Her sister's career casts a big shadow. Now, Talia Harris forming own path with Fishers.

FISHERS — Tyasha Harris knows exactly which story her sister will bring up. It's not one the Connecticut Sun point guard and 2016 IndyStar Miss Basketball finalist enjoys talking about, but she still tees it up for Talia.

"She might have one story of her believing that she beat me in South Carolina once," Ty says.

Talia lights up immediately when it's her turn to address that game of 1-on-1, but the Fishers senior wants to confirm their ages first. "I was a junior at South Carolina," Ty replies, "so you were probably still in middle school."

The family was driving to South Carolina and as soon as they got off the road, the sisters headed to the gym, Talia recalls. "Ty was in slides, but I was, too, so don't let that fool you."

"She tried to reach so I went behind my back, then she tried to block my layup, but I hit it for the win," Talia beamed. "She doesn't like to talk about that because I beat her."

Separated by eight years, Talia was still pretty young during Ty's run to three state championships under Rick Risinger at Heritage Christian. And while she's old enough to remember traveling to Dallas for the 2017 national championship game Ty's freshman year and watching from home with their mom and younger sister, Tamara, when Ty led the Gamecocks to their first-ever win over UConn as a senior, it wasn't until Talia began her high school career that she began watching her older sister more intently.

She loved how Ty played and modeled her game after her.

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"The way Talia moves, the way she commands the team and plays — she's a spitting image of me," Ty said. "She's just left-handed."

Ty has been an invaluable resource for Talia, but beyond their postgame film sessions this season and nuggets of advice, basketball isn't a standard topic of conversation.

Talia has never really had a name for herself, Ty said, and she wanted the 5-8 guard to have her own identity instead of being immortalized as "Ty's little sister." So she's let Talia "take her own avenues" and establish her own identity.

"There's pressure, because she's Ty Harris and she has a name here, but I've gotten used to it and I feel like I use it to my advantage," Talia said. "It's good pressure. It makes me play harder, having that in the back of my mind. … I feel like I've made a name for myself."

Talia's basketball journey began with Fishers' junior varsity team as a freshman and has seen her grow by leaps and bounds since. She made varsity as a sophomore — coach Lauren Votaw cites the sectional semifinals vs. Westfield as her "emergence" — then earned Indiana Junior All-Star honors after helping the Tigers to a Class 4A state runner-up finish in 2023.

Talia has shined statistically and come into her own as a leader this season, discovering her voice as she leads the No. 15 Tigers (16-5) into the Sectional 8 opener vs. Carmel, with a potential rematch with rival Noblesville looming next Friday.

"There's this misconception that if you don't play varsity as a freshman, you're never going to play in college or never going to get these things," Votaw said. "Talia played on arguably the best JV team Fishers ever had, then she was ready. She was ready to step in and do what she needed to do as a sophomore."

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'She's smooth'

Have you ever been able to get under Talia's skin? 

Ty pauses and turns to her sister, who grins and shakes her head. "No," Ty laughs. "It's usually the other way around and she gets under my skin by being so quiet and steady. Like, 'Can you hear me? Do you even have emotions?'"

Votaw joked on senior night one of the things she'll miss most about Talia is her calm demeanor. But one of the things she'll miss least about her is her calm demeanor.

"I never know what she's thinking. Ever," Votaw said. "Is she mad? Is she happy? She's so even-keeled and that's one of the things that helps keep us even-keeled."

A week later, the Tigers found themselves tied with Brownsburg in the final seconds of regulation. Everyone in the building was going crazy, yelling "go-go-go," Votaw recalled, but Talia took her time. She calmly took a handoff from Nevaeh Dickman at the top of the key and hit the winning jumper as time expired.

"Everybody calls her 'Smooth.' I don't know what else to say. She is," Votaw said. "She's smooth with the ball. She's calm. … Talia's a very unique player."

Talia's laid-back demeanor differentiates her from some of Fishers' past senior leaders, but wholly unique is her ability to relate with everyone in the locker room, one which runs the gamut in terms of personality types. She knows what's going on with everyone and can have an absolute blast with any of them, Votaw said, describing Talia as "the type of kid who never seems like she's having a bad day."

Talia's relatability made her uniquely qualified to fill the leadership void left by Ball State freshmen Hailey and Olivia Smith, but fulfilling those responsibilities has required her to establish a vocal presence — an aspect of Ty's game Talia always admired. "She's like an extension of the coach on the floor," she observed.

It has taken time and necessitated some "tough conversations" earlier in the season, Votaw said after Harris scored 29 points vs. Hamilton Southeastern in December, but Talia has embraced the challenge and found her voice.

"(Votaw) told me I don't have to be like Hailey and Olivia. I can just be myself," Talia said. "I feel like a lot of people would think, 'Oh, they don't have the Smith twins anymore, so what's going to happen with Fishers?' But we're still the team we were last year."

Making her own path

Ty was sitting front row with her parents, Bruce and Shannon, for Fishers' final home game against Carmel earlier this month. Shortly after the starters were announced, Talia — as is tradition — ran over for her pregame handshake with their youngest sister, Tamara, who's a sophomore cheerleader.

These moments watching her younger siblings compete and perform tend to be pretty emotional for Ty. She finds herself tearing up, she says, like during last year's 4A final, watching as Talia "made her own experiences, her own memories" playing on a stage Ty reached in three of her four seasons. "To see her go through this journey just like I did was really cool."

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Ty usually heads overseas and plays professionally in either Turkey or Russia during the offseason, but opted to remain stateside this year, taking advantage of the opportunities to grow her game and, of course, enjoy as much of Talia's final high school season as she can.

Asked if her sister has successfully made her own path, Ty replied: "I'd say so."

"Watching her grow up from playing as a little girl to now, she's grown into her own identity and be who Talia is," Ty continued. "I'm proud of her (and) I'm so excited for the next chapter."

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Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ty Harris' younger sister Talia making own name for Fishers basketball