By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The last time the Noblesville girls basketball team beat Fishers in the regular season, Meredith Tippner was in fifth grade and Maia Blower was in second grade.
The Millers finally broke that streak Thursday at the Tiger Den by getting past Fishers 52-51 in a typically hard-fought Hoosier Crossroads Conference game between the two powerhouses. Noblesville took a big halftime lead, but the Tigers came back to go in front late in the third quarter.
After that, it was totally back and forth, but the Millers held on to get their first regular-season win over Fishers since Dec. 8, 2017.
“It’s been a while,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “They’ve kicked our butt. (Tigers coach) Lauren (Votaw) does such a good job and her kids were really good, and they’re strong and they rebound. We were fortunate.”
“This is an obstacle that we always face,” said Tippner, who made the game-winning basket with 10 seconds left. “They’re a great team. Votaw always gets them prepared. It’s always a tough grind. And it’s an HCC game. You want to get as many wins as you can in the regular season with that.”
Tippner was the catalyst between the Millers’ strong first half. She scored 10 points in the first quarter, which ended with Noblesville up 21-9, then poured in eight more points in the second quarter. The Millers led 31-17 with 1:59 left before halftime.
Fishers began to work its way back late in the second, keeping within 33-23 at halftime. Nevaeh Dickman showed toughness by making a layin after two rebounds.
“She’s always been an extremely hard worker, and I think that her hard work is paying off now,” said Votaw. “Her confidence, her poise and she’s just really developed those other leadership skills to go along with her basketball skills, and I think that that gives her a presence on the court that is pretty tough to stop.”
Fishers dominated the third quarter, scoring the first 13 points of the period to go ahead 36-33. Dickman started the run with a three-point play, then finished it with a triple. Tippner ended the drought with a pair of free throws, but Dickman nailed another 3, giving the Tigers their largest lead of the game at 39-35. Tippner and Quigley both made two free throws to finish out the quarter, keeping the game tied at 39-39.
“I don’t think we made a single shot in the third quarter,” said Buckley. “So just to be tied going in, I thought gave us a little bit of a chance to come out in the fourth quarter, reset. We started making some shots and that settled us back in our defense.”
Allison Scheu started the fourth with a 3-pointer for the Tigers, then Tippner and Fishers freshman Riley Schellhammer began a back-and-forth, with each player making two baskets for four points. The Tigers led 46-43 at that point.
Tippner scored off a steal to get Noblesville within one point, then the freshman Blower nailed a 3-pointer to put the Millers up 48-46. Buckley called Blower’s triple “a huge shot.”
“I love that she wants to take that shot,” said Buckley. “You’re 15 and you’re in your first time in this big rivalry, and to be like ‘Yeah, I’ll take it.’ That’s awesome. I love that.”
Triplett tied the game with a layin, then Dickman put Fishers ahead 50-48 with another layin. A Schellhammer free throw gave the Tigers a 51-48 advantage with 37.9 seconds left.
But the Millers’ defense stepped up after that. Tippner made a layin, then Noblesville got a stop and the ball back. Seconds later, Tippner scored the go-ahead basket, and the Millers held on for the win.
Buckley also credited Ellie Motz with coming into the game during the fourth quarter and getting an important steal for Noblesville.
“Young kids making plays, we’re going to have to have those kids doing that for us to be successful,” said Buckley.
Tippner finished with a double-double of 32 points and 10 rebounds, also making nine steals and two blocked shots. Quigley collected seven rebounds.
Dickman led Fishers with 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Schellhammer reached double-double status with 16 points and 10 rebounds, also making five steals. Scheu had seven rebounds, six points and five assists, with Makayla Triplett collecting five rebounds.
“I was immensely proud of our kids,” said Votaw. “We got down big early and a lot of teams would have folded. But they did not. They did not fold. They fought all the way back. They gave themselves a fighting chance right there at the end. I’m really proud of that.”
Noblesville is 2-2 in HCC play and 6-3 overall and plays at Plainfield Saturday evening. Fishers is 2-1 in the conference and 8-4 overall and plays Monday at Pendleton Heights.
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