Donna Buckley has resigned as Noblesville girls basketball coach, she confirmed to IndyStar Sunday.
Buckley went 275-148 over 18 seasons with the Millers, with four sectional titles, including a state championship run in 2021-22 and a semistate runner-up finish in 2023-24.
In a statement, Buckley said it was “a privilege” to coach at Noblesville and “an honor to work with hundreds of incredible student-athletes, parents, coaches, custodial staff and community members.”
“I poured my heart and soul into Noblesville and am very proud of what we were able to achieve,” she continued. “While we were successful on the court, my greatest memories will always be the relationships that were built over the years.”
Buckley oversaw the revitalization of Noblesville girls basketball. She led them to their first winning season since 2002-03 in her first year (2008-09), then their first sectional championship in nearly a decade in 2015.
The Millers were at their best in the early-to-mid 2020s.
Headlined by individual standouts like UConn’s Ashlynn Shade, Iowa State’s Reagan Wilson and Miami’s Meredith Tippner, and known statewide for Buckley’s trademark 1-3-1 defense, they strung together three consecutive 20-win campaigns and followed a 2021 sectional championship with a state title run in 2022 wherein they beat five consecutive ranked teams — including No. 1 Homestead in the regional semifinals and No. 2 Franklin at state — to secure the second title in program history (first since 1987).
After falling to eventual state runner-up Fishers in the 2023 sectional semifinals, Noblesville overcame a 7-7 start to win the vaunted Sectional 8 tournament for a third time in four seasons in 2023-24. That team lost to state runner-up Lake Central in the semistate finals.
This year’s Millers were decimated by injuries, with only four players appearing in all 21 games (and one of those players, senior guard Ally Hutchinson, dealt with a partially torn labrum all season). Buckley kept the team on track through the maze of adversity, guiding them to a 9-12 finish that concluded with a loss to eventual sectional champ Hamilton Southeastern in the sectional semifinals.
This season marked Noblesville’s first sub-.500 season since 2019-20 and its first with fewer than 10 wins since 2018-19.
“I want to thank coach Buckley for her dedication and commitment to Noblesville basketball over the past 18 years,” Noblesville athletic director Leah Wooldridge said in a statement. “During her tenure, she has developed countless student-athletes and helped lead our program to a state championship, along with many other accomplishments. We are grateful for the lasting impact she has made on our program and look forward to the continued positive influence she will have on students in her role as a health and wellness teacher at NHS.”
Buckley, who was also instrumental in building Noblesville’s feeder program, has coached three Indiana All-Stars in her career (all at NHS), including two Miss Basketball finalists in Wilson (2024) and Tippner (2025). She assisted on the Junior All-Stars coaching staff in 2014 and the seniors in 2021 after the 2020 games were canceled.
The 1993 Clinton Central graduate holds an overall coaching record of 371-222 in 26 seasons, with previous stops at Fort Wayne South and Greenfield-Central, where she won a 4A sectional title in 2003-04.
Buckley said she hopes to continue coaching girls high school basketball.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Donna Buckley resigns as Noblesville girls basketball coach after 18 seasons
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
