2/13/2010 12:17:00 AM 'Rocks, Tigers advance to final
Photo courtesy Mark Szalwinski - Westfield’s Amy Shedd guards Noblesville’s Cassidy Cain during the Millers-Shamrocks sectional girls basketball game Friday at Fishers. Westfield beat Noblesville, advancing to tonight’s sectional championship game against the Tigers.
When teams battle for sectional championships it is always good to have some old-timers in the lineup.
Fishers, the most veteran team in the Fishers Sectional, used its experience to outlast a young Hamilton Southeastern team, 30-24, in the second semi-final contest Friday evening. Westfield, a mixture of veterans and young talent, won against Noblesville, 47-36, in the opening game.
So, the Lady Shamrocks (20-2) and the Lady Tigers (17-5) will go head to head for the sectional championship tonight in a game which will begin at 7:30 p.m.
"This sectional means a lot to our seniors," said Fishers coach Michael Gaines after his club had defeated school district rival Hamilton Southeastern. "They've been together for so long. They don't want this opportunity to slip out the door."
"This is a very tough sectional," Westfield coach Shane Sumpter said after his Shamrocks had beaten Noblesville for a second time. "It's a tough field. What we gained tonight was an opportunity to play again."
The two teams aren't exactly strangers. In a final four field of all Hoosier Crossroads Conference teams, Fishers back on Jan. 16, at Fishers, defeated Westfield 47-44 in two overtimes.
Shamrocks Beat Millers
It was a Westfield junior, Allison Gray, who led a fourth quarter explosion and broke open a tight game with Noblesville. The Shamrocks led just 29-28 entering the final period and then outscored Noblesville 18-8 in that fourth quarter to post an 11-point victory over a Miller team which the Shamrocks had edged by one point early in the season. Gray led the way in that explosion by netting a field goal and seven free throws.
Free throws were the difference as Westfield hit 13-of-21 (10-of-14 in the fourth quarter)and Noblesville went to the line just eight times and connected on five.
"We began by hitting only 3-of-9 free throws," Sumpter pointed out.
Gray led a balanced Westfield scoring attack with 12 points. Noblesville senior center Kelsey Ploof led all scorers with 16 points. Ploof was nearly all the offense Noblesville had to offer.
"We played pretty well but we had too many turnovers in the second quarter and then we exploded in the fourth quarter," said Noblesville coach Donna Keck.
"Gray did a good job for Westfield. We were fouling too much and therefore couldn't be tough and aggressive. Ploof did a nice job."
"We knew it would be a 32-minute game," said Sumpter. "Noblesville is good and well-coached. They play hard. Gray is a good player for us. We gave her the basketball."
Westfield broke away early in the fourth quarter. Then, after Kiley McCollough hit a 3-pointer to bring the Millers to within seven, 42-35, Gray put the icing on the cake for Westfield by hitting four free throws in the final minute.
Westfield was patient, working and connecting on good shots. The Shamrocks were 15-of-29 overall and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, with freshman Amy Shedd drilling a trio of 3-pointers. Noblesville got a dozen more shots than did Westfield, but the Millers were just 14-of-41 from the field and 3-of-17 from 3-point territory.
When Westfield opened up the lead, the Shamrocks protected it with the free throw shooting of Gray and Jenna Ehrman and with two key buckets off the bench from freshman Carissa Brown.
Ploof had eight rebounds to go along with her 16 points. Shedd finished with nine points and Jenn Anderson and Ehrman with eight each for Westfield.
Low Scoring Nightcap
Fishers won the low-scoring nightcap over Southeastern.
"I think both teams wanted a low-tempo game," said Gaines. "We wanted to take good shots and we used time in getting those good shots. We did a good job taking care of the basketball and we played defense and rebounded well."
Southeastern was in striking distance all the way, but could never grab the lead.
"We talked about their experience and our youth (in the dressing room following the game)," said Southeastern coach Chris Huppenthal. "They adjusted to things quicker than we did and they moved better. With their seniors, experience showed. We weren't getting good shots because they were getting out on our shooters."
Southeastern was within four, 26-24, when Fishers scored on the last four points of the game in the final 1:09 of action. Shanika Maddox hit two free throws and Shannon Gillespie followed with a pair of charity shots to put away the Royals.
Fishers scored eight points in the fourth quarter and six came from the charity line.
In the low-scoring game, Gillespie led Fishers with 10 points, followed by Rachel Puckett with eight and Maddox with seven. Jordan Alexander was high for Southeastern with seven points.
