By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – Despite a cold-shooting first half, Westfield never lost its cool.
Instead, the Shamrocks decided to heat things up in the third quarter.
Westfield hosted Class 4A No. 3 Noblesville Saturday afternoon at CSI Gymnasium, and recovered from a double-digit halftime deficit to score a 47-42 Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory over the Millers. With the win, the ‘Rocks extended their win streak to eight games.
In order to keep its streak intact, Westfield had to not only overcome the Millers, but its own shooting woes. The Shamrocks only made 16 percent of their shots in the first half.
Meanwhile, Noblesville scored the first seven points of the game and skipped out to a 16-5 lead late in the first quarter. Brooklyn Smitherman scored six points, while Ashlynn Shade made two 3-pointers for six points.
Westfield trimmed the Millers’ lead to 16-8 by the end of the first quarter, but Noblesville pushed its advantage back up to 24-11 midway through the second period. Shade hit two free throws, and Meredith Tippner hit a triple.
There were some bright spots for the Shamrocks in the first half. Hailey Remaks drained a 3 for Westfield’s first basket of the game, and Mikayla Rudolph made three straight free throws after getting fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. Both would be coming attractions for the second half.
But first, the ‘Rocks had to dig out of a 28-15 halftime deficit.
“At halftime, I could’ve done a thousand different things, probably,” said Westfield coach Ginny Smith. “Yell was not one of them. I just said, ‘Girls, it could not get any worse than this.’ I believe in my heart, there’s no way we’ll shoot 16 percent again in the second half. We’re going to make shots. We’re going to continue to defend.”
Sure enough, Westfield opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer by Olivia Robey. Meredith Tippner answered that with a basket, and Noblesville led 30-18.
After that, the Shamrocks took over, going on a 13-0 run that lasted for over half the quarter. Ellie Kelleher threw in two 3s during the run, and Remaks made another triple. Meanwhile, Alyssa Crockett contributed from the free throw line, making four foul shots, including two that gave Westfield it’s first lead of the game, 31-30 with 2:36 left in the third.
“It’s just a great boost, because we haven’t been shooting it well lately,” said Kelleher.
Smith said the difference “was just the mentality,” and that the Shamrocks mixed up their defenses. The coach also noted that once Westfield’s shots started falling, its defense began to pick up.
“If you think about it, the first half, when you’re not making shots, your defense is always in a jam, beacuse they’re coming at you downhill, right?” said Smith. “Off misses every time. But when you can make a shot, it allows you to get set and really make some adjustments and do some things. That was a big piece of it, too.”
The two teams traded free throws for the balance of the third quarter, which ended with Noblesville ahead 34-33. Dani Mendez opened the fourth with a pair of foul shots, and the Millers were up 36-33.
Emmrey Collinsworth then nailed a 3 for the ‘Rocks, and the game was tied again at 36-36. Smitherman made a floater to put Noblesville back up by two, but Crockett stepped up with back-to-back triples. Westfield now led 42-38, and the ‘Rocks would stay in front until the buzzer.
“This group of kids, they’re just resilient,” said Smith. “They just keep on keepin’ on. And that’s what they did today.”
Crockett finished the game with another double-double, this one 16 points and 10 rebounds, and also blocked two shots. Remaks collected five rebounds, while Kelleher had nine points and four steals, including the two big 3s.
“I’ve been trying to adapt,” said Kelleher of trying to score more. “Just during AAU, that’s been more of my role. Transitioning to high school, I’ve really been working on that.”
Shade scored 16 points for the Millers, while Tippner reached double-double status with 13 rebounds and 11 points. Shade had six rebounds and Kaitlyn Shoemaker dished out four assists.
“We just didn’t match their intensity in the second half,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “And Crockett’s awesome. She’s probably right now playing as well as anyone in the state. The first half, we did a pretty good job on her, the second half, she got going.”
Westfield is now 3-1 in HCC play and 11-2 overall. The Shamrocks continue conference action Tuesday at Franklin Central.
The Millers are 3-2 in the conference and also 11-2 overall. Next up for Noblesville is a Wednesday trip to the Bedford North Lawrence tournament, where the Millers play 4A No. 1 Crown Point in their first game.
WESTFIELD 47, NOBLESVILLE 42
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 0-4 0-0 0 1
Ashlynn Shade 5-11 4-4 16 4
Reagan Wilson 1-9 0-0 2 2
Meredith Tippner 5-13 0-0 11 5
Brooklyn Smitherman 4-6 0-1 8 1
Brooklyn Ely 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ava Shoemaker 0-3 3-4 3 0
Dani Mendez 0-3 2-2 2 4
Totals 15-49 9-11 42 17
Noblesville 3-point shooting (3-18) Shade 2-5, Tippner 1-4, Wilson 0-5, K. Shoemaker 0-3, A. Shoemaker 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (34) Tippner 13, Shade 6, K. Shoemaker 4, Mendez 3, Smitherman 3, A. Shoemaker 1, Wilson 1, team 3.
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Ellie Kelleher 3-6 1-3 9 0
Alyssa Crockett 3-10 8-9 16 1
Chesney Tebbe 0-0 0-0 0 0
Olivia Robey 1-7 5-10 8 2
Hailey Remaks 2-6 0-0 6 1
Emmrey Collinsworth 1-2 0-0 3 1
Kiki Loveless 0-0 2-2 2 0
Mikayla Rudolph 0-2 3-3 3 3
Totals 10-33 19-27 47 8
Westfield 3-point shooting (8-20) Crockett 2-6, Remaks 2-6, Kelleher 2-2, Robey 1-4, Collinsworth 1-1, Rudolph 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (25) Crockett 10, Remaks 5, Kelleher 2, Robey 2, Loveless 2, Collinsworth 1, Tebbe 1, team 2.
Score by Quarters
Noblesville 16 12 6 8 – 42
Westfield 8 7 18 14 – 47