By CRAIG ADKINS
From the opening tip, it was obvious that it was going to be a knockdown, drag out affair. That’s how it always is when Noblesville and Fishers get together on the hardwood.
Noblesville got the best of Fishers in the fourth quarter to notch their first HCC win and most importantly, stopped their five-game losing skid. The Millers overcame a very physical Tiger team by the count of 57-47.
Both squads seemed a little edgy in the first quarter, turning the ball over at will, until first-year Fishers head coach Lauren Vail was forced to burn her first timeout with 3:48 left in the first and her Tigers trailed 4-0.
Something must have sparked the Tigers in the huddle. Skylar Fulton swished a three to get Fishers within 4-3. From that point, the teams fed off of each other to make for quite an intense first eight minutes. Tiger Sophomore Tamia Perryman drove the lane and banked a layup up and over the rim with seconds left in the quarter to knot the score at 7-7 after one.
The Millers tried to push their lead once they got it back in the second quarter, but Fishers just had a relentless pursuit on defense all night long and they weren’t going to give in so easily.
Momentum shifted numerous times in the second, but it was mainly a pair of Maddie Knight treys that got Noblesville back in front 17-15 and pushed their lead to 22-15 late in the quarter. After an Emily Kiser free throw, Mallory Johnson sank a deep three from about 28-feet as the halftime buzzer sounded, giving Noblesville a 26-20 lead at the half.
Fishers came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, jumping out on an 8-0 run before the Millers came to.
Fulton drained another three from the right corner to bring it within one at 26-25 and Ali Gerka dropped in a three herself that forced Noblesville to call a timeout with 5:27 left in the third.
Along with another outstanding outing from University of Michigan signee Emily Kiser, the junior tandem of Johnson and Knight were huge sparkplugs for the Millers exactly when they needed to be.
As if the second quarter didn’t have enough intensity, the third had six of the game’s eight ties to keep the crowd at The Mill on the edge of their seats all night.
Johnson knocked down another three to tie it at 32. Gerka tied it at 34. After a Kiser layup, Kennedi London tied the game at 36. Cierra Tolbert put Fishers up 38-36, but Kiser again tied it at 38 on an offensive rebound putback. Maddie Knight was fouled while shooting as the third period buzzer sounded. Knight made both free throws and the Millers took a 40-38 lead into the fourth.
On a night when the physicality of Fishers would test Emily Kiser to the limits, she did what she could to rise to the occasion. The 6’3 senior all-state candidate just simply made things happen for Noblesvile in the final quarter, scoring in clutch situations and making things that much tougher for the Tigers to come back.
The Millers started off the fourth on a quick 6-2 run, thanks to head’s up play from sophomore Abby Haley, assisting on consecutive buckets by Kiser and Madison Whetro, pushing the Noblesville lead to 44-38.
The lead grew even more when Johnson drilled another three from downtown pushing the lead to nine at 51-42, forcing Vail and the Tigers to call a timeout with 3:48 remaining.
“I’ve gotta give a lot of credit to Noblesville,” said Fishers head coach Lauren Vail. “They have had a rough stretch and for those girls to remain positive and to remain together and to buy in and to come out and play the way they played tonight was impressive,” Vail continued on Noblesville’s play on Friday night.
A pair of Whetro free throws gave the Millers their first double-digit lead of the night at 53-42. Noblesville would wind up with their first HCC win of the season with a 57-47 win Friday night.
“They had kids step up and obviously you know Kiser is a very good basketball player, but when you have other kids knocking down three’s, that makes them tough to beat,” said Fishers head coach Lauren Vail after her team’s loss at Noblesville.
Hungry for their first conference victory, the Millers were gave the Tigers all they had. With eight ties and a total of five lead changes, it was inevitable that one of these two were going to find a way to get the best of the other and push away for the win, but it was a battle to the end before the Millers could push away for the win.
“Fishers is really good and Lauren has done an absolutely phenomenal job,” said Noblesville head coach Donna Buckley complimenting Vail on the 7-4 start in her first year at Fishers.
“They’re talented and we knew when we looked at them that we knew we had to do a good job of taking Toni out of it and I thought our kids did a great job of doing that,” Buckley referring to senior guard Toni Grace of Fishers who was held to four points, all at the free throw line. Grace averaged 18.6 prior to Friday.
The Millers put an end to their five-game losing streak and got back on the positive side of things.
“All the things we struggled with against that stretch, somebody punches us and I felt like we just folded. And tonight, they came after us over and over and we had to keep answering. Like I said, I’m just really proud of our fight and toughness tonight,” said Buckley on her team’s grit in Friday’s win.
Fishers (7-4, 1-2 HCC) was led in scoring by junior Skylar Fulton with 14, including four three-pointers. Ali Gerka added 8, all in the third and Kennedi London with seven.
The Tigers host Pendleton Heights (6-5) next on Thursday, Dec. 14.
Noblesville (5-6, 1-3 HCC) notched their first conference win and were led by a monster night from Emily Kiser, who netted 24 points and hauled in 21 rebounds (10 offensive). Maddie Knight joined her in double-figures, while Mallory Johnson added nine and Madison Whetro chipped in eight.
The Millers will host Anderson (5-5) on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at The Mill.
Noblesville’s Emily Kiser (30) shoots the ball while being guarded by Fishers’ Lydia Stullken (32), Skylar Fulton (15) and Lauren Emmerson (5). (Kent Graham)