By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – Hamilton Heights made history with its Friday night girls basketball win.
The Huskies defeated Noblesville 36-29 at The Mill in front of a good-sized crowd, marking the first time Heights had beaten the Millers in girls basketball since 1984. The Huskies used hot shooting from beyond the arc to take control of the game in the third quarter.
Heights coach Keegan Cherry called the victory – the first of the year for the Huskies – “a great program win.”
“I had no idea on the significance of that, or when Hamilton Heights last beat Noblesville,” said Cherry. “Over the years, Noblesville has had a lot of great teams and obviously they’re well-coached and well-coached tonight. I couldn’t be happier of a group of girls that went out and competed and made enough winning plays and were able to get it done.”
The first half of the game was tight and saw several lead changes. Bayleigh Runner set the tone early for the Huskies, making a pair of 3-pointers that put Heights up 6-4. Maddie Knight scored two layins to get the Millers their points.
Heights led 12-9 late in the first, but Noblesville drained two 3s – one each from Knight and Sarah Etchison – to get a 15-12 advantage by the end of the period. Earlier, Mallory Johnson made the Millers’ first 3-pointer of the game.
The game slowed down in the second period, which saw the Huskies outscore Noblesville 5-2 to tie the game at 17-17 by halftime. Runner scored all five of Heights’ points, on a two-point basket and her third 3 of the game. Abby Haley’s two free throws at the 4:56 mark were the last points of the half.
Things got defensive after that, as neither team scored until the 4:41 mark of the third quarter, when Johnson hit her second downtown shot of the game. That put the Millers up 20-17. But the Huskies went crazy after that, hitting four straight 3-pointers to go up 29-20. Payton Dissett hit the first one, followed by Jillian Osswald. Then Runner sank two more 3s, giving her a total of five for the night.
The Huskies’ Lauryn Wiley hit a 3 at the beginning of the fourth quarter to put Heights up 32-22. Overall, the Huskies made eight of 14 3-point attempts in the game. Cherry pointed out that in Heights’ loss to Danville on Friday, the Huskies were just 5-of-21 beyond the arc.
“So it just goes to show you when you’re making shots that covers up a lot of things,” said Cherry. “Bayleigh Runner was a monster tonight. She was really good.”
Noblesville made four straight free throws (two each from Mallory Miller and Haley) to keep within 32-26 with 2:08 left. Abby Christiansen answered for Heights at the foul line, going 4-for-4 during the last two minutes to seal the game.
“Abby Christiansen, wow,” said Cherry. “Her athleticism. I thought she was fantastic tonight and made free throws down the stretch.”
Runner led all scorers with 19 points and pulled six rebounds. Wiley added five points and also cleared five rebounds.
“We’ve got girls now that are buying into their role,” said Cherry. “We had some that didn’t play as much tonight as had played against Brownsburg and Danville. But there wasn’t any pouting in that locker room. They were patting each other on the back. They were all equally excited about this victory tonight.”
Johnson’s three 3-pointers gave her nine points to lead the Millers. Knight finished the game with seven points and seven rebounds.
“Heights just outplayed us,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “They out-everythinged us. I thought Bayleigh Runner, she hit a couple long 3s early and just got going. We finally did a better job of taking her out of the game, other kids stepped up and hit big shots. They outrebounded us, out-hustled us. They just played really well. Definitely all credit to them.”
The Huskies are 1-2 for the season and host Guerin Catholic on Tuesday. The Millers are 2-2 and play at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Greenfield-Central.
SUPPORT FOR MEGAN BROVIAK
Friday’s girls basketball game honored Megan Broviak, a 12-year-old Noblesville girl who is battling leukemia for the second time in three years.
If you would like to help Megan and the Broviak family, you can contribute at this GoFundMe page. All of the proceeds will be sent to Megan and her mother Ann, so it can be used for their needs. There is also information on the page for drop off donations.
Hamilton Heights’ Lauryn Wiley goes up to take a shot as Noblesville’s Anna Kiser defends during the Huskies-Millers girls basketball game Friday night at The Mill. Heights won 36-29 for its first victory over Noblesville since 1984. (Kent Graham)