By RICHIE HALL
The road to the semi-state for the Noblesville girls basketball team has been filled with familiar opponents.
The Millers played all three of their sectional opponents in the regular season, as well as Homestead in the regional semi-finals. Fort Wayne Snider, the team Noblesville beat in the regional championship game, is the only opponent the Millers didn’t see prior to the tournament.
Noblesville will get another team it played in the regular-season when the Millers travel to Logansport’s Berry Bowl on Saturday for the Class 4A north semi-state. Fifth-ranked Noblesville will take on No. 4 Crown Point, the defending 4A champion at 7 p.m. for a ticket to the state finals.
The two teams met each other earlier in the season at another neutral site, as they played in the semi-finals of the Bedford North Lawrence tournament on Dec. 22. The Millers won that game 57-32, using a box and 1 defense to keep the Bulldogs on their heels for the entire game.
MORE PREPARED
“Crown Point will be more prepared for a box and 1 defense,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “I think we caught them off guard last time.”
The Bulldogs will be led by senior Jessica Carrothers, the reigning Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year. Carrothers, an IUPUI recruit, is averaging 21.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.7 steals per game. Another senior to look out for is Lilly Stoddard, who is headed to Purdue. She contributes 11.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
“Whatever defense we play, we have to know where their two best players are at all times, especially Carrothers,” said Buckley. “She can flat out score. She had 42 in the regional championship game.”
Crown Point defeated Lake Central 59-38 to win the La Porte regional, this after beating Penn 47-42 in the semi-finals. The Bulldogs, who are 24-3 for the season, hosted Sectional 2, breezing past Portage 71-25 in the first round and Lowell 92-31 in the semi-finals before edging out Merrillville 50-48 to win the title, their fourth sectional championship in a row.
The Millers had to win three tough games to triumph at the Westfield sectional, beating Zionsville 62-46 in the first round, Carmel 57-48 in the semi-finals and No. 7 Fishers 54-48 in the championship. That led Noblesville to the Marion regional, where it won easily, beating No. 1 Homestead 61-40 in the semis and No. 10 Snider 78-63 in the championship.
Junior Ashlynn Shade, a Connecticut commit, leads almost all the statistical categories for the Millers, at 20.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.6 steals per game. Sophomore Reagan Wilson is tied with Shade for first in the assist list, also with 4.2 per game, and is scoring 9.9 points per contest. Freshman Meredith Tippner adds 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds, while junior Kaitlyn Shoemaker scores 9.3 points per game.
Noblesville had a large crowd cheering the team on at Marion, and another big crowd is expected at Logansport as well to support the 23-4 Millers.
“The community has been amazing every step of the way,” said Buckley. “The sectional was packed, and the regional crowd was awesome. We most definitely appreciate all of the support from our amazing community. Noblesville loves sports, and everyone here does a great job of bringing that excitement to the games. Our team is absolutely enjoying the moment. We are so thankful to have the community behind us throughout. Noblesville is a very special place, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to represent it at the semi-state.”
NEW OPPONENT
University will also be trying for a semi-state championship on Saturday. The Trailblazers will travel to Jasper for the Class 2A south semi-state to take on a team they’ve never played before: Forest Park.
Sixth-ranked University and the No. 8 Rangers will tip off at 4 p.m. Forest Park is 24-3 for the season, beginning its tournament run by hosting Sectional 48. The Rangers defeated South Spencer 54-43 in the first round, Evansville Mater Dei 37-26 in the semi-finals and Southridge 42-24 in the championship.
That sent Forest Park to Crawford County, and the Rangers triumphed there to claim their first regional title since 2000. Forest Park won two close games, defeating Eastern Pekin 50-46 in the semi-finals and North Knox 46-39 in the championship, improving its record to 24-3.
Junior Amber Tretter led the Rangers in both games, delivering double-doubles each time. She had 23 points and 11 rebounds in the semi-final, then provided 18 points and 12 rebounds in the championship. Carley Begle added 16 points in the final, while Ali Welp threw in several 3-pointers.
“I believe their balance is what really makes them who they are,” said University coach Justin Blanding. “They get contributions from everyone on their roster. They are a tough match up. We just have to be who we are and stick it.”
Blanding said Forest Park has some “special players” and acknowledged it will be a difficult task, but “we will be ready. They are long and strong at every position and very blue collar. Their kids work hard and want to win.”
The Trailblazers began the post-season by winning the Western Boone sectional, defeating Cascade 63-51 in the first round, Covenant Christian 61-29 in the semi-finals and Park Tudor 41-28 in the championship. (Cascade and Forest Park are tied for eighth in the 2A rankings.) At the Southmont regional, the ‘Blazers cruised past Union County 59-24 in the semis and North Putnam 64-38 in the championship.
Junior Payton Seay is University’s leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, followed by senior Patty Chikamba with 13.9 points and junior Jessica DuBois at 13.0 points. All three lead the rebounds as well: DuBois is averaging 7.8 per contest, followed by Chikamba with 6.3 and Seay with 6.2. Chikamba also contributes 4.8 steals and 3.4 assists per game.
University is 23-4, compiling that record against a difficult schedule. The Trailblazers have taken on 4A teams such as Cathedral and Lawrence Central, as well as 10 3A teams, meaning that 12 of their 22 regular-season games are against teams from higher classes.
“We wanted to schedule like this in order to prepare the best we could,” said Blanding. “We had some tough stretches. The last few weeks of the season we were playing three games a week. One stretch we had Ritter, Tri-West, and Tipton then drew Cascade in the first round of the sectional. We put a lot of miles on the kids but it has worked out well.
“All coaches at some point wonder if their team peaked when you struggle,” said Blanding. “We dropped two tough games in a row and everyone was in panic mode.” Still, Blanding pointed out that University was “in those games and had chances to win them.”
“I think that gave them a lot of confidence and they got stronger going into the tournament,” said Blanding. “Our experience also kicked in and they rallied behind one another.”