Revenge was the biggest thing on the minds of the Carmel Greyhounds coming into Tuesday night's battle with Noblesville in the opening game of 4A Sectional 8 at Hamilton Southeastern. It was very apparent from their demeanor as they took the court.
Back on November 25th, these two met in the regular season at Carmel and the Millers were able to run up and down the court that much better than the host Greyhounds on that night to the tune of a 102-85 win. Since that game, head coach Tod Windlan posted signs all over the Carmel locker room that read, "102-85" to motivate his team throughout the rest of the regular season. They got their wish and on February 1st, the IHSAA's blind state tournament draw matched the two up again.
If it were legal to bet on high school sports, someone in Las Vegas would have been smart to bet that the score of this sectional match-up wouldn't be anywhere near the total of 187 in their November meeting.
#5 Noblesville 60, #19 Carmel 55 - (Tues. Feb. 10 at Hamilton Southeastern Sectional)
Millers 8 19 16 17 - 60
Greyhounds 16 17 7 15 - 55
From the opening tip, it looked like Carmel was fully engaged to get their revenge on their county rival Noblesville. It took a couple minutes for each team to get the jitters of being the first game out of the way.
Production from guards Amy Dilk (6), Amanda Shaw (4), two each from Abby Abel and Andi Kwasniewski off the bench, along with 6-of-8 from the foul line, helped keep the Millers at a slight distance and they Greyhounds had a 16-8 lead through one.
Katelyn O'Reilly's night started off with a bang, muscling her way to the basket for all eight of the Millers' first quarter points.
She and Alexis Shannon each put six on the board, along with an open three from Becca Bergman and rebound put-back by the birthday girl Emily Kiser in the 2nd and Noblesville had outscored the Carmel 19-17, but still trailed by six at the half.
Emily Kmec found herself open in the quarter for 10 points, including a pair of 3's from the corner that erupted the Greyhound fans and another five from freshman guard Dilk and they did their jobs offensively to give Carmel a 33-27 halftime lead.
Enter Alexis Shannon's driving baskets back into the equation. The junior standout managed another six in the 3rd, helping the Millers cut Carmel's lead to one at 37-36.
After a defensive stop at the other end, the Millers were poised to take the lead on their next possession. And they did.
It's a darn good thing that Noblesville's tall players have learned to play well around each other. Late in the 3rd, Emily Kiser grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up. The shot was missed and rebounded by Erin Wood. Her close range shot was missed and Kiser pulled the board down. This time, third time's the charm with 2:16 left on the 3rd quarter clock, Kiser's layup was good. The Millers had taken their first lead of the game at 38-37.
Carmel called a full timeout with 2:08 left in the third. If they hadn't, that would have allowed the Millers to speed up their D even more.
Out of the timeout, they Greyhounds had drawn up a play and it worked. Senior guard Abby Abel nailed a three from the left wing for a 40-38 Carmel lead.
Don't worry, that wouldn't last long.
Next time down the floor, Cori Cain dished to Becca Bergman and once again, Noblesville was back in front 41-40. The Millers scored once more to lead 43-40 after three.
Early in the 4th, Amanda Shaw tied it at 43-43 and that just added fuel to the fire for Noblesville.
Bergman had seven in the 4th, Wood added another couple baskets to her total and Cori Cain sank a pair of free throws down the stretch to ice the Greyhounds and solidify Noblesville's 60-55 first-round sectional victory.
The win was Noblesville's first sectional victory in two years, since they defeated Zionsville (61-42) at Westfield. It also got the Millers their 20th W on the season, which hasn't been done in quite some time in Noblesville lore.
Carmel finishes its season at 17-8 and put forth a valiant effort to upend the Millers. The Greyhounds were led in scoring by Emily Kmec, Amy Dilk, Amanda Shaw and Abby Abel, who all managed 13 points for all but 3 of Carmel's points.
Noblesville (20-3) managed to get three into double-figures. Katelyn O'Reilly had another double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds to go along with 2 blocked shots. Becca "Stats" Bergman might have scored 15 points, but her 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and not to mention her blocked shot during the Millers' 3rd quarter comeback, made her the catalyst and a thorn in the side of Carmel from the tip to the final buzzer.
Alexis Shannon dropped in 14 points and 5 rebounds. Erin Wood had another solid game on the glass with 6 points in the second half and 11 rebounds. Emily Kiser chipped in nicely on her birthday with 5 points and 6 rebounds and a pair of steals as the Millers took over the game later in the 3rd. Cori Cain also had 2 points.
The Millers continue their quest to reach Goal #2 on Friday night when they'll face the North Central Panthers (9-12) at 6:00.
If you can't be at Hamilton Southeastern live for the semifinal, join Perry Williams and myself at 5:50 for pregame coverage on Hamilton County TV (hctv1.com) and the call of the game at 6:00
GO MILLERS!
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