By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – The Noblesville girls basketball team has been dealing with injuries and illness this season, but the Millers are doing the best with what they have.
In fact, Noblesville had one of the better wins of its season Wednesday at The Mill. The Millers rode a near-record shooting performance from senior Mallory Johnson and balanced scoring and offense from the entire team to a 75-61 win over Pendleton Heights. Noblesville shot 52 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers as a team.
“We just played really well tonight,” said Millers coach Donna Buckley. “We shot well.”
Buckley said her team played “really good basketball” on the offensive side, and did what it needed to do defensively, which was impressive considering Noblesville only had seven players available. The Millers suffered another loss when Abby Haley became unavailable this week due to illness.
But, Noblesville persevered, with Johnson playing a huge role. She scored 30 points for the Millers, and made seven 3-pointers, just one away from Rachel Shipman’s record.
“She shot the ball extremely well tonight,” said Buckley.
“There’s always things to improve on,” said Johnson. “I think I could’ve done a better job just taking care of the ball. But I shot pretty well. I was one 3 away from tying the record.”
Noblesville led 17-11 after the first quarter, with Johnson scoring eight points and fellow senior Maddie Knight adding five. The Arabians got as close as 27-22 in the second period before the Millers went on a 9-1 run to end the half. Johnson hit two more 3s; her second 3 put Noblesville up 36-23 at the break.
The run continued in the second half. Emily Wood helped out with six points, then Sarah Etchison got hot, making two 3-pointers in the third quarter. Both would finish the game with 11 points.
“Sarah is just that kid, she’s capable of putting up big numbers,” said Buckley. “She’s a great shooter and did a nice job tonight. And our kids did a great job of finding her, too. Woody has really come along this year. She’s playing really well, giving us that post presence offensively.”
The Arabians tried to make a comeback in the second half after getting down by as much as 57-34 late in the third quarter, but Buckley credited her team with being able to fend off the Arabians.
“Twelve is as close as they got,” said Buckley. “Mallory hit a big 3, Maddie made a big play. Those kids just made plays that, again, when you’re trying to come back, those daggers just make it harder and harder to come back.”
Knight helped out with two baskets, one that ended the third quarter and another to start the fourth. Pendleton got to within 12 three times, but each time, a Noblesville senior made a big basket: Johnson made 3s when the Arabians got within 64-52 and 68-56; then Knight hit a layin when Pendleton got within 71-59 effectively clinched the win for the Millers.
Johnson was aware that she and Knight needed to provide senior leadership for Noblesville.
“We just feel the need that we need to just carry the team for the rest of the season since we’re down to seven,” said Johnson.
Knight finished the game with 20 points and handed out seven assists. The Millers had 23 team assists, with Johnson dishing out six and Anna Kiser handing out four. Knight also collected nine rebounds, with Johnson and Kiser each getting six.
“I thought Anna rebounded really well tonight and did a great job on the boards to really just be visible and tough, and we definitely needed that inside,” said Buckley.
Noblesville is 8-13 and has one more regular season game: The Millers host Bluffton tonight in a 7:30 p.m. start.
Noblesville 75, Pendleton Heights 61
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Mallory Johnson 10-19 3-3 30 3
Maddie Knight 7-13 5-5 20 4
Mallory Miller 0-1 0-0 0 4
Anna Kiser 1-1 1-2 3 3
Emily Wood 5-8 1-2 11 2
Makenna Mundy 0-0 0-0 0 0
Sarah Etchison 3-8 2-2 11 2
Totals 26-50 12-14 75 18
Score by Quarters
Pendleton Heights 13 10 22 16 – 61
Noblesville 19 17 26 13 – 75
Noblesville 3-point shooting (11-24) Johnson 7-12, Etchison 3-7, Knight 1-4, Miller 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (33) Knight 9, Johnson 6, Kiser 6, Wood 4, Etchison 2, Miller 1, team 5.
Noblesville’s Mallory Johnson scored 30 points for the Millers during their win over Pendleton Heights Wednesday at The Mill. (Kent Graham)