Millers break century mark in home opener over Hamilton Heights

It was the first time in girls basketball history at Noblesville High School that this has taken place and it may very well not happen for a long time again. No team had ever scored 100 points in a girls game in the history of the Noblesville girls basketball program.

While it wasn't intended to happen in a 55-point blowout, it happened down the stretch in the final minute from Hamilton Heights miscues that led to Noblesville's 103 on the scoreboard when the clock hit 0:00.

The big thing about it is now that it's happened, we can get past it and look directly toward the Lebanon Tigers coming to The Mill on Tuesday, November 18!

Noblesville 103, Hamilton Heights 48 - (Friday, November 14 at The Mill)
Huskies    7     14     11     16     -     48
Millers    32    23     32     16     -    103

On Friday night at The Mill in Noblesville, the Millers were on a mission from the opening tip to make a statement to their county neighbors to the north. They did that and much more as the offense just wouldn't stop, in a good way, in a scoring flurry by the host Millers against Hamilton Heights.

The Millers sprung themselves out to a 12-0 lead in the first 75 seconds of the game before the Huskies' head coach Scott Furnung called a timeout with 6:45 left in the first quarter and his team in a big hole.

Alexis Shannon (left) propelled Noblesville offensively with 9 points in the opening quarter. Kayleigh Herron (below) sank a pair of threes and Erin Wood dropped in a trey of her own (along with 3 free throws) as they helped the Millers completely stymie Hamilton Heights after eight minutes of play, 32-7.

Noblesville only let off of the gas pedal just a little in the second quarter, still outscoring the Huskies 23-14 before the half. Shannon kept her dominance going with 12 more points to give her 21 points in just the first half of play. Her 12 just about matched Hamilton Heights 2nd quarter total of 14 and the Millers were now leading at halftime by a much bigger margin at 55-21.

Spread the wealth in the 3rd? You bet they did! Eight different Millers combined for the 32 third quarter points that Keck's crew put up and just like that, it was 87-32 and there was still another quarter to be played. The Millers also passed for 11 of their 26 assists on 14 third period field goals made, 4 of those assists were by sophomore Brooke Herron.

With a 55-point lead to start the 4th quarter, head coach Donna Keck had the freedom to put her reserves in a lot sooner than expected, getting them more varsity playing time that will help throughout the season.

Tying the Huskies 16-16 in the fourth, it was a test to see if the 2nd unit could score enough to get the Millers over the 100 point mark. When Noblesville's score reached 91, Keck was able to pull all her starters and let her bench control the remainder of the game, which went fairly well. There were some sloppy turnovers and miscues on offense that led to some Hamilton Heights points on the other end of the court.

Once Noblesville got to 97, it was easy to see that they would for sure hit 100. Freshman Emily Kiser and junior Haley Conway helped the Millers cross into triple-digits for the final tally of 103-48.

This was a game that Noblesville can celebrate until they got to practice on Saturday, where they would turn their focus to their opponent of Lebanon at home on Tuesday night.

Hamilton Heights (1-1) freshman Kayla Kirtley is getting her varsity basketball career off on the right foot and she did so by leading the visiting Huskies in scoring with 15. Caitlin Hays (9), Ashton Runner (8) and Taylor Boyd (7) all contributed for Hamilton Heights.

Noblesville (2-0) made things happen in all facets of the game. A total team effort is what it takes and what it will take for the Millers to put W's up on the scoreboard and make their presence known.

They were led again by junior Alexis Shannon with 23 points and 9 rebounds to her credit. Katelyn O'Reilly was second in scoring with 13 points on three field goals and a 7-for-7 effort at the charity stripe. Erin Wood (right) had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals to fill out her line on the stat sheet and Becca Bergman was just short of a double-double. Bergman finished with 10 points, 9 assists, 5 steals and 3 rebounds. Emily Kiser was the fifth Miller in double-digits with 11 points and also just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds.

Noblesville dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Huskies 51-14. Another astounding stat is that of Hamilton Heights' 30 turnovers, 21 were steals by the Millers. NHS also led the turnover category with 14, compare to 30 for the Huskies.

Audrey DeFoe (left) and Brooke Herron each had 7, while Kayleigh Herron (6), Haley Conway (6), Rachel Shipman (5) and Cori Cain (4) were responsible for the remaining 21 Miller points.

Noblesville will host Lebanon this coming Tuesday, November 18.

Hamilton Heights (48) - Kayla Kirtley 15, Caitlin Hays 9, Ashton Runner 8, Taylor Boyd 7, Lexi Branham 6, Amy Griffey 2, Ana Collar 1, Audrie Catron 0, Logan Wiley 0.

Noblesville (103) - Alexis Shannon 23, Katelyn O'Reilly 13, Erin Wood 11, Becca Bergman 10, Emily Kiser 11, Audrey DeFoe 7, Brooke Herron 7, Kayleigh Herron 6, Haley Conway 6, Rachel Shipman 5, Cori Cain 4, Sam Salmon 0.

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