After an extended break, the Noblesville girls basketball team returned to the floor Tuesday with a home game at The Mill against Mount Vernon.
The Millers, ranked No. 4 in the IBCA Class 4A poll and No. 6 in the ICGSA one-class poll, cruised past Mount Vernon 64-30. Noblesville outscored the Marauders in all four quarters, steadily increasing its lead as the game progressed.
“We had an 11-day layoff, so I wasn’t sure what we were going to look like,” said Millers coach Donna Buckley. The coach was concerned that her team might have been a little out of shape by the second half. But Noblesville powered through that half, outscoring Mount Vernon 36-13.
“It was great to see our kids come out and continue to play well in the second half, even though I’m sure they were a little fatigued and fight through that and have mental toughness.”
The Millers led 12-8 after the first quarter, with Ashlynn Shade pouring in 10 of those points, including two 3-pointers. Noblesville extended its lead to 28-17 by halftime, with Shade scoring eight more points.
The Millers ramped up their defense even more in the third quarter, outscoring the Marauders 19-6. Noblesville opened the period with a 7-0 run, then after back-to-back baskets by Mount Vernon, went on an 8-0 run. Five different players scored during that run, with Brooklyn Smitherman totaling four points. Reagan Wilson and Ava Shoemaker both hit 3s.
Wilson drained another 3 before the end of the quarter, at which time the Millers led 47-23. Noblesville then sprinted to the finish line, with Shade making four more 3s in that period, and Wilson hitting one.
Shade finished the game with seven triples on her way to 34 points, reached double-double status by collecting 11 rebounds and also dished out five assists. Wilson had three 3s, scored 11 points overall and handed out nine assists.
Smitherman had seven rebounds and two blocked shots, while Meredith Tippner collected five rebounds.
The Millers are 15-3 for the season and travel to Zionsville on Friday for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game, the first part of a girls-boys doubleheader. The girls game starts at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow.
NOBLESVILLE 64,MOUNT VERNON 30
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 1-7 1-2 3 0
Ashlynn Shade 12-20 3-4 34 3
Reagan Wilson 4-9 0-0 11 0
Meredith Tippner 3-10 1-2 7 1
Brooklyn Smitherman 3-4 0-0 6 2
Brooklyn Ely 0-2 0-0 0 0
Ava Shoemaker 1-4 0-0 3 3
Dani Mendez 0-1 0-0 0 1
Carly Motz 0-0 0-0 0 0
Aubrey Novinger 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 24-57 5-8 64 10
Score by Quarters
Mount Vernon 8 9 6 7 – 30
Noblesville 12 16 19 17 – 64
Noblesville 3-point shooting (11-23) Shade 7-10, Wilson 3-5, A. Shoemaker 1-1, K. Shoemaker 0-5, Ely 0-1, Tippner 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (34) Shade 11, Smitherman 7, Tippner 5, K. Shoemaker 4, A. Shoemaker 2, Wilson 2, team 3.