By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – Kelsey Key’s first game as the Westfield girls basketball head coach turned out to be a memorable one.
The Shamrocks opened their 2022-23 season at North Central on Tuesday, and it was a tight contest all the way through. Westfield gained the upper hand in the last minutes of the fourth quarter and was able to hang on for a 46-44 victory.
“Ultimately, it’s just fun to get out and compete with the girls,” said Key. “They’ve been working really hard. I’m most excited for them and just the program itself and just the direction that we’re going.”
Key
The ‘Rocks got a statement win for their opener, a game between two teams ranked in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association’s pre-season poll. Westfield is ranked No. 13 and the Panthers are rated No. 11, and the game was that close: Neither team led by more than five points for the entire contest.
The two squads traded the lead six times during the fourth quarter. North Central led 44-43 during the last couple minutes, but Aubrey Crockett put the Shamrocks in front for good by making a layin. Then with under a minute to go, Crockett came up big under the Panthers’ basket, grabbing a rebound from a North Central player.
“That’s huge,” said Key. “We talked about rebounding after the first quarter. We felt like we gave up way too many offensive rebounds. And we wavered throughout the rest of the game. But I would say after that first quarter break, we got a lot better.”
The Panthers played tough defense for the entire game, and used it to get a five-second call on the Shamrocks with around 16.5 seconds left. But Westfield returned the favor and got a turnover with three seconds to go, then hung on from there.
Key said there were some nerves and “butterflies in your stomach” at the beginning of the game, but her players were able to shake off those nerves by the end of the game.
“A lot of these kids haven’t played a lot of varsity games, and they haven’t started in varsity games,” said Key. “So naturally, there’s a little bit of nervousness there. I felt like by the end of it, they were just locked in. In one of our last huddles, I had to just say, ‘Just relax, just breathe.’ And they did, and they were focused.”
Despite trailing during each of the four quarters, Westfield was able to finish each period ahead. The ‘Rocks were down 12-7 late in the first, but that got erased quickly when Emmrey Collinsworth hit a 3-pointer, then Kelleher made three free throws at the end of the quarter after being fouled at the buzzer.
Westfield led 21-18 in the second period before back-to-back NC 3s put the Panthers up 24-21. But the Shamrocks answered that, as Reagan Lorenzen and Collinsworth nailed back-to-back 3s. North Central’s Trinity Archey made a floater at the halftime buzzer, but Westfield still led 27-26 at the break.
The Panthers pulled ahead 32-27 early in the third. But after a timeout, the ‘Rocks took off on an 9-0 run. Kelleher started it with a layin, Lindsey Van Dyke put in five points (a layin and a 3), and Collinsworth added a basket.
“I wanted to call a timeout before it got too far into a run,” said Key, who employed the same strategy in the first quarter when it looked like NC was about to take off on a run. She said that if the Panthers went on an eight or 10-point run, things could get out of hand quickly.
“I wanted to stop it early, so that way we could talk to our girls and get them re-focused,” said Key.
Westfield’s run gave it a 36-32 lead. A 3 from Kaitlyn Hoff and a layin by Archey put North Central ahead 37-36, but Crockett threw in a 3-pointer at the buzzer – another one – and the Shamrocks led 39-37 going into the fourth.
Kelleher scored 13 points, while Collinsworth drained three 3s on her way to 11 points. Crockett and Kiki Loveless both collected five rebounds. Kelleher dished out five assists, while Collinsworth handed out four. Westfield only had six fouls during the game.
“Free throws are one of the easiest shots in basketball, so if we can keep them off the free-throw line, that’s going to be big for us this year,” said Key. “The more that we can play defense without fouling, the more disciplined we can be on that end of the floor, the better we’re going to be.”
The Shamrocks will play their home opener Saturday afternoon against Pendleton Heights.
WESTFIELD 46, NORTH CENTRAL 44
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Ellie Kelleher 4-9 4-5 13 0
Aubrey Crockett 2-3 0-0 5 2
Emmrey Collinsworth 4-13 0-0 11 2
Kiki Loveless 1-3 1-3 3 0
Lindsey Van Dyke 3-5 0-0 7 2
Reagan Lorenzen 1-4 0-0 3 0
Maren Dee 2-4 0-0 4 0
Mia Crask 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 17-41 5-8 46 6
Score by Quarters
Westfield 13 14 12 7 – 46
North Central 12 14 11 7 – 44
Westfield 3-pointers (7-18): Collinsworth 3-8, Lorenzen 1-3, Van Dyke 1-3, Crockett 1-2, Kelleher 1-1, Dee 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (27) Crockett 5, Loveless 5, Kelleher 4, Collinsworth 2, Lorenzen 2, Van Dyke 2, Dee 2, team 5.
WESTFIELD ROSTER
Varsity
Seniors: Brittany Brown, Emmrey Collinsworth, Maren Dee.
Juniors: Ellie Kelleher, Reagan Lorenzen, Kiki Loveless, Taelyn Russell.
Sophomores: Mia Crask, Aubrey Crockett, Meg Hamilton, Sam Price, Lindsey Van Dyke.
Junior Varsity
Junior: Taelyn Russell.
Sophomores: Mia Crask, Evy Fortune, Meg Hamilton, Madeline Linville, Sam Price, Layla Six.
Freshmen: Gracie Czubik, MaKayla Hatcher, Olivia Murray, Audra Parker.
C-Team
Sophomore: Evy Fortune.
Freshmen: Arri Cooke-Dennis, Gracie Czubik, MaKayla Hatcher, Lauren Linville, Olivia Mrray, Audra Parker, Kate Roh.
WESTFIELD SCHEDULE
Nov. 5: Pendleton Heights, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 8: at Tri-West, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 12: Lawrence Central, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 18: at Fishers, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 22: at Pike, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 29: Mount Vernon, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 3: at Warsaw, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 6: Carmel, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9: Zionsville, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 13: Avon, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 17: at Noblesville, 1:30 p.m.
Dec. 20: Franklin Central, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 27-28: at Twin Lakes Invitational, times TBA
Jan. 4: Bishop Chatard, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 7: at Hamilton Heights, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 13: at Hamilton Southeastern, 6 p.m.
Jan. 14: at Indian Creek, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 20: Brownsburg, 6 p.m.
Jan. 24: Ben Davis, 7:30 p.m.