North Harrison split their Senior Night game with Novinger Friday, with the girls winning 53-24, and the boys falling 84-71. Honored were Brett Emig and Grant Claycomb for the boys basketball team, Abby Clawson from the cheerleading squad, and Emma Craig and Kami Gibson from the girls basketball team.
The girls game featured a battle of two winless teams. The Shamrocks had every reason to be worried about six-footer Abbi Fountain and another tall post, Brooke Steele. But they were able to keep them off the boards, only allowing four offensive boards as they were able to get the easy win.
The game started out like a game between two teams desperate for their first win. The two teams had split in the previous meetings, with North Harrison winning in 2018 and Novinger winning in 2019. Jayliegh Robins beat the Wildcats’ trapping defense and Trendi Johnson hit from the left wing off a kickout from Kami Gibson, but Novinger knocked down a pair of shots from the high post as the two teams battled to a 4-4 standoff in the early going.
Novinger tried to be physical with North Harrison, but when one of their players shoved one of North Harrison’s players in frustration and Fountain went to the bench late in the quarter with her third foul, North Harrison turned it up a notch and ran them out of the gym. Kami Gibson hit Camden Castleberry for three, and Emma Craig added a steal to make it 9-4. Steele cut it to 9-6 after one, but without Fountain to clog up the paint, North Harrison started pulling away in the second.
Emma Craig hit two free throws after Camden Castleberry got her the ball, and then Camden fed Jayliegh Robins, who had gotten behind the press to make it 13-6. After North Harrison forced a five seconds call on defense, Robins threw it to Craig inside to make it 15-6.
Trendi Johnson hit Jayliegh Robins for a drive and she got to the line for a free throw. She made the first, missed the second, and then Emma Craig was there for the putback. Erin Virtue, who has been earning more and more playing time this year because of her rebounding, added two free throws, and then Halle Morgan kept a possession alive with an offensive board and got it to Emma Craig on the baseline to make it 22-6.
Emma Steele broke the run for Novinger with two free throws, but then Kami Gibson hit Trendi Johnson from the top of the key and Jayliegh Robins got a putback to make it 26-8 at the half. Defensively, the Shamrocks had held Novinger to two points in the second quarter.
The bottom dropped out for Novinger in the third quarter. First, Kami Gibson fed Emma Craig after a steal as the Shamrocks began stealing the ball at will. Then, Emma Craig got a tip and steal and Jayliegh Robins finished. Kami Gibson fed Jayliegh Robins backdoor, Jayliegh skipped a pass to Camden Castleberry for three, and Emma Craig scored off a Jayliegh Robins steal to make it 37-8, forcing Novinger into a timeout.
Although she didn’t score a lot of points, Kami Gibson did all the little things to make the Shamrocks go Friday. She mixed it up on the boards against the taller Novinger squad, getting 8 boards; she was also feeding everybody else the ball and stole several errant passes by the red shirts.
The Wildcats tried to make a stand coming out of the timeout, and Hailey Babcock cut it to 39-11 at the 3:15 mark of the third. But then Camden Castleberry drove and scored, Emma Craig scored off a drive, and Jaci Davis fed a cutting Emma Craig for a score as North Harrison began subbing freely. They led 50-17 after three, which triggered the running clock.
Emma Craig had 18, Jayliegh Robins 13, Camden Castleberry 11, Trendi Johnson 6, Kami Gibson 3, and Erin Virtue 2.
Emma Craig had 9 boards; Kami Gibson had 8, Jayliegh Robins had 7, Erin Virtue 5, Camden Castleberry 3, and Trendi Johnson and Halle Morgan 2.
Kami Gibson had 5 assists. Camden Castleberry had 4, Emma Craig 3, Jayliegh Robins and Erin Virtue 2, and Trendi Johnson, Halle Morgan, and Jaci Davis 1.
Camden Castleberry had 7 tips. Jayliegh Robins had 5, Emma Craig 4, Erin Virtue 3, and Trendi Johnson and Kami Gibson 2 each.
Kami Gibson had 6 steals. Trendi Johnson had 3, and Camden Castleberry, Emma Craig, Kami Gibson, and Jayliegh Robins 2.
The boys were not as fortunate as they were run out of the gym by a bigger, quicker Novinger squad. They gave up 28 points in the first quarter and gave up too many second chances, surrendering 16 offensive boards. Down 28-10, they held their own in the second and third quarters, stopping the bleeding, but unable to make a dent in the Wildcats’ lead.
But in the fourth quarter, the Shamrocks played their best quarter of the year. They fell behind by 25 at one point, but then got a three point play from Brett Emig, and a four point play from Emig; he was fouled on a 3-point attempt, hit the first two free throws, missed the third, but got his own board. They were able to get a push late and get the deficit down to 13 at the end.
Brett Emig did all he could for the Shamrocks, getting 33 points. Wade Briggs had 16, Grant Claycomb 8, Tyson Gibson 4, Brandon Hamilton and Nick Babinski 3, and Cooper Cracraft and Kamden Robertson 2.
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