By CRAIG ADKINS
NOBLESVILLE – Once again, the girls basketball rivalry between Westfield and Noblesville lived up to its expectations. It was the physical, gritty battle that defines them as both county and HCC rivals.
In this annual matinee matchup at The Mill in Noblesville on Saturday, it was a back and forth affair until Westfield found ways to get to the free throw line in the second half to pull away for a 49-32 conference win.
From the opening tip, the Millers were aiming to do anything they could to end their current losing streak.
Senior Mallory Johnson took it upon herself, scoring nine of the 11 first period points for Noblesville.
She drove through the lane for a layup on a give and go from Emily Wood. An offensive rebound from sophomore Gigi Eldredge and it was tied 2-2.
Westfield grabbed its first lead at 5-2 on a Jade Shipley three, but the Millers quickly took the edge back with two from the charity stripe and a deep three from the right wing from Johnson and Noblesville was up 7-5.
The Shamrocks went on a 4-2 run to tie it 9-9 late in the first. Johnson would net her ninth point of the quarter making a short jumper for an 11-9 lead for the hosts after one.
Right away in the second, Emily Wood dropped in her first basket to push the lead to four. It would be cut down to one at 13-12 with a Zoe Pentecost layup and free throw from Shipley.
Abby Haley made a driving layup and got fouled, converting the three-point play. The lead would extend to six to 18-12 on a Maddie Knight layup. Noblesville led again by a half dozen when Wood sank a 16-foot jumper to make it 20-14.
Eldredge would make a turnaround five-footer that made it the same identical halftime score of the boys game from Friday night, 21-16 with Noblesville in front.
“That first half, I just felt like we weren’t adjusting, we weren’t reading situations very well,” said Westfield head coach Ginny Smith on her team’s first half play that had them trailing at the half.
“They were switching everything and we would get mismatches and never take advantage of a mismatch. I’m screaming at them to take advantage of something and by the time they made that adjustment, they made an additional adjustment,” stated Smith, relieved that her team was finally able to adjust in the second half.
Immediately, Westfield got to work early on in the third, using their physical inside play to turn the tide.
Eldredge got it started and Jade Shipley followed swishing a pair at the foul line to trail 21-20.
The Shamrocks took the lead again when 6’1 freshman Alyssa Crockett took advantage of Noblesville’s interior defense, scoring the next four to make it 24-21. Crockett jump-started Westfield in the third, accounting for 10 of the 16 ‘Rocks points.
The Millers took one last lead at 25-24 in the middle of the period on two Johnson baskets.
After that, Crockett kept it rolling for the visitors, as she would confidently knock down two free throws. The momentum had completely shifted when the freshman scored on a driving layup during an 8-0 run, forcing Noblesville to burn a timeout with 1:38 left in the third.
“We had a heart-to-heart at halftime. The kids understood we needed to get it in the paint, we could really do some damage in there. In the second half we did that. Alyssa came out super aggressive in the second half and helped out a lot as well,” said Ginny Smith on Westfield’s adjustment in the second half that ultimately propelled them to victory.
Getting as many paint touches as possible in the final quarter, Westfield exhausted Noblesville physically.
The Shamrocks were able to get to the free throw line 14 times, making 11, pushing their lead throughout to eventually give them a convincing 49-32 road win in conference play.
“Their big just really took over the game,” stated Donna Buckley on Westfield’s inside game in the second half.
“They did a great job pounding it inside, finishing when they had the opportunity and on the other end, we missed free throws and layups,” said Buckley, continuing on how her team wore down late in the game.
The Westfield duo of freshman Alyssa Crockett and sophomore Gigi Eldredge became a combined force that Noblesville just didn’t have an answer to stop. The two score 14 and 13 points, respectively, almost matching the Millers’ team total.
Noblesville (3-9, 0-5 HCC) lost its seventh game in a row. It doesn’t get any easier for the Millers, as they’ll head to 3A No. 1 Northwestern (9-2) on Saturday, Dec. 22 before getting a little time off before playing Southport (3-10) in a rotating holiday tournament at the Southport Fieldhouse on Dec. 28.
The Millers’ lone scorer in double figures was Johnson with a game-high 17.
Westfield (10-4, 3-2 HCC) picked up its second win in a row. The Shamrocks will hit the road at Anderson (5-8) on Tuesday and finish up their 2018 portion of their schedule when they host Frankton (6-6) on Friday.
The Shamrocks were led by three in double digits. Crockett led Westfield with a team-high 14, Eldredge had 13 and Shipley added 10.
Westfield 49, Noblesville 32
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Gigi Eldredge 6-7 1-2 13 1
Ava Henson 0-0 1-2 1 0
Ashtin DeCraene 0-3 3-4 3 2
Alyssa Crockett 4-9 6-7 14 2
Jade Shipley 2-8 5-6 10 2
Zoe Pentecost 2-3 2-2 6 1
Olivia Robey 0-1 0-0 0 1
Karley Wininger 0-0 1-2 1 2
Regan Dimond 0-3 1-2 1 1
Jessica Castor 0-0 0-0 0 1
Ashley Black 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 14-34 20-27 49 13
Westfield 3-point shooting (1-8) Shipley 1-4, Dimond 0-2, DeCraene 0-2.
Westfield rebounds (29) Eldredge 10, Henson 6, Crockett 3, Shipley 2, Pentecost 2, Dimond 1, DeCraene 1, Black 1, team 3.
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Abby Haley 1-5 2-3 4 2
Mallory Johnson 7-16 2-2 17 4
Maddie Knight 2-9 0-0 5 2
Emily Wood 2-5 0-2 4 2
Mallory Miller 1-6 0-2 2 4
Anna Kiser 0-1 0-0 0 4
Sarah Etchison 0-2 0-0 0 1
Totals 13-44 4-9 32 19
Noblesville 3-point shooting (2-13) Knight 1-6, Johnson 1-2, Miller 0-2, Etchison 0-2, Haley 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (25) Knight 6, Kiser 5, Haley 4, Miller 3, Johnson 2, Etchison 1, Wood 1, team 3.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 9 7 16 17 – 49
Noblesville 11 10 4 7 – 32
Noblesville’s Mallory Johnson goes up for a shot while being guarded by Westfield’s Alyssa Crockett during the Millers-Shamrocks girls basketball game Saturday afternoon. Also pictured for Westfield are Ava Henson (left) and Jade Shipley. (Kent Graham)