By MIKE BLATT
Tribune sportswriter
November 10, 2007 01:03 am
—
“Hello, I’m Kelly Hopkins.”
That was the statement made, not in words, but on the court by Kokomo’s 6-foot-3 freshman center in the Lady Kats’ 50-48 opening night win against the Noblesville Millers at Memorial Gym Friday night.
Hopkins made history by becoming the first freshman in Lady Kats’ history to record a double-double in her varsity debut. The freshman scored a game-high 16 points, including 12 in the second quarter, and grabbed 11 rebounds as Kokomo held off a late charge by the Millers to eke out the win.
Up 48-41 with 2:10 to play, the Kats survived four turnovers down the stretch. Noblesville took advantage, slicing the lead to 50-48 at 0:43 on Marianne Harmas’ four-point play. Kokomo left the door open by missing its final four free throws, but the Millers couldn’t capitalize. Chey Arvin missed two good looks, and the Kats grabbed the rebound both times to hang on for the win.
Kokomo’s second year coach Jason Snyder was pleased with Hopkins’ play, but also praised the team effort as well.
“[Kelly] did a nice job,” he said. “She played hard. She did a nice job being strong with the ball. But everything we talked about in the locker room was that it was a total, complete team effort. We got the ball in there [to Hopkins] in her right spots, we had screens to set her up, and a lot of times our guards would draw a couple of people and then look for her. It was a good team effort all the way around.”
While the Kats struggled offensively, shooting just 36 percent from the field, they played a solid defensive game, holding the Millers to just 27 percent accuracy.
“We did a nice job with team defense,” added Snyder. “We really played hard tonight, and we definitely played together, but there were some spots where we didn’t play smart. At the beginning of the year that’s going to happen. But we’re excited to get a win against a very tough opponent.”
Indeed, the Lady Kats threatened to stretch the lead out on several occasions, but the Millers battled back each time. Kokomo jumped out to a 7-1 lead behind Shakeeta Cotton’s four points, but Noblesville capitalized on a 3-pointer by Bobbi Mills and a basket by Arvin to make it 9-6 after one quarter.
In the second period, Hopkins dominated the game inside, hitting 5 of 7 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line. The Kats opened the margin to 19-12 midway through the period, but the Millers canned three treys late to cut the halftime lead to 25-23.
The game stayed tight in the third with Abby Hemmeger’s late bucket giving the Kats a 38-32 advantage heading to the fourth. Kokomo extended the margin to 44-32 on Aelleon Woodard’s basket off a Kayla Drake assist with 5:31 left, but the Millers chipped away before the Kats escaped with the win.
Noblesville coach Kurt Gassensmith was proud of his team’s never-say-die attitude.
“I couldn’t be prouder of [our team],” he said. “[Our players] did exactly what I’ve asked of them. Kokomo is a well-coached team. Jason [Snyder] does a great job with them. Kokomo has a lot of tradition, and that’s what we’re trying to build at Noblesville. We battled the whole game and we had our opportunities, but that’s what makes it fun for the fans and heart-breaking for the players and coaches.”
Next weekend, the Lady Kats look to continue their winning ways at the Huntington Tip-Off Classic, playing Oak Hill and Arlington.
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