Noblesville takes down Carmel in all-county showdown

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

NOBLESVILLE – From the opening tip, the intensity was there like it always is between the Carmel and Noblesville girls basketball teams.

There were four lead changes in the first quarter, but Noblesville found different stretches throughout to eventually widen the gap for a 61-49 win over county rival Carmel. The Millers got out to a quick start and kept up the intensity throughout to snap their two-game losing skid. The visiting Greyhounds still own the overall series 50-34, but the teams are tied in the last 12 meetings, 6-6.

The two teams exchanged the lead four times early in the first. Once C.C. Quigley took a pass down low from Meredith Tippner for a 6-5 lead, the Millers would never look back.

“I thought we got off to a pretty good start,” said Noblesville head coach Donna Buckley. “Tipp really kind of got us rolling and their kid (Izzy Shepherd) started off on fire. Definitely in the first half, those two put on a show.”

Shepherd scored eight of her team-high 23 points in the first on a pair of three-pointers and two free throws. Tippner got the best in the first, scoring 12 of her game-high 25 in the opening quarter.   

Noblesville led 23-15 after one, thanks to freshman Norah Vetor’s three from the right wing in the final seconds.

Carmel tightened up their defense in the second and closed the gap and were able to keep it close, heading into halftime trailing just 32-29.

“We started out and knew exactly what they were going to do,” said Carmel head coach Rick Risinger. “We talked about it, but unfortunately, we didn’t quite defend against it. I give credit to Noblesville. They came out with probably more intensity than we had. We got down and it’s hard to get back in, but we did get back in it.”

The Millers had a great plan coming out after halftime. On four straight offensive possessions, Kate Rollins lofted passes over the top to Quigley, who laid it up, pushing the lead to 40-29.

“We talked about it at halftime that we need to do a better job of getting everybody involved and getting that ball in the paint. C.C. got touches right away and Kate had really nice passing into her,” Buckley said on Quigley’s big third quarter.

The Greyhounds finally stopped the bleeding with a Shepherd three that cut it to 40-32. That would be the last time it was in single digits.

Noblesville frosh duo Maia Blower and Norah Vetor made consecutive triples to extend it to 46-32, forcing Carmel to burn a timeout late in the third.

The lead grew to 16 on Vetor’s third field goal in the final seconds of the period for a 50-34 advantage.

“Vetor comes in and hits some shots. They weren’t going to guard her and we talked to her about that before the game and told her it’s got to be a rhythm shot,” Buckley said.

“The second half was us settling in and getting other kids to make some plays. I thought that obviously the huge difference was C.C. and Norah Vetor in the second half. We took their kid (Shepherd) out, did a good job on her in the second half,” added Buckley.

“We kept kind of breaking down from a defensive standpoint,” added Risinger.

After Carmel freshman Madison Wallace drained a three to start the fourth, Quigley sank a couple free throws and Tippner nailed her third trey for the Millers’ largest lead of 17 at 55-38.

“Tippner’s an excellent player. She’s a go-to player that can control the game,” Risinger stated.

Quigley and Tippner scored the final two baskets for the Millers and Shepherd the last two on fast breaks for Carmel.

“Our kids all stepped up. We had several kids hit some big shots. Kate (Rollins) was awesome on Shepherd, chasing her all over the gym and making her second half frustrating,” Buckley added.

Carmel (3-3) was able to get a pair into double-figures. Izzy Shepherd had a team-high 23 and Izabella Ramsey finished with 10 off of the bench.

The Greyhounds are off until they host Lawrence North on Dec. 3.

Noblesville (3-2) was led by Meredith Tippner’s game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds. She was joined in double figures by C.C. Quigley’s career-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds. Freshmen Norah Vetor (8) and Maia Blower (6) were also key scorers. Blower and Kate Rollins also each dished out seven assists, also both career-highs.

The Millers hit the road on Saturday to face the Mount Vernon Marauders (6-1). They will be back home on Dec. 4 to face Hoosier Crossroads Conference rival Class 4A No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern.