By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – Senior Day is a game to celebrate the program’s seniors that have given everything they’ve got to contribute during their time. Noblesville’s girls did that Saturday, Dec. 6, honoring three players and a student manager.
Despite two Crispus Attucks sharp-shooters each knocking down five three-pointers, the Millers were able to overcome the Tigers’ outside shooting for a 61-51 win.
The game got off to a quirky start. Attucks was issued an administrative technical for their undershirts not being the same color as its road jerseys. So, C.C. Quigley shot two free throws, making one, for a 1-0 score.
Attucks also scored at the foul line for their first point. That would be one of four ties in the first.
The big constant in the first was Ally Hutchinson. The 5’10 senior scored nine of four field goals, but it would be sophomore Norah Vetor’s basket in the final seconds to give the Millers a 14-13 lead after one.
“The Banks kids are really fast. Those kids can fill it up when they get going,” said Noblesville head coach Donna Buckley. “We didn’t do a good job dealing with their speed. I thought we were a little sluggish at the start. We kept fouling and reaching, instead of moving our feet.”
The Tigers kept clawing at the Millers. Naomi Moses opened the second with a left corner three to take a 16-14 lead. Noblesville regained the advantage back at the other end on a Vetor trey.
Attucks then had a 9-2 run to lead 25-19. Then, Noblesville took its turn with a 9-0 flurry. Six of those came from Aleah Magee off the bench.
“We were in some foul trouble, so we were trying to figure out what we could get into,” Buckley said. “We couldn’t run our 1-3-1, so we tried a little box-and-one, a little 3-2, throwing in some different things. I think that threw them off a little bit.”
Crispus Attucks just wouldn’t go away. The Millers would cling to a 30-29 lead at halftime.
The Tigers began the third with a three from Sevan Walls, but Vetor took a pass from Maia Blower to tie it 32-32. That started an 8-0 spurt that included two Ellie Motz baskets, a Quigley layup and another Vetor jumper to go up 40-32.
The Millers kept the momentum going, outscoring Attucks 8-3 to lead 48-42 through three.
“They kept fighting and we kept missing free throws and easy opportunities to extend the lead and gave them life,” added Buckley. “They’ve got range as soon as you cross half court, they can score. If you don’t put them away, they can get themselves back into it real fast.”
That’s exactly what Attucks did. Just into the fourth, Moses sank her fifth from outside, cutting it to 50-45.
Slowly, but surely, the remainder of the game belonged to Noblesville.
Vetor made her third from outside for a double-digit lead (55-45), but the home crowd erupted when Devyn Johnson swished a three from the left wing for the Millers’ largest lead of the game of 58-45.
After that, Noblesville would hold off the feisty, worn out Tigers for the 10-point win.
Noblesville survived a subpar shooting day overall. They were 32 percent (23 of 71) from the floor, including just 6-for-31 (19 percent) from long range. The more glaring statistic was going 9-of-23 (39 percent) from the free throw line.
The Millers won the rebounding battle by an astounding 58 (24 offensive) to 36. They forced 11 Attucks turnovers, nine of those being steals.
“We finally were able to put them away, but all of that rebounding just gave us extra possessions and opportunities,” Buckley said. “That was truly the difference in the game.”
Quigley won’t forget this Senior Day. The Lipscomb commit scored a team-high 16 points, grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds (nine offensive) and blocked five shots. Fellow senior Ally Hutchinson had 15 with six rebounds, two assists and four steals. Norah Vetor had a double-double with a career-high 15 and 10 boards.
Noblesville (5-3, 1-1 HCC) next hosts Fishers (6-4, 0-2 HCC) on Dec. 11.
