By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Fishers junior Alycia Triplett moved in this school year from Charleston, Ill., and has gotten a crash course on what Indiana high school basketball is all about.
Triplett can also call herself a Hoosier Crossroads Conference champion, along with her Tigers teammates. Fishers sprinted to the HCC title on Saturday at the Tiger Den, overwhelming Avon 72-35 for the outright championship.
The Tigers, ranked No. 8 in the Class 4A ICGSA poll and No. 10 in the IBCA one-class poll, are 6-0 in the conference and still have one more game HCC game to play, against Franklin Central on Friday, which will also be their regular-season finale.
“I didn’t think being a conference champ was a huge deal, because back in my state, it was just like a common thing,” said Triplett. “When we were in the locker room, we poured water on our coach, it was just a whole celebration, so it was just a whole eye-opener and seeing how competitive and a great accomplishment it is.”
Once she had dried off, Fishers coach Lauren Votaw took some time to reflect on what it means to win an HCC championship.
“It feels great, especially for my coaching staff and these players, because they’ve just worked so hard,” said Votaw. “My staff in the preparation for each of these games, because winning the conference is hard. We have one of the toughest conferences, if not the toughest conference in the state. That means you have to go out seven times and compete. We have six of seven done, and I just feel like our kids have done a really good job of staying focused in those times.”
The Tigers got their offense going very quickly, although the Orioles didn’t make it totally easy. Fishers led 26-16 after one quarter, with Olivia Smith scoring 10 points. Five other Tigers players scored, with Hailey Smith adding five points and Triplett four.
“Today was a game where we knew Avon had some weapons and we knew we had to come out from the start and really set the tone, and I was very proud of the way that our kids did that early on today,” said Votaw.
With the offensive tone set, Fishers stepped up its defense in the second quarter, outscoring Avon 23-4 to take a 49-20 halftime lead. The Tigers made two runs, first a 15-0 spurt that included six points from Joirdyn Smith. The Orioles interrupted the run with a pair of free throws, but Fishers simply added seven unanswered points.
The Tigers then continued to roll in the third quarter, adding another 15 points for a 64-31 advantage at the end of the period. Triplett and Hailey Smith scored four points during that quarter. Avon never stopped battling, but Fishers’ depth proved to be too much.
Ten different Tigers scored during the game, with Triplett pouring in 14 points to lead the way.
“Moving here, I just had the mindset of I have to prove myself, because the school I originally came from, I was a starter, and I was just given the title,” said Triplett. “So it’s here, I have to fight for it and I feel like all the time that I’ve worked towards, it led up to this game.”
Triplett is also enjoying playing high school basketball in Indiana.
“It’s a lot more competitive,” said Triplett. “I feel like I needed it. It’s more up-pace, it’s more physical and they take it a lot more seriously, and I love it.”
Three other Fishers players reached double figures. Joirdyn Smith and Hailey Smith both had 12 points, while Olivia Smith contributed 10 points.
The Tigers are 16-4 overall, and will finish up the regular season on the road. Fishers plays Tuesday at Lawrence North, then heads to Franklin Central on Friday.
FISHERS 72, AVON 35
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Joirdyn Smith 5 1-1 12 1
Talia Harris 4 0-0 9 1
Alycia Triplett 7 0-4 14 3
Hailey Smith 4 4-5 12 2
Olivia Smith 5 0-3 10 2
Ava Carter 1 4-6 7 3
Morgan Roberts 1 0-0 2 0
Karina Scott 1 0-0 3 0
Julia Munkholm 0 2-2 2 0
Naveah Dickman 0 0-0 0 0
Grace Fisher 0 1-2 1 0
Allison Scheu 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 28 12-23 72 12
Score by Quarters
Avon 16 4 11 4 – 35
Fishers 26 23 15 8 – 72
Fishers 3-pointers (4) Scott 1, J. Smith 1, Carter 1, Harris 1.