4A #1 Lawrence North 72, 4A #14 Noblesville 51 (at Lawrence North)
Millers 16 8 14 13 -- 51
Wildcats 16 22 19 15 -- 72
It was pretty obvious right away that Noblesville was not intimidated one bit that they were playing the #1 team in the state of Indiana in their second to last regular season game on Thursday, February 6. The Millers held their own, for the most part, but Lawrence North's speed and finesse (at times) would get the best of Noblesville and the host Wildcats held true to their #1 ranking with a 72-51 victory, halting the Millers' 7-game winning streak.
Noblesville caught Lawrence North slightly off guard to start the game. Keeping it at a back-and-forth, chess match sort of pace in the first half of the first quarter, the Millers found ways to agitate the Wildcats.
With 4:10 left in the 1st, LN's lead was cut to 8-7 with two Erin Wood free throws. Quickly back down to the other end of the court, University of Cincinnati signee Ana Owens knocked down a trey for an 11-7 Lawrence North edge.
After an Alexis Shannon basket, Wood got a pass from Kayleigh Herron to tie it at 11. Owens and Jordan Hankins scored the next 5 for a five-point cushion, 16-11. The Millers jetted back down and worked on their inside-out game, with Katelyn O'Reilly dishing out to Brooke Herron for a three to trail just 16-14. Then, after a steal, the younger Herron (Brooke) laid the ball off the glass and just like that, it was tied at the end of the first, 16-16.
Jade Wilson broke the tie to start the quarter and it was then knotted at 18-18, as O'Reilly took a Wood pass off the board and in. The next Wildcat trip down the court would make things a little easier for 2nd year head coach Chris Giffin. Owens nailed a long two for a 20-18 Lawrence North lead, which was one they wouldn't give up the rest of the night.
Toward the latter portion of the 2nd quarter, LN went on a 10-0 run to take a 38-24 lead into the halftime locker room. But, there was a little controversy as the 2nd quarter buzzer sounded.
Alexis Shannon was fouled as time expired heading into halftime. The official near the Noblesville bench granted the foul call against Lawrence North. That gave Shannon the free throw line by herself to shoot one and possibly the bonus. The controversy of the play is that every Lawrence North Wildcat had already jogged to their locker room. Noblesville's bench stayed put, per the request of the coaching staff. LN's coaching staff stood and watched as Alexis missed her free throw, sending the game to halftime.
What the Noblesville staff, team and fans were up in arms about was the fact that Lawrence North's team was not even present on their sideline during this Shannon free throw attempt, as Keck's Millers were. To be honest, everyone thought that if the opponent left the floor, there would be a technical foul assessed to the Wildcats. With officials not even willing to talk to Noblesville coaches, the Millers retreated to the locker room, end the half.
Coming back out in the third quarter, it became a matter of who would turn the ball over less. Lawrence North was able to force Noblesville into 9 third period turnovers, while the Wildcats committed just 5. What also helped LN tremendously was starting out the 3rd on an 8-0 run, to jump out to their biggest lead of the night at 46-24. Scoring spurts by the duo of O'Reilly and Shannon combined for 12 of the Millers' 14 points in the third to trail 57-38.
Lawrence North (20-1) relied on Destiny Washington to keep Noblesville at a distance in the 4th. The 5'11 senior forward scored 8 points in the final five minutes of the ball game. Junior forward Lamina Cooper led all with 18 points on six field goals and 4-5 on free throws. Ana Owens (17), Jordan Hankins (11) and Washington (10) all three managed to get themselves into double-figures on this hot shooting night for the Wildcats.
Noblesville (15-4) was able to, once again, balance out its scoring. Alexis Shannon had a team-high 14 points (7 rebounds) and freshman reserve Brooke Herron was second on the team in scoring with 10. Katelyn O'Reilly and Erin Wood each finished with 8 points apiece.
There were numerous things that Noblesville can take out of this 21-point road loss, many of which they will hopefully forget before Friday night. Also, there are some things that the Millers learned from and will use as building blocks for the remainder of their 2013-14 season and beyond.
The Millers (15-4, 6-2 HCC) quickly get back to work tomorrow night on their home floor of The Mill and host the Harrison (West Lafayette) Raiders (7-12, 3-5 HCC). It will be a Varsity only, girls/boys doubleheader with the girls starting the night off with a 6 p.m. tipoff, followed by the boys. JV will play just down the road on Field Drive at the Freshman Center, also with girls starting at 6 p.m., followed by the boys.
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