By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – The Noblesville girls basketball team rode the momentum from last Saturday’s two-point win at Avon right into their home opener Tuesday night against Bishop Chatard.
After a first quarter that saw five ties and two lead changes, the Millers stormed out to a 22-point halftime advantage on the way to holding off the visiting Trojans, 69-59.
From the opening tip, it turned into The Ally Hutchinson Show in the first quarter. The senior two-year starter scored 13 points in the first, knocking down five field goals, three of those were swishes from outside the arc.
“She was phenomenal, honestly,” said Noblesville’s 18th-year head coach Donna Buckley. “She hit a big shot when they [Chatard] were kind of making a run. She was on fire tonight.”
Hutchinson had that extremely poised look about her and it was obvious that she had the green light from her coaches to shoot.
“I’m so happy for her. She’s struggled with an injury and finally has gotten really healthy and you can see that in her. She didn’t play in our scrimmage,” Buckley said.
Hutchinson struggled in the opener at Avon last weekend, making just two of her 14 attempts for seven points. Some of those shots were close, but just didn’t fall. The story was that much different at The Mill last night.
“At Avon, she was right on the rim. I joked with her that if any of those shots start to go and you get in a rhythm, you would have had 20 or 25 the other night. And here she is tonight, all over it,” Buckley added.
The Trojans scored first, but C.C. Quigley got fouled on a made layup for the 3-2 lead.
The score would be tied at 5-5 and 8-8 before Chatard grabbed an 11-8 edge on an Alyx Kendall trey.
Hutchinson brought it to 11-10 on a pull-up jumper. Two Maia Blower free throws made it 12-11 Noblesville with 2:09 in the frame.
Chatard went in front again 13-12, but another pair of triples from Hutchinson had the Millers up 18-15 after one.
Noblesville was able to stretch their lead out in the second. The Millers started the quarter on a 13-0 run, thanks to another eight from Hutchinson and five from Quigley for a 31-15 score.
The Millers outscored the Trojans 28-9 in the second and the half couldn’t have ended any better either.
Freshman Nelani Render took a pass and streaked up the court, floating a shot just inside the three-point line and banked the long two just before the buzzer for the 46-24 halftime margin.
“Their first two games, they hadn’t played teams with the athleticism that we have. For us, we opened with Avon and scrimmaged Ben Davis,” Buckley said. “Speed is part of what we do. Our boys practice squad is fast and they’re huge. For us, speed doesn’t bother us when we see it.”
Speed seemed to be bothersome to the Trojans until Chatard decided to make it interesting in the latter part of the third and most of the fourth.
The lead stayed up over 20 and then the Trojans took advantage of situations and outscored Noblesville 17-11 in the third.
The visitors also won the fourth 18-12, but it wasn’t enough as the home-standing Millers held on for the 10-point win.
“It’s hard to adjust to. Blower’s speed is hard for most people to adjust to,” Buckley said. “She blew by them and created opportunities to drive and kick, pass and cut. That kid creates so many things.”
Bishop Chatard (2-1) visits Gibson Southern on Saturday (0-2).
Freshman Briley Morelli led Chatard with 20 points. The other Trojan in double-figures was Alyx Kendall with 11.
Hutchinson led with a career-high 31 points, shooting 12 of 24, including five of 10 from long-range. She also grabbed five rebounds and had two steals.
Quigley had a quiet 21 points and seven boards, making 6-for-6 at the foul line. Blower had 12 and six assists.
Noblesville (2-0) hosts Hamilton Heights (1-0) on Friday.
