By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – The Noblesville girls basketball team dropped its first game of the season on Saturday, falling to Homestead 55-47 at The Mill.
It was a contest between two teams ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A: The Spartans are No. 9 and the Millers are No. 10. The first quarter of the game was close, with Homestead leading 9-7 by the end of the period. Brooklyn Smitherman scored five points for Noblesville, while Spartans star Ayanna Patterson had all nine of her team’s points.
Jayla Jones opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, giving the Millers a 10-9 advantage. But Homestead took over after that, going on an 11-2 run that took up almost the entire quarter. Ashlynn Shade was the only other player able to score during that run, breaking it up with a basket off a steal.
Shade would later end the Spartans’ run at the last second of the half, making a free throw with 1.3 seconds left. Still, Homestead led 20-13 at the break.
“Honestly, I thought we just were mentally not very tough in the first half,” said Millers coach Donna Buckley. “We missed a couple layups. We missed some opportunities and then we just settled for 3s. We weren’t hitting shots, so I thought it carried over to the defensive side where we just let it spiral.”
The Spartans continued to roll in the third quarter, opening that period up with a 14-3 run. Alison Stephens scored seven points for Homestead during that run. The Spartans led 37-18 with 1:31 left in the period, but Noblesville cut it to 37-23 by the end of the quarter. Jones scored off a Shade steal, then Shade nailed a 3.
Those baskets were the first portion of a 12-0 Millers run that continued during the first minute of the fourth period. Shade and Kaitlyn Shoemaker each got baskets, and Jones drained her second triple of the game.
“We finally hit a couple shots and then our defense suddenly picked up, and obviously we were right back in it,” said Buckley. “We got to play mentally tougher than what we did tonight and play through stretches where we’re not hitting shots and just be better about that, and not settle for 3s.”
Patterson took over the game at that point, going on a personal 10-3 run that got Homestead back up 47-33, then Maggie Keinsley’s free throw pushed the Spartans’ lead up to 48-33. Shade was the only player able to interrupt the run, making a 3-pointer.
Noblesville made one last furious push, embarking on a 14-4 run to get within 51-47 with less than a minute left. Reagan Wilson scored the first five points; both she and Shoemaker made 3s. A Shade jumper got the Millers within four, but Homestead allowed them no closer, scoring the game’s final four points.
Shade finished with 20 points, seven assists and seven steals. Wilson and Jones both added eight points. With several of Noblesville’s players unable to play at the moment, the Millers have asked others to step up, including Jones.
“She’s done a great job coming off the bench for us and giving us a real lift,” said Buckley.
Smitherman collected nine rebounds, while Wilson had four.
Noblesville is 3-1 and hosts Carmel on Tuesday.
HOMESTEAD 55, NOBLESVILLE 47
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 2-7 0-0 5 5
Ashlynn Shade 8-24 1-2 20 3
Reagan Wilson 3-9 0-0 8 4
Mallory Miller 0-3 2-2 2 4
Brooklyn Smitherman 2-7 0-0 4 4
Jayla Jones 3-7 0-0 8 2
Brooklyn Ely 0-1 0-0 0 0
Totals 18-58 3-4 47 22
Score by Quarters
Homestead 9 11 17 18 – 55
Noblesville 7 6 10 24 – 47
Noblesville 3-point shooting (8-32) Shade 3-12, Wilson 2-7, Jones 2-5, Shoemaker 1-5, Miller 0-2, Ely 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (27) Smitherman 9, Wilson 4, Shoemaker 3, Shade 3, Jones 2, Miller 2, team 4.