By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – The Noblesville girls basketball team probably couldn’t have had a tougher assignment for its first game.
The Millers played Lawrence North Thursday at The Mill. Noblesville was able to hang with the Class 4A No. 3 Wildcats for a little over a quarter, but LN ramped up its defense in the second period, and pulled away from the Millers, eventually winning 52-32.
The first quarter was very low-scoring, and finished with the Wildcats ahead 4-2. Sophomore Jayla Smith scored four points for Lawrence North, while sophomore Emily Wood got Noblesville’s lone basket.
Senior Maddie Knight tied the game at the beginning of the second quarter with a layin. That made the score 4-4. But the Wildcats began pressing, inducing several turnovers from the Millers. That allowed LN to cruise through the rest of the period, going on a 16-3 run to take a 20-7 lead at halftime.
Smith added eight more points in the quarter, while the Millers got a free throw from Knight and another basket from Wood.
“We just turned the ball over and gave them some easy opportunities,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “And they’re so talented, you can’t do that. They struggled to score at times, but when we turn it over, it got them going, then they can set their press.
Noblesville got its offense going in the second half, but the Wildcats’ first-half lead was too much to overcome. The Millers did get some good minutes from several players, and the leader was Knight, who scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half.
“She played a great basketball game,” said Buckley. “She had a lot on her, obviously. We’re very shorthanded right now.” The coach credited Knight with leading the way for the younger players, some of whom had limited experience at the varsity level.
“She was phenomenal,” said Buckley.
Wood finished the game with six points. Junior Anna Kiser pulled 11 rebounds and also handed out four assists to go with her four points.
“We’ll get there,” said Buckley. “This was a great experience for those really young kids and when we get everybody back, we’ll be in a good situation.”
Noblesville travels to Fort Wayne Snider on Saturday.
Noblesville senior Maddie Knight scored 19 points for the Millers in their season-opening game with Lawrence North Thursday night at The Mill. (Kent Graham)
Noblesville junior Anna Kiser had 11 rebounds and four assists. (Kent Graham)