By CRAIG ADKINS
Noblesville got themselves off on the right foot with an early lead, but it didn’t last long on Saturday afternoon at The Mill, as North Central had a veteran trio help propel them to a 66-45 matinee win over the Millers.
The Class 4A third-rated Panthers surely proved their ranking and did so in convincing fashion, but they knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
The Millers jumped out to 4-2 on two Maddie Knight free throws and an Olivia Morales put-back basket, but junior all-state candidate Rikki Harris and senior Savaya Brockington combined for 15 of the 18 North Central first quarter points that would put Noblesville in a hole that they couldn’t quite get themselves out of.
The Panthers went on a 13-0 run before the Millers were able to wake up from the speedy style that North Central brought to the table, trailing 18-6.
Noblesville head coach Donna Buckley was forced to call her first timeout with 2:36 left the in the first, looks for answers in how to stop the Panther attack.
“They’re obviously good. You can appreciate their skill set and their talent. I mean, they made some shots that, like I said, all three of those kids, pull-up jumpers, they just make it look easy,” said Donna Buckley on the talent of North Central as a whole, but mainly the trio of Harris, Brockington and Stallings.
The Millers made a pretty good push in the latter portion of the second quarter.
Emily Kiser drained a three from the top of the key with 2:23 in the half, Abby Haley sank a pair of free throws and Mallory Johnson also knocked down two from the charity stripe to get the deficit under 10 points. Another four in a row from Kiser closed the gap to seven before Rikki Harris made a driving layup from the left baseline for a 31-22 Panthers lead at halftime.
Morales started the third off with two to again narrow the deficit to seven at 31-24, but that only ignited a fire in the Panthers.
North Central then vaulted off on a 21-6 run for the rest of the third to take a commanding 52-30 advantage into the final frame. In the final seconds of the third, Ajah Stallings showed her athleticism with a steal on the defensive end of the floor, spinning one-handed in front of the Noblesville bench and finishing off at the opposite end with a euro step before putting a layup off the glass and in.
“It’s hard to be mad at your kids when they’re quick and you’re making them shoot it semi-contested from the free throw line and they’re euro-stepping on you and it’s hard to defend that. There are reasons why they have aspirations of winning a state title,” said Buckley as she complimented North Central’s speed and quickness that made it difficult for the Millers.
The keys were the three-headed monster of Harris, Brockington and Stallings that just simply made it look easy.
Mallory Johnson (eight) and Emily Kiser (five) helped the Millers outscore North Central in the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough.
“You can’t say enough about senior leadership of Ajah Stallings, Savaya Brockington, our point guard, she’s made a tremendous amount of improvement over the summer and just playing extremely well for us,” said North Central head coach Dee Ann Ramey on the Panthers’ guard play.
“Then, Rikki Harris, she might have had a double-double; she is just a phenomenal player. With those three, we’ve got a good core and we’re trying to get a lot of players a lot of minutes. Later on when we hit the tournament, it’s going to be a strength,” said Ramey on her team’s depth that will play a big role as the season moves on.
The Panthers put together the whole package on Saturday at Noblesville winning going away, eventually cruising to a 66-45 road win.
North Central (7-0) keeps its season perfect and will start Marion County Tournament play on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at home vs. Southport (2-7) at 7 p.m.
Harris lead all scorers with a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. Brockington had a solid afternoon with 19 points, while Stallings chipped in with 11.
Noblesville (4-6) dropped its fifth straight game and will try to get its first HCC win of the season when they host Fishers (7-3) on Friday, Dec. 8 at The Mill.
The Millers were led by Kiser with a team-high 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Johnson added 10 points, eight in the fourth, and six rebounds, while Knight had eight. They were able to connect on 20-of-23 at the foul line and out rebounded North Central 32-31 in the loss.
