By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – A tough test awaited the Fishers girls basketball team when they played at the Hamilton Southeastern Shootout Saturday morning.
The Tigers, ranked No. 7 in Class 4A, took on a very tough Columbus East team. Fishers rose to the occasion, using its balance, toughness and a record-tying performance by Katie Howard to beat the Olympians 72-67.
“Columbus East is a very good basketball team,” said Tigers coach Lauren Votaw. “And match up-wise, we do not match up well with them. Their strength is inside, but they have very good guard play to go along with it. We knew coming in that it was going to be a battle and it definitely was a battle. But I was so proud of our kids for the way they fought down the stretch.”
The Olympians had Fishers down 7-4 early in the first quarter. The Tigers made their first big run at that point, scoring 13 straight points. Howard made three 3-pointers in that run, and she was just getting warmed up.
Katie Burton scored the other four points of the run, including a layin to give Fishers a 17-7 lead. Columbus East worked its way back during the remainder of the period, but the Tigers still led at the end, 23-20.
The second quarter was a series of runs by both teams. Fishers made the last run of the half, draining three straight triples for nine unanswered points. Audra Emmerson made the first one, then Howard hit back-to-back 3s. Howard also opened the second period with a 3, putting her at six and counting at halftime.
The Tigers led 37-31 at the break, and Burton scored to open the second half. She had eight points in the quarter, and that helped keep Fishers in front, even as the Olympians went on a late 6-0 run.
Howard drained two more 3s in the third quarter, then hit another pair early in the fourth. That gave her a total of 10 for the game, which ties the school record originally set by Brooke Sugg. In an interesting turn of events, while Howard was tying her record, Sugg was tying the knot: She got married on Saturday.
“On Brooke Sugg’s wedding day, her record got tied,” said Votaw.
“We know that Katie Howard can shoot the basketball,” said Votaw. “And she’s been struggling a little bit this year. She came ready to play today. She knocked the shots down and her teammates did a great job of finding her, and I thought she played within herself and didn’t force anything.”
Howard’s 10th 3-pointer put Fishers up 59-55. Columbus East made one last push, and a 3-pointer of their own gave the Olympians a 62-61 lead.
Then it was Hailey Smith’s turn. The sophomore took over the game, making three straight layins to put the Tigers up 67-62. Fishers was able to hold on from there, finishing the game from the free throw line.
“We found that we had a good match up there, and Hailey was able to attack a little bit off the dribble and went in,” said Votaw of Smith’s fourth-quarter spark. “We hit some free throws down the stretch.”
Howard made two free throws near the end of the game, which added to her 10 3-pointers gave her a career-high 32 points. Burton added 20. Hailey Smith added nine points and collected seven rebounds, while Emmerson dished out six assists.
The Tigers are 4-1 for the season. Fishers, along with host Hamilton Southeastern, was supposed to also play Terre Haute South on Saturday, but the Braves withdrew from the tournament earlier in the week. That game will be made up later in the season.
The Tigers are scheduled to host Westfield on Friday.
FISHERS 72, COLUMBUS EAST 67
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Audra Emmerson 3-6 1-2 9 3
Katie Howard 10-15 2-2 32 1
Hailey Smith 4-7 0-2 9 2
Olivia Smith 0-2 2-2 2 3
Katie Burton 8-18 4-4 20 1
Haley Gausepohl 0-2 0-0 0 0
Jordan Imes 0-2 0-0 0 1
Kaiya Walker 0-1 0-0 0 0
Emily Gausepohl 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 25-53 9-12 72 11
Score by Quarters
Fishers 23 14 16 19 – 72
Columbus East 20 11 18 18 – 67
Fishers 3-point shooting (12-22) Howard 10-13, Emmerson 2-4, Burton 0-3, H. Gausepohl 0-1, Imes 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (21) H. Smith 7, O. Smith 4, Burton 3, Emmerson 2, Walker 2, H. Gausepohl 1, Howard 1, Imes 1.