By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The Fishers girls basketball team opened its season with a convincing win in the Tiger Den on Tuesday.
Fishers defeated Warren Central 56-36. The Tigers withstood some resistance from the Warriors in the first quarter, then clamped down on defense in the second period to run away with the game.
It appeared as if Fishers would run away with it in the opening minutes, as the Tigers ran off to an 8-0 lead. Katie Burton scored the first Fishers basket of the season: A 3-pointer. Olivia Smith followed that with two free throws, and senior Katie Howard hit a triple.
Warren came back to cut the Tigers’ lead to 8-7, and were still within 13-12 after Tionna Malone made a 3. But Fishers finished the period on a 12-3 run to lead 25-15 after one. That run was sparked by a 3-pointer from sophomore Karina Scott, one of a handful of new faces on this year’s Tigers team.
“I liked the way that our kids were able to withstand the run,” said Fishers coach Lauren Votaw. “I told them, I like walking away from a game that you’re able to win, but then you still feel like there are things that you can get better at. We know that we got to come back in tomorrow and keep working to get better. I felt like we did things well. We adjusted to their adjustments and I was proud of our kids for that.”
The Tigers were, of course, led by their veterans, including the senior Burton, who made off-season news with her commitment to St. John’s University, a Division I school in New York City that plays in the Big East. Burton took over the game at two points during the first half, scoring six straight points at the end of the first quarter, then pouring in nine consecutive points in the second period.
“Katie has worked really, really hard over this off-season to develop her game and improve the parts of her game that are already good,” said Votaw. “I was proud of the way she played and I thought she played under control. I thought she was efficient.”
Smith is a sophomore, but she can be considered a veteran: She and her twin sister Hailey Smith both played varsity as freshmen last season. Olivia helped out with five straight points (a 3-pointer and a layin) to begin the second quarter. The Tigers outscored the Warriors 18-2 in that period to take a 43-17 halftime lead.
Olivia Smith wound up with a double-double, pulling 12 rebounds to go with her 11 points. Hailey Smith had five rebounds and four assists. Both were also showing leadership, as they were vocal on the basketball court.
“A lot of times they’re playing back under the basket,” said Votaw. “They can see everything. And we’ve told them, you need to make sure you can tell everybody what you see. They’re not necessarily quiet off the court, and so getting them to talk on the court is really cool.”
Burton finished the game with 30 points, had four steals and was one of three Tigers players to make two 3-pointers. Senior Audra Emmerson and Scott both had two triples as well.
“It has been fun to see all of my kids,” said Votaw. “The unique thing about this whole COVID situation is, I went virtually four months without seeing my players. It’s so fun to see how they have matured through that time as people and how that’s translating. It’s pretty fun.”
Fishers will go on the road Saturday to play two games at the Center Grove tournament. The Tigers play Ben Davis at 10 a.m. and the host Trojans at 7:30 p.m.
FISHERS 56, WARREN CENTRAL 36
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Audra Emmerson 2-3 0-0 6 1
Katie Howard 1-6 0-0 3 0
Hailey Smith 0-1 0-2 0 3
Olivia Smith 4-8 2-2 11 3
Katie Burton 13-19 2-4 30 1
Kaiya Walker 0-2 0-0 0 1
Haley Gausepohl 0-0 0-0 0 0
Karina Scott 2-3 0-0 6 3
Emily Gausepohl 0-0 0-0 0 0
Jordan Imes 0-1 0-0 0 0
Totals 22-43 4-8 56 12
Score by Quarters
Warren Central 15 2 7 11 – 35
Fishers 25 18 3 10 – 56
Fishers 3-point shooting (8-24) Emmerson 2-7, Burton 2-4, Scott 2-3, Howard 1-6, O. Smith 1-2, Walker 0-2.
Fishers rebounds (31) O. Smith 12, H. Smith 5, Emmerson 3, Imes 3, Burton 3, Scott 2, H. Gausepohl 1, E. Gausepohl 1, Walker 1.