By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – If there were any doubts that the Noblesville girls basketball team was ready to start the season, they were gone within the first two minutes of the Millers’ Thursday season-opener at Lawrence North.
During those first couple minutes, Noblesville’s Ashlynn Shade scored 11 points. It was an incredible start for the Millers, who went on to an 81-56 victory over the Wildcats, the second year in a row that Noblesville opened its season with a win.
“I was so pumped to come out here first game,” said Shade. The 5-10 junior, who is entertaining college choices from all across the country, made her first five baskets in scoring those first 11 points. That was part of a 19-2 run for the Millers, with Shade scoring all 19 of those points, including three 3-pointers.
“Obviously I wasn’t expecting that at all,” said Shade. But Shade said that she “found my rhythm really fast at the beginning of the game,” and credited her teammates with helping her out by getting her the ball.
“They helped contribute to my success and I tried to help contribute to their success,” said Shade. “We were all just super pumped up.”
“On opening night, you never know what you’re going to get. Nerves and everything,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. No, the coach was not expecting such a hot start either, “but it was pretty awesome to see,” she said.
Buckley said the Millers’ defense got them going, they were able to make quick baskets, and then “Ashlynn just played out of her mind,” said Buckley. “She got going to the rim and then hit 3s. Her teammates did a great job of finding her. And then everybody just settled in and we made a lot of plays. It was fun. Obviously anytime you come to Lawrence North and do that, that’s pretty awesome.”
The Wildcats went on a 7-0 run during the later part of the quarter to get within 19-9, but Noblesville responded with a 13-0 run that went well into the second period. Junior Brooklyn Smitherman finished the first period by making two layins, then Shade opened the second with a layin.
Other Millers got into the act as well. Sophomore Reagan Wilson nailed a 3, then freshman Meredith Tippner scored her first-ever basket with a floater. Sophomore Ava Shoemaker made a jumper to put Noblesville up 32-9.
“We rotated eight kids and all eight kids played extremely well,” said Buckley. “They gave us great minutes. That’s huge. You can’t just be one kid or two kids. We got to have eight kids and we had that tonight.”
Noblesville kept its lead around 20 points for the remainder of the game, holding a 45-24 advantage at halftime. Lawrence North did get it below 20 with a basket at the beginning of the third quarter, but that sparked an 8-0 run from the Millers. Junior Kaitlyn Shoemaker and Wilson both hit 3s, then Wilson added a jump shot.
Shade said the Millers “had to come out and we had to establish ourselves,” so they could see where the team was at the beginning of the season.
“It was just a great experience for all of us,” said Shade. “We’re all pumped up. That’s how we wanted to come out and that’s how we wanted to start our season off strong.”
That pattern repeated itself as the third period moved into the fourth. The Wildcats ended the third quarter on a 6-0 run to stay within 62-43. Noblesville then went on a 12-2 run to begin the fourth; Ava Shoemaker started things off with another 3-pointer.
“I thought that Ava did a great job coming in and making some shots,” said Buckley. “She’s a versatile kid. We play her all over the place on offense and defense.”
Buckley said she challenged Shoemaker, having a talk with her and saying she wanted Shoemaker to be more aggressive.
“And she did that and I thought she was really good,” said Buckley.
Shade finished the game with 33 points, while Wilson scored 14 and Tippner had 13, including an 8-of-11 performance from the free-throw line. As a team, Noblesville hit nine 3-pointers.
Noblesville is off until next Friday, Nov. 12, when it hosts Hamilton Heights for its home opener. It will also be the Millers’ “Community Night at The Mill,” where they will celebrate past, present and future teams in honor of Noblesville’s 1000th game. Noblesville program alumni will get into the game for free.
NOBLESVILLE 81, LAWRENCE NORTH 56
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 2 0-0 6 3
Ashlynn Shade 14 0-0 33 1
Reagan Wilson 6 0-0 14 1
Meredith Tippner 2 8-11 13 1
Brooklyn Smitherman 3 0-0 6 1
Brooklyn Ely 0 0-0 0 1
Dani Mendez 0 0-0 0 5
Ava Shoemaker 4 0-0 9 2
Marit McLaughlin 0 0-0 0 0
Aubrey Novinger 0 0-0 0 0
Kate Rollins 0 0-0 0 0
Carly Motz 0 0-0 0 0
Bri Gray 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 31 8-11 81 15
Score by Quarters
Noblesville 23 22 17 19 – 81
Lawrence North 9 15 19 13 – 56
Noblesville 3-pointers (9) Shade 3, K. Shoemaker 2, Wilson 2, A. Shoemaker 1, Tippner 1.