Balance lifts 4A #9 Noblesville over Lebanon, 77-60

On a cold Tuesday night in Noblesville, it was just a week before Thanksgiving break and a little break from basketball, but that was the last thing on the mind of head coach Donna Keck and her Millers. They knew that Lebanon was looking to head east on SR 32 and take home an upset back home westward to Boone county.

It was the 21st meeting between the two programs, with the Millers leading the series 15-5. Noblesville also won last season's meeting late in the season at Lebanon, 66-46.

Tuesday night, Noblesville had an agenda and it worked to an extent. Spread the wealth, no matter who scored. It didn't matter to them that junior Kristen Spolyar netted 34 points to lead all scorers. She may have dropped 34, but the Millers knew it would be a difficult task to win at The Mill. They were right and the hosts fended off Lebanon 77-60.

4A #9 Noblesville 77, Lebanon 60 - (Tuesday, Nov. 18 at The Mill, Noblesville)
Lebanon        16     11     13     20     -     60
Noblesville    17     25     15     20     -     77

It started out like it might be a track meet and a survival of the speediest. Unfortunately for Lebanon, that would last just the first quarter and their plan would fizzle out.

The visiting Tigers would tie it up early a few times (2,6 and 8) and Noblesville at 15, but it then became a slice and dice game. By the start of the second, we figured out already who would overcome any odds in this heated game.

Lebanon took a 15-14 edge with 2:36 left in the first when their leading scorer in junior Kristen Spolyar dropped in a bucket, forcing Noblesville head coach Donna Keck to burn a :30 timeout.

Out of the timeout, Becca Bergman made 1 of 2 at the free throw line to tie it at 15-15. Next trip down the court for the Tigers resulted in a Miller foul, where Brooke Montgomery made just the front end of a 1-1 to give Lebanon a 16-15 lead with just under a minute left.

Streaky as she slashes through the lane, Alexis Shannon (right) weaved her way through the paint for a 17-16 Noblesville lead that they would take into the second quarter.

Spolyar quickly got the Tigers back ahead at 18-17, but not for long at all.

Led by Shannon and Bergman, Noblesville stormed into the lead and raced out to an 11-0 run to take a 28-18 advantage, forcing Lebanon to call another timeout.

The Millers didn't let up the rest of the night. A 14-9 run to end the first half gave Noblesville a convincing 42-27 lead through two and there was still more work to do by Keck's crew.

The third period featured two best friends, both on and off the court. Those would be none other than Alexis Shannon and Katelyn O'Reilly. Whether is was scoring, rebounding, assisting on a basket or stealing the ball, these two kept the Millers balanced in the third. They combined for 10 of the Millers' 15 points in the quarter, but also for five rebounds to help throw off Lebanon's plans for a comeback. Noblesville's lead extended just a little after three, 57-40.

Lebanon had just 8 more minute of game clock left and they were going to give it their best to put a dent in Noblesville's lead and possibly make a comeback.

Katelyn O'Reilly (left) had much to do about making sure that didn't happen, as she scored half of her points (8) in the 4th and pulled down the other half of her rebounds (5). Kayleigh Herron pitched in all 4 of her points in the fourth to help combine with O'Reilly for 12 of the 17 Miller points in the final quarter to hold on for a 77-60 victory.

Lebanon (2-1) junior guard Kristen Spolyar led all scorers with 34 points on 11-of-27 shooting and 10-for-18 from the free throw line. Spolyar also had 7 rebound and 7 assists, but turned the ball over 8 times for 1/3 of the Tigers' total of 24 miscues.

The 5'10 Spolyar was the lone double-figure scorer for the Tigers, but she got as much help as the Millers allowed. Mallory Cast was right behind her with 8, Brooke Montgomery added 7, while Kassidi Cadle and Peyton Terrill each chipped in 4 and Krista Marsh 3 to make up the Lebanon scoring.

Noblesville (3-0) was paced by a team-high 25, along with 8 rebounds (5 offensive), from junior guard Alexis Shannon. Katelyn O'Reilly notched her first double-double of her junior season with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Becca "Stats" Bergman (right) did a little bit of everything. She sure figured out how to fill out her line on the stat sheet fully. Bergman hit her fifth three-pointer of the season in 3 games, to total 10 points on the night. That's not what filled her line on the stat sheet though. The senior guard also grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and stole the ball from Lebanon 6 times (1/4 of the Tigers' turnovers).

Congratulations goes out to Becca on signing a letter of intent before the game to play basketball and continue her academic careers at Roosevelt.

Also signing her official letter of intent to continue her basketball and academic careers next year is 6'2 center Erin Wood (left). The St. Bonaventure Bonnie signee scored 6, but added 5 rebounds, 4 assist and 3 steals to her credit.

Audrey DeFoe (below right) drilled a pair of 2nd quarter treys and a basket for her 8 points, while Kayleigh Herron and Emily Kiser (8 rebounds) each scored 4. Cori Cain and Haley Conway had two each to round out the Noblesville scoring.

Noblesville's big week continues as they'll head to Brownsburg (2-0) to start Hoosier Crossroads Conference play. The Bulldogs started their season with a home-opening win over Decatur Central (62-38) and a big road win at Ben Davis (57-48).

Saturday night, the Millers welcome in the Warsaw Tigers (1-1) from the Northern Lakes Conference in northern Indiana. The Tigers opened their season with a pair of home games, defeating Huntington North (47-41) last Saturday and falling to Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (47-36). Warsaw faces Tippecanoe Valley (1-0) at The Tiger Den in Warsaw on Friday night before their Saturday night showdown with the Noblesville Millers at The Mill.

GO MILLERS!


(*all photos courtesy of Kent Graham at kentgraham.photoshelter.com)