By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – Practice makes perfect, especially if it involves foul shots.
That came into focus during the fourth quarter of the Fishers-Westfield Class 4A Sectional 8 girls basketball semi-final Friday night at the Shamrocks’ CSI Gymnasium. The Tigers’ Talia Harris went to the free-throw line 10 times during the game’s final 2 minutes and 24 seconds, and she made all 10 of her shots.
Those free throws helped No. 7 Fishers clinch a 46-35 victory over No. 6 Westfield, and sent the Tigers to tonight’s championship game. Fishers will play No. 5 Noblesville, who beat Carmel 57-48 in Friday’s second semi-final (see story, page 10).
Harris said she shoots “a bunch of free throws when we’re practicing,” so she was ready when it was time for her moment.
“I’m always confident in myself, so no matter what, I think I’m going to hit it,” said Harris. “In my head, I was saying I’m going to hit these.”
Fishers used a solid defensive effort to advance to the championship. That first meant getting out of a tight first quarter, which the Tigers did with a 10-9 lead. Olivia Smith scored five points for Fishers; both she and Harris made a 3-pointer. Chesney Tebbe scored four points for the Shamrocks.
The Tigers then clamped down on defense in the second period, outscoring Westfield 10-3 for a 20-12 halftime lead. Fishers opened the quarter on a 6-0 run, with Joirdyn Smith, Olivia Smith and Hailey Smith all scoring during that spurt.
The ‘Rocks got back-to-back layins from Hailey Remaks and Olivia Robey to start the third quarter, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 20-16. Hailey Smith got Fishers back in front by seven with a three-point play, but Westfield kept chipping away at the lead. Free throws from Emmrey Collinsworth and Alyssa Crockett got the ‘Rocks within 25-22 at the end of the third quarter.
“We knew that they would come out strong and we knew that we had to come out and try to match their intensity, and they did,” said Fishers coach Lauren Votaw. “Crockett really started to try to take over, and we knew that that was a possibility. She’s obviously very talented.”
Crockett started to get going in the fourth quarter, as she made a layin, then a putback to get Westfield within three again, at 29-26 with 5:07 left. Neither team would score for the next two minutes, but then Fishers would make a momentum-changing play.
Harris stepped up to the line for two free throws. She made the first one, but missed the second one. No worries: Alycia Triplett grabbed the rebound, then the ball was sent to Joirdyn Smith, who nailed a 3. The Tigers were back up by seven at 33-26.
“We have plenty of guards that can handle the basketball,” said Votaw. “It’s just about understanding our positioning and things like that. And I thought as the game went on we did a better job of being in the right position, making the right passes, meeting our passes, just remaining poised.”
Fishers led 35-30 with 2:24 left, then went on a 7-0 run. Harris went to the line three times during that span, and made 6 of 6 shots. Westfield fought to the end, with Crockett scoring five points in the last 50 seconds, but Harris went 4 of 4 from the line to finish the game.
“Talia Harris was excellent,” said Votaw. “And I liked her aggressiveness going towards the rim. I think in the third quarter especially, she really pushed it towards the rim.”
Westfield coach Ginny Smith said the Tigers are “a really good basketball team” and “they just find ways to get stuff done. They come up with 50-50 balls. Every deflection we get, they still come back up with that basketball. They hit free throws down the stretch.”
Harris scored 17 points, followed by Hailey Smith with 12 and Olivia Smith with 10. Harris also led the rebounds with eight, while Triplett collected six and Olivia Smith pulled five. Joirdyn Smith made four steals for the Tigers, who are now 20-4 for the season.
Crockett, headed to the University of Michigan in the fall, finished her high school career with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. She was one of five seniors on the team, along with Tebbe, Mikayla Rudolph, Robey and Remaks.
“It just wasn’t in the cards for us, but I wouldn’t change a single thing about this season with these kids, the moments we had, the time that we had together,” said Smith, whose team finished 18-5. “The chemistry was good. They’re enjoyable. They liked each other. They came every day with a smile on their face. They made coaching fun. It was a great season.”
FISHERS 46, WESTFIELD 35
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Alyssa Crockett 6-11 5-6 18 3
Chesney Tebbe 2-5 0-0 4 2
Mikayla Rudolph 1-2 0-1 3 2
Olivia Robey 1-12 0-0 2 4
Hailey Remaks 1-3 0-0 2 3
Aubrey Crockett 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ellie Kelleher 1-3 0-0 2 1
Emmrey Collinsworth 0-2 4-4 4 5
Totals 12-38 9-11 35 20
Westfield 3-point shooting (2-20) Al. Crockett 1-3, Rudolph 1-2, Robey 0-8, Collinsworth 0-2, Tebbe 0-2, Remaks 0-2, Kelleher 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (21) Al. Crockett 10, Tebbe 3, Kelleher 2, Rudolph 2, Collinsworth 1, Robey 1, Remaks 1, team 1.
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Joirdyn Smith 2-8 0-0 5 2
Talia Harris 2-5 12-14 17 1
Alycia Triplett 1-3 0-0 2 3
Hailey Smith 5-11 2-3 12 4
Olivia Smith 4-4 1-3 10 2
Morgan Roberts 0-0 0-0 0 0
Kate Thomas 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ava Carter 0-1 0-0 0 0
Totals 14-32 15-20 46 12
Fishers 3-point shooting (3-10) J. Smith 1-4, Harris 1-2, O. Smith 1-1, Carter 0-1, Triplett 0-1, H. Smith 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (26) Harris 8, Triplett 6, O. Smith 5, H. Smith 4, J. Smith 1, team 2.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 9 3 10 13 – 35
Fishers 10 10 5 21 – 46