In a Tuesday all-county girls basketball game, Carmel pulled away from Westfield in the fourth quarter to win 55-40 at The Rock.
The Shamrocks were in charge in the first quarter, leading 12-6 by the end of the period. Five different Westfield players scored, with Ashtin DeCraene hitting a 3-pointer. Gigi Eldredge had three points as well.
“They’re a really good team that does a lot of good things and they really came out and their defensive intensity really threw us off,” said Carmel acting coach Erin Trimpe. “I was really impressed with the defense that they played and the way that they played.”
The Greyhounds took the lead back by halftime, where they led 20-19. Reagan Hune, Sophie Bair and Bridget Dunn all had four points in the second quarter. The game continued to be close in the third period, which finished with Carmel ahead 33-29. Kate Clarke, Hune and Dunn each had a 3 in that quarter, while Jade Shipley added seven points for the ‘Rocks, including a 3-pointer.
The ‘Hounds broke away in the later stages of the fourth quarter, where they outscored Westfield 22-11. Hune scored nine points in the fourth; she led all scorers with 20 points, also collecting seven rebounds and making four steals.
“We started executing a little bit better and making them run,” said Trimpe. “A lot of our shots were layups in transition and we had preached to them to keep running and keep pushing.”
Mackenzie Wood added 10 points and also had seven rebounds. Dunn and Macy Berglund both pulled six rebounds. Dunn dished out five assists and Bair handed out four assists.
Ava Henson scored 14 points and collected five rebounds for Westfield. Shipley finished the game with nine points, while Gigi Eldredge had three blocked shots.
“We play hard,” said Shamrocks coach Ginny Smith. “We play super hard. We defend and we defend well most nights. It just boils down to if we can start to transfer some of that focus, energy and effort that we put in on the defensive end to the offensive end of the game, and until we do that, it’s going to be a struggle for us.”
Carmel is 4-5 and will return to the Eric Clark Activity Center on Friday to host Class 4A No. 8 Brownsburg on Friday. The Bulldogs are 9-2 for the season.
Westfield is 8-3 and will welcome Zionsville on Friday for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game. The Eagles are 6-3 and currently 2-0 in the conference. The ‘Rocks are 1-1 in HCC play.
Carmel 55, Westfield 40
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Kiara Gill 0-0 1-3 1 3
Kate Clarke 2-7 0-0 5 2
Reagan Hune 9-16 1-2 20 3
Mackenzie Wood 3-7 4-4 10 3
Macy Berglund 2-7 0-0 4 3
Bridget Dunn 3-6 0-0 7 2
Sophie Bair 2-2 2-2 6 2
Tally Seitz 1-2 0-0 2 0
Riley Pennington 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 22-47 8-11 55 18
Carmel 3-point shooting (3-11) Clarke 1-4, Dunn 1-2, Hune 1-2, Seitz 0-1, Wood 0-1, Berglund 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (33) Hune 7, Wood 7, Dunn 6, Berglund 6, Gill 3, Clarke 2, Bair 1, Seitz 1.
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Jade Shipley 2-8 4-6 9 3
Alyssa Crockett 0-3 3-4 3 4
Ava Henson 6-6 2-3 14 1
Ashtin DeCraene 1-9 3-6 6 2
Zoe Pentecost 0-2 0-0 0 4
Karley Wininger 1-3 0-0 2 0
Jessica Castor 1-2 0-0 2 1
Gigi Eldredge 1-7 2-4 4 2
Jordan Hillis 0-0 0-0 0 0
Regan Dimond 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 12-40 14-23 40 17
Westfield 3-point shooting (2-13) DeCraene 1-6, Shipley 1-3, Crockett 0-3, Pentecost 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (21) Henson 5, Crockett 3, Eldredge 3, Shipley 2, Pentecost 2, DeCraene 1, Castor 1, team 4.
Score by Quarters
Carmel 6 14 13 22 – 55
Westfield 12 7 10 11 – 40
Carmel’s Mackenzie Wood (33) runs to the basket while being guarded by Westfield’s Jessica Castor during the Greyhounds-Shamrocks basketball game Tuesday at The Rock. Carmel won 55-40. (Richie Hall)