LAPORTE — It was an unexpected reaction. About 15 minutes removed from her team's 55-42 win over Homestead in Saturday's Class 4A semistate semifinal, Lake Central senior Nadia Clayton was in tears. They weren't tears of joy. They were tears of frustration.

"People says defense wins games, but if I'm not hitting anything or not getting any layups, I feel like I'm not contributing," Clayton said. "I guarded their best player (Myah Epps), but was that really enough? I feel like it wasn't. … I'm so glad we won. Props to our team, but I feel like I didn't contribute to it."

'We have great players here, too.' Lake Central beats Noblesville to punch ticket to state

It was pure, unfiltered analysis from the 5-8 guard, who entered the game averaging eight points per game and whose offense Saturday consisted of just one free throw. Her frustrations weren't over padding her own stats — and she finds joy in setting up her teammates for baskets. "It makes me happy getting our shooters the ball," she smiled. But her struggles shooting (38%) have damaged her confidence. "That's my problem. I don't have confidence at all," Clayton said.

"I started off the season well, scoring a lot and just throughout, but then (I stopped) hitting my shots so I stopped shooting, which doesn't help my confidence," she continued. "Then in my head I'm just like, I can't shoot. I can't score. Why am I even on the court?"

The frustrations with her offensive game are understandable. But in reality, there's probably an argument to be made for her as the player of the game, because the defensive performance Clayton more-or-less downplayed came against one of the state's best 2026 prospects and largely set the tone for LC, which out-scored Homestead, 13-0, after surrendering the go-ahead bucket to start the fourth.

Myah Epps was the player in question and while multiple players took their turn against her, it was Clayton who captained the effort, shadowing the 5-10 guard and denying her touches. Epps finished with 10 points, but she really had to work for her looks, with most coming off set plays or with her battling in the post.

"I just stayed in front of her and didn't let her get to the basket because that's where she's best," Clayton said, crediting her success to film study (both with her teammates and individually).

Clayton's defensive effort didn't go unnoticed by her coaches and teammates, either. "Good gosh, that kid's our defensive stopper," coach Joe Huppenthal said.

Vanessa Wimberly mentioned Clayton's ability to remain effective, even after picking up her third foul early in the third. They trust her to get the job done, she said.

"Nadia sometimes gets down on herself, but she doesn't realize how much of a key she is to this team," continued Wimberly, who also praised Epps. "She didn't score a lot, but she got some big stops against a really good player."

LIVE: Semistate scores, schedule

With how the Indians (25-4) are constructed, they don't really need Clayton to pour in a ton of points every night. Riley Milausnic, Ayla Krygier, Wimberly and Aniyah Bishop do most of the heavy lifting in their regional win over South Bend Washington. Saturday's semistate saw Wimberly jumpstart the offense in the third with five points, then join Bishop and Milausnic as key contributors amidst that aforementioned 13-0 run.

Wimberly led the team with 18 points, Milausnic added 15 (6-for-6 on free throws), Bishop tallied 11 and Krygier rounded out the leading scorers with seven.

Lake Central, which also improved significantly on the defensive glass in the second half, out-scored Homestead, 18-5, over the final eight minutes.

"That's the thing about this group. It's a team," Huppenthal said. "It's somebody different every night in some kind of different role."

Homestead picked up 10 points from Epps, plus 14 from Gabby Helsom and nine from Whitney Akenbrook.

The Spartans (23-5) graduate just one senior: Guard Emma Reust.

Noblesville rolls by Valparaiso

Valparaiso picked up 21 offensive rebounds when it played Noblesville back in December. So entering Saturday's rematch in the Class 4A semistate semifinal, Millers coach Donna Buckley issued a challenge to junior Meredith Tippner: Rebound.

The junior guard's final line in Noblesville's 59-42 win over Valparaiso: 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

"She was phenomenal," said Buckley, whose team limited Valparaiso to eight offensive rebounds. "She hit some big shots and did a great job rebounding the basketball."

Tippner was indeed phenomenal, shooting 43% from the field and committing just one turnover.

This time of year seemingly brings out the best in the 5-10 multisport standout, who's averaging around 18 points through four state tournament games, a run which began with a 27-point outburst against rival Fishers in the sectional semifinals.

"She's a great kid on defense. She can score, she can rebound — she's just a competitor and she's going to find a way to leave her mark on the game," Buckley said.

Noblesville senior Ava Shoemaker opened the scoring with a 3-pointer on the game's first possession, then following a brief five-point spurt by Valparaiso, the Millers seized full control with eight unanswered points. Noblesville's charge, which snowballed into a 15-2 run, was keyed largely on the defensive end, where they generated turnovers and held Valparaiso standout Lillian Barnes scoreless until the five-minute mark of the second quarter.

The Millers started the game in a box-and-1 with junior Kate Rollins responsible for guarding Barnes. They switched to their 1-3-1 midway through the first quarter and eventually moved to a 3-2 zone — all of which proved successful at keeping Valparaiso's shooters in check (42% FG, 12 turnovers).

Barnes finished with a season-low four points. Kate Weber tallied nine and Cadynce Clark scored eight.

"She's really good," Buckley said of Barnes. "Oh my goodness, watching her on film during that Lawrence North game, I was like, 'This kid is really good.' She's special. If she's in the Indy area, everyone's talking about her. Just a phenomenal basketball player and seems like such a great kid. I have no doubt they'll be back several times over the coming years."

Noblesville (18-8) will face Lake Central for a spot in next week's 4A championship game.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: Lake Central defeats Homestead; Noblesville rolls