From one point behind, Millers prevail in Hall of Fame Classic
By RICHIE HALL
NEW CASTLE – In a game full of wild plays and crazy-fast runs, six seconds was enough time for the Millers to make one more.
Noblesville was down by one point to Bedford North Lawrence in the championship game of the girls Hall of Fame Classic Thursday at New Castle. The Millers had the ball out of a timeout. Noblesville’s Reagan Wilson rushed down the floor, one end to the other, got to the basket and laid the ball in while being fouled with 0.8 seconds left in double overtime.
Now, Noblesville was ahead. Wilson then made the free throw, then stole the inbound pass as time ran out. With that, the Millers were the Hall of Fame Classic champions, 69-67, over the Stars.
“The play was written up, and it was like ‘(Meredith) Tippner, throw it in to Reagan and see what happens,’” said Wilson. “Our team had worked so hard for this win and I wasn’t going to let them down.”
“It’s a player making great plays,” said Tippner.
“I kept reminding her, you have six seconds,” said Millers coach Donna Buckley. “That’s a lot of time. Keep the ball in your hands. She just made a great play.”
Everyone on the Noblesville team had to make great plays to win the game, and that’s what everybody did. The Millers had beaten BNL just last week at the Stars’ own tournament, so both teams were indeed pumped up.
Noblesville led 12-9 after the first quarter, with Tippner scoring the first seven points. BNL’s Karsyn Norman tied the game with a 3-pointer, then the Millers went on a 6-0 run for an 18-12 advantage. Wilson made two layins, then Tippner hit a jumper.
Another Wilson basket put Noblesville up 20-15, but the Stars finished the half on an 8-0 run, giving them a 23-20 halftime lead. Mallory Pride scored four of those points for BNL.
Noblesville’s Reagan Wilson, shown here in the semi-final game, scored the game-winning basket with 0.8 seconds left in double overtime to send the Millers to a 69-67 championship win at the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle.
Wilson and Meredith Tippner were named to the All-Tournament team. (Kent Graham)
The second half opened with Brooklyn Ely draining a 3 to tie the game at 23-23. Norman made a layin to push the Stars up 25-23, but Noblesville answered with an 8-0 run. Wilson scored, then Ely and Kaitlyn Shoemaker both hit triples.
Ava Shoemaker was back on the floor for the Millers, and she made her presence known early with a first-quarter 3. She also hit a layin with around two minutes to go in the third to give Noblesville its largest lead at 35-27.
“That’s what makes this group really special,” said Buckley. “We have a lot of kids. The last time we played them, Brooklyn didn’t score. She got a lot of looks and just didn’t capitalize, but she certainly did that tonight, hit some big, big 3s.”
Noblesville’s Brooklyn Ely made three 3-pointers during the championship game. (Kent Graham)
But the Stars came back, scoring the next eight points, and the game was tied at 35-35 going into the fourth. Chloe Spreen scored five points, she would be named the tournament MVP once the game was (finally) done.
During the fourth quarter and both overtimes, each team would make a spurt of five or six points, but the other team would come back. Case in point: Bedford North Lawrence led 47-42 after a Spreen triple, but Kaitlyn Shoemaker answered that with a 3, and Tippner tied the game with a layin.
“We see this every game and with the strength of the schedule, we have the other coaches say, ‘Hey, what’s your easy game?’ We don’t have an easy game. Every game comes down to the wire like this, so I think Buckley has prepared us so well for this,” said Wilson.
“Yes, and with the tournament last year, we played in championship games every single day,” said Tippner. “She’s prepared us. We’re a team that’s going to fight together until the end.”
Wilson and Tippner were both named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the game.
Noblesville trailed 51-49 late in the quarter, but Wilson hit a floater, and regulation ended at 51-51. In the first overtime, the Stars scored the first six points for a 57-51 advantage, but the Millers went on a 7-1 run to tie it up again. Ely and Wilson both drained 3s.
It was Noblesville’s turn to go up fast in the second overtime. Tippner’s and-1 and two Dani Mendez free throws put the Millers ahead 63-58. The Stars answered that with a 3 by Emma Brown and a Norman floater. There were four different lead changes in the final 36.5 seconds, with Wilson making sure Noblesville came out on top.
Tippner finished the game with 23 points, with Wilson scoring 20 and Kaitlyn Shoemaker 10. Tippner and Mendez both collected 15 rebounds, with Tippner also handing out five assists. Wilson had five steals and four assists as well.
In their semi-final game, the Millers beat East Central 62-37. The Trojans had Noblesville down 18-10 after one quarter, but the Millers blasted through the middle periods, outscoring East Central 43-8. As a result, Noblesville led 30-20 at halftime and 53-26 after three quarters.
Tippner scored 18 points, one of three Millers in double figures. Kaitlyn Shoemaker nailed five 3s for 17 points, while Wilson scored 10 points. Tippner led the rebounds with nine, followed by Wilson with five.
Mendez and Wilson both made five steals, Wilson and Kaitlyn Shoemaker each dished out four assists, and Ava Shoemaker had four blocked shots.
Noblesville is 13-3 and hosts Ben Davis on Tuesday.
NOBLESVILLE 62, EAST CENTRAL 37
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 6-9 0-0 17 2
Brooklyn Ely 2-3 0-0 6 0
Reagan Wilson 5-13 0-0 10 0
Meredith Tippner 8-19 2-3 18 3
Dani Mendez 0-1 0-0 0 2
Ava Shoemaker 2-5 0-0 4 1
C.C. Quigley 2-3 1-2 5 2
Kate Rollins 1-3 0-2 2 1
Aubrey Novinger 0-0 0-0 0 0
Carly Motz 0-0 0-0 0 0
Bri Gray 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 26-56 3-7 62 11
Score by Quarters
Noblesville 10 20 23 9 – 62
East Central 18 2 6 11 – 37
Noblesville 3-point shooting (7-21) K. Shoemaker 5-8, Ely 2-3, Tippner 0-4, Wilson 0-3, A. Shoemaker 0-2, Rollins 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (29) Tippner 9, Wilson 5, A. Shoemaker 3, Quigley 3, Mendez 2, K. Shoemaker 2, Motz 1, Gray 1, team 3.
NOBLESVILLE 69, BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE 67
(double overtime)
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 3-6 1-2 10 5
Brooklyn Ely 3-5 0-0 9 1
Reagan Wilson 9-16 1-2 20 3
Meredith Tippner 8-17 7-9 23 2
Dani Mendez 0-11 2-2 2 3
Ava Shoemaker 2-5 0-0 5 4
Kate Rollins 0-1 0-0 0 1
C.C. Quigley 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 25-61 11-15 69 19
Score by Quarters
Bedford NL 9 14 12 16 7 9 – 67
Noblesville 12 8 15 16 7 11 – 69
Noblesville 3-point shooting (8-21) Ely 3-5, K. Shoemaker 3-4, Wilson 1-4, A. Shoemaker 1-3, Tippner 0-4, Rollins 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (39) Tippner 15, Mendez 15, Wilson 4, K. Shoemaker 2, A. Shoemaker 2, team 1.