By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
Noblesville girls basketball fans that went up to the Husky Dome Friday night may have noticed a few “interesting combinations” for the Millers during their game with Hamilton Heights.
Those are the words of Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. Her team was dealt a blow Thursday when a starter got injured. Nevertheless, the Millers toughed out a 56-49 win over the Huskies, holding off a Heights charge in the fourth period.
Noblesville was playing without Mallory Johnson, a starter for the Millers who had playing well in their first three games.
“Mallory got hurt right at the end of practice yesterday,” said Buckley. Thus the different combinations for Noblesville. Buckley admitted that the team hadn’t worked on those new combinations, but the team persevered – “to our kid’s credit, they did a nice job for us,” said the coach.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth one. Heights led 7-4 after Bayleigh Runner hit a 3-pointer, but the Millers’ Maddie Knight answered with a 3 of her own, tying the game at 7-7.
Emily Kiser used a jumper and a free throw to get Noblesville ahead 10-7, but Runner drained a buzzer-beating shot from mid-court to tie the game at 10-all at the end of one.
The Millers opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run, with Knight adding five more points. Heights scored six unanswered points to cut Noblesville’s lead to 21-17, but the Millers got those six points right back to take a 27-17 halftime lead. Emily Kiser made two baskets, and little sister Anna Kiser made a layin.
Noblesville led by as much as 38-17 midway through the third period. The Huskies made a 7-0 run to keep the game reasonable, at 38-24. Heights then slowly chipped away at the Millers’ lead in the fourth quarter, but Noblesville was able to put away the game from the free-throw line. Knight went 7-of-8 from the line in the fourth period, with Abby Haley going 4-for-4.
Knight finished the game with 18 points.
“Her and Abby really stepped up and hit big free throws for us,” said Buckley. “That was the difference in the game.”
Emily Kiser was her usual dominant self, scoring 26 points and pulling 16 rebounds. Knight also had six rebounds and four assists.
Meanwhile, three Huskies players landed in double figures. Kayla Kirtley scored 14 points, Runner totaled 13, and Ana Collar joined Kiser in the double-double club with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Collar made back-to-back putbacks in the first quarter.
“I’ve got a locker room full of great girls,” said Heights coach Keegan Cherry. “They didn’t quit. They battled to the end. The reality of it is, when you’ve got a Division I like Kiser in the middle, she’s a handful. I’m proud of them. Just a lot of little things throughout the course of the game.”
The Millers are now 3-1 for the season, and are back at The Mill tonight to host Greenfield-Central. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. Heights is 0-3, and travels to Guerin Catholic on Tuesday, also a 7:30 p.m. game.
Hamilton Heights’ Lexi Branham goes up to the basket while being guarded by Noblesville’s Olivia Morales (5), Emily Kiser (30) and Abby Haley (22) during the Huskies-Millers’ game Friday. (Kent Graham)
Maddie Knight scored 18 points for Noblesville. (Kent Graham)