The future appears to be now for the Noblesville girls basketball team.
The Millers have a solid mix of seniors and underclassmen on their roster for the 2020-21 season. That includes six sophomores, one of whom is Noblesville’s top returning scorer from the previous year.
The Millers were 10-13 last season. After a rough start, Noblesville began to turn things around in the middle part of the season. Beginning with their second game at the Southport tournament, the Millers won six of their next eight games, including the final three of their regular season. Noblesville fell to Hamilton Southeastern in the sectional.
“I am excited for the season,” said Millers coach Donna Buckley. “We have a good group of kids. We are going to continue to work on getting better on both ends of the floor.”
The Noblesville player everyone will be watching is sophomore Ashlynn Shade. The 5-9 guard was a star for the Millers right out of the gate, and finished the season with 20.5 points per game. Shade did it all, also averaging 6.7 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 2.3 assists per contest.
Also back are two good seniors. Mallory Miller, a 5-6 guard, helped out with 9.7 points per game last season, in addition to 2.6 steals, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists. Emily Wood, a 5-10 forward, contributed 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Three more seniors are also back for Noblesville, all of whom have varsity experience: Emery Denison, Jayla Jones and Makenna Mundy.
The sophomore class also features four additional players who got plenty of varsity time last year. Dani Mendez, a 5-9 forward, established herself as a solid rebounder during her freshman season. Other returnees that got varsity playing time as freshmen are 5-4 guard Brooklyn Ely, 5-2 guard Kaitlyn Shoemaker and 6-3 forward Brooklyn Smitherman.
Carly Motz, a 5-8 forward, played all junior varsity last season; she will swing between varsity and JV this year. Two freshmen are also on the varsity list: Reagan Wilson, a 5-6 guard, will start her career at varsity, while 5-8 forward Ava Shoemaker will switch between JV and varsity.
“I think we have a lot of potential,” said Buckley. “We must be consistent in our effort on defense and on rebounding if we are going to be successful.”
The Millers will get a chance to test themselves right away. After hosting Ben Davis Thursday in a scrimmage, Noblesville will welcome Lawrence North, the defending Class 4A state champion, to The Mill next Thursday, Nov. 5 for its first game of the season.
Noblesville roster
VARSITY
Seniors: Emery Denison, Jayla Jones, Mallory Miller, Makenna Mundy, Emily Wood.
Sophomores: Brooklyn Ely, Dani Mendez, Carly Motz, Ashlynn Shade, Kaitlyn Shoemaker, Brooklyn Smitherman.
Freshmen: Ava Shoemaker, Reagan Wilson.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Juniors: Kailee Moore, Mary Porter.
Sophomores: Emma Gutknecht, Carly Motz, Aubrey Novinger.
Freshmen: Maddie Hiatt, Riley Hodge, Jocelyn Love, Ava Shoemaker, Josie Williams.
C TEAM
Sophomores: Anna Fernandez, Brooke Goff.
Freshmen: Dana Behlmer, Riley Hodges, Jocelyn Love, Marwa Marzouk, Maya Narsinghani, Josie Williams.
Noblesville schedule
Nov. 5: Lawrence North, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 13: Hamilton Heights, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20: at Brownsburg, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 21: Homestead, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 24: Carmel, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28: Avon, 12:30 p.m.
Dec. 2: Hamilton Southeastern, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 5: Mishawaka Marian, 1:30 p.m.
Dec. 11: at Fishers, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 15: at Anderson, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 19: Westfield, 1:30 p.m.
Dec. 22: at Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 30: at Greensburg Holiday Tournament, 10 a.m.
Jan. 2: at Martinsville, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 9: at Lawrence Central, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 12: at Mount Vernon, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 15: Zionsville, 6 p.m.
Jan. 19: at Harrison, 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 23: Franklin Central, 12:30 p.m.
Jan. 27: Pendleton Heights, 7:30 p.m.