By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The Westfield girls basketball team won a hard-fought all-county game at Carmel on Tuesday.
The Shamrocks beat the Greyhounds 52-47 at the Eric Clark Activity Center. After a close first half, Carmel started the second half with a run, but Westfield responded with a run of its own that allowed it to stay in front for the entire fourth quarter.
The ‘Rocks led 14-12 after the first period. Six different players scored for Westfield, with Aubrey Crockett getting five points. Mackenzie Woods kept the ‘Hounds it with five first-quarter points.
The second quarter featured more back-and-forth, with Westfield leading 27-25 at halftime. Izzy Shepherd got going for Carmel with seven points; she was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in that period.
Shepherd got going again early in the third quarter, scoring seven points of a 10-0 spurt for the Greyhounds, including a 3-pointer. Lauren Perry made a traditional three-point play as well.
But the Shamrocks answered with a 17-0 run that took up most of the third period. Sam Price put in seven of those points, while Lindsey Van Dyke nailed a triple, then was good on an and-1.
“We called the time out, and I really felt like Sam Price could give us more there in that second half than what she was giving us,” said Westfield coach Kelsey Steele. “I got after her a little bit in that timeout and she did a great job responding. She came out in the second half and really was a big part of that 17-nothing run.”
Price gave the Shamrocks their biggest lead of the game three times. Her layin with 1:01 left in the third put Westfield ahead 44-35. Woods scored on a layin for the last basket of the quarter to cut the lead to 44-37, but Price made the first basket of the fourth, and the ‘Rocks were up 46-37.
Carmel coach Rick Risinger admitted that the swing “really hurt us. Little disappointed in that. I thought we mentally broke down and lost sight of trying to finish the game off at that point.”
Shepherd made a layin, but Price responded with a basket to give Westfield a 48-39 lead. Shepherd nailed a 3 and Perry was good on an and-1 to quickly cut the Shamrocks’ advantage to 48-45 with 3:22 left.
Perry’s two free throws made it 49-47 with 1:35 to go, but Westfield was able to hold on after that. Van Dyke drained a pair of free throws with 26.2 seconds left and added another one right before the buzzer.
“Lindsey had a great night for us tonight,” said Steele. “She made some big free throws down the stretch. Lindsey has a unique ability to get to the rim like you don’t think that she can. She plays with two speeds. But she’s just a really steady player for us and she has been for three years.”
Van Dyke finished with 15 points, while Price scored 11. Crockett made two 3-pointers on her way to eight points.
“She’s a leader for us,” said Steele. “She handles the ball under pressure. She puts us in good positions offensively, but she’s a really good passer, so she helps us a lot on that side of the ball.”
Shepherd led Carmel with 21 points, also making two 3-pointers.
“It’s a process,” said Risinger. “I think we’re getting better and better. I think there were times that we mentally broke down. When you’re playing good teams, you just can’t do that. You got to stay mentally focused and execute whatever we’re running.”
Westfield is 5-4 and hosts Zionsville Friday for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game; tip off is at 6 p.m. Carmel is 4-5 and plays Saturday at Fort Wayne Snider.
