By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – Tuesday night, Noblesville and Harrison, a pair of former Hoosier Crossroads Conference foes, met up at The Mill. The Millers hadn’t played on their home floor in 35 days.
The last 14 games in the series have been won by Noblesville and this game was no different. A dominating second half sent the Millers to their eighth win of the season with a 47-32 win over the Harrison Raiders.
Harrison struck first with a three from Allison McColley. Noblesville’s first offensive set resulted in the same as Maia Blower took a pass from Devyn Johnson and swished a right wing triple to tie it 3-3.
C.C. Quigley made a basket and pair of free throws to make it 7-3. But, the Raiders scored on two straight possessions for the second tie at 7-7.
The two sides traded scoring the rest of the quarter. Harrison grabbed a 12-11 lead late, but Ally Hutchinson hit a shot in the final seconds of the first for the 13-12 lead.
“We fell in love with shooting the three. And we’re not shooting at a high percentage, so I’m not sure why we love it so much,” said Noblesville head coach Donna Buckley.
The momentum shifted in the second again. Harrison’s Sadey Ringler sank a three from the top of the key to go up 15-13. Blower stole a pass and laid it up on a fast break, tying it 15-15.
Ringler hit another three for 18-15, but Hutchinson answered right back with a right corner trey for the fourth knot at 18-18. A couple of turnovers helped the Raiders’ Aleah Szymanski score the final five points, edging the hosts 23-18 at halftime.
The second half was a different story. The Millers came out with authority and it was all about getting the ball inside to wear down the Raider defense.
Quigley went on a 9-0 run to begin the third and Noblesville outscored the Raiders 18-2. Hutchinson scored the next four and Aleah Magee grabbed an offensive rebound and scored for a double-digit lead of 34-23 and were up 36-25 heading to the fourth.
“In the second half, we got the ball inside,” Buckley said. “We did a much better job getting the ball in and I think we only took six threes total in the second half. Paint touches are good. We scored and played harder on defense and life is so much better.”
Rebounding and getting the ball inside definitely wore Harrison’s defense down and they were forced into 25 turnovers on the night.
“Ally is one of those kids who had to play the post, because C.C. was out and so she was able to get inside a couple of times and score. Once she got going, she stepped out and hit a three,” Buckley added.
Hutchinson made three of her four two-point field goals inside the paint and then was able to get open three times on the perimeter.
Her final three made it a 15-point advantage, which would wind up as the winning margin.
Quigley led all with team-high 19 and nine rebounds. Hutchinson netted 17 and six boards, while Blower added six points and snagged seven rebounds.
“Those two seniors did a great job, especially leading us offensively in that second half, making sure the ball went inside,” Buckley continued.
Noblesville (8-9, 2-4 HCC) will play their final home game on Saturday when Franklin Central (10-9, 3-2 HCC) comes to The Mill for an afternoon game.
