by
Craig Adkins
Hamilton County Reporter
In what was anticipated to be a close game, it sure lived up to its expectations for the better part of three quarters until the visiting No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern Royals decided to keep their foot on the gas pedal and pull away in the fourth period for a 62-43 road win on Friday afternoon at the Eric Clark Activity Center in Carmel.
The first half proved to be the back and forth affair that left a lot to be desired for the final two quarters.
It took two solid minutes before any points were on the scoreboard in the first when HSE’s Malea Jackson put the Royals up 2-0 at the 5:57 mark. Carmel freshman Kate Clarke canned a trey for a 3-2 Greyhounds edge. Then, with a free throw by junior Sydney Parrish and another bucket by Jackson from a steal, the Royals has taken a 5-3 lead.
Senior Reagan Hune scored five straight for Carmel for an 8-5 advantage and the Greyhounds added to that late in the first with five from senior Mackenzie Wood. That gave Carmel its biggest lead of the game at 13-7.
Parrish, a pre-season All-State candidate, would score the final eight of the first for HSE, but with a Kiara Gill three, Carmel led 16-15 after one.
“We were switching and we were switching and sitting back, instead of switching and jumping out on people,” said Hamilton Southeastern head coach Chris Huppenthal on his team’s defensive stance in the first half.
“That was allowing them to get open looks on the 3-point line and we told them in the second half they had to jump out more and take the three-point line away. They had a lot less 3’s in the second half than they did in the first half,” said Huppenthal on the change defensively that took Carmel out of their offensive game plan.
HSE junior Jackie Maulucci grabbed the second lead for HSE with a backdoor layup on the first possession of the second for 17-16. A Parrish swish from outside pushed it to 20-16, but it would be obvious that Carmel wouldn’t go a away for quite a while.
Hune sank another jumper and Clarke dropped in two consecutive 3’s to put the ‘Hounds back on top 24-21.
Maulucci got fouled outside the arc and sank all three from the charity stripe to tie it 24-24.
Amaya Hamilton had an offensive rebound that she put off the glass and in for 26-24 as time wound down before half.
Riley Pennington found a gap in the Royals’ defense for two and the score was knotted at 26-26 at halftime.
Parrish and Jackson had a mini 6-0 run to start the second half, giving HSE a 32-26 lead, thanks to a quick Carmel miscue.
“We came out in that third quarter feeling good and started with a turnover right off the bat,” said Carmel acting head coach Erin Trimpe on the Greyhounds’ confidence coming out of the locker room at halftime.
Following that short Royals run, Hune knocked down another from outside to cut it back to 32-29.
But, with consecutive baskets by Maulucci, Parrish and Tayah Irvin and a Jackson free throw, Hamilton Southeastern had jumped its lead out to double-digits at 39-29.
Hamilton swished a turnaround hook shot from 10 feet out, but Hune cut it back to a half dozen at the end of three with her third of the afternoon for 41-35 score.
“They’re great defensively and they’ve really locked down this season. Allowing them easy steals in transition buckets really got them into a lead we just couldn’t dig out of,” said Trimpe on the Royals’ defensive pressure throughout the game that became a thorn in Carmel’s side down the stretch in the fourth.
For Southeastern, it didn’t matter who did what, when, where and how in the fourth quarter, as long as it resulted in either points scored to extend their lead or forcing Greyhound turnovers that led to getting the ball back in their hands.
The fourth-ranked Royals proved they deserved their ranking, as they dominated the final quarter and spread the wealth amongst themselves, making it a team effort to pull away from the host ‘Hounds with a 21-8 frame that would pushed the final to 62-43.
“The second halftime adjustment was being patient on offense,” Huppenthal told his team at halftime to be patient, because they rushed a lot of possessions in the first half.
“This was the second game in a row I thought we were trying to rush things in the first half. They were after Syd and we knew they would do that. Sometimes Syd’s just got to let the other kids get into the flow. I thought in the second half, she let the game come to her,” Huppenthal on halftime adjustments and Parrish adjusting to Carmel keying on her.
Carmel sure did key on Parrish throughout the game, but it really didn’t matter when it came down to it.
The Greyhounds had no answers for her and she took advantage, whether it was scoring or dishing off to open teammates.
Carmel drops to 3-3 on the young season and its schedule won’t get any easier. The Greyhounds start off MIC play this week hosting No. 6 Lawrence North (6-1) on Nov. 27 and visit No. 1 Warren Central (5-0) on Nov. 30.
Reagan Hune led the Greyhounds with 16, while Kate Clarke added nine.
HSE (9-0) kept its perfect season going and looks to go for its 10th win as the Royals play another HCC game on Nov. 28 when they travel to Noblesville (3-4).
The Royals were led by Sydney Parrish’s 25. She was joined in double figures with Jackie Maulucci’s 13 and Malea Jackson had 10.