilson 5, Mendez 4, Miller 3, Smitherman 2, Wood 2, Shoemaker 1, team 3.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 7 7 18 21 – 53
Noblesville 11 5 13 16 – 45