By RICHIE HALL
FRANKFORT – Hamilton Southeastern’s incredible girls basketball season came to an end Saturday, but not after the Class 4A No. 1 Royals gave it a good battle in the north semi-state championship.
Southeastern took on No. 5 Warsaw at Frankfort’s Case Arena, and the two teams put on an intense show. The Royals recovered from a halftime deficit to lead in the third quarter before the Tigers came back in the fourth to win 67-61.
Warsaw advanced to this coming Saturday’s Class 4A state championship game against Lawrence North, while Southeastern finished its season 27-1.
“This has just been a special year,” said HSE coach Brian Satterfield. “Fun group to be around. To see them fight back when they were down, that just shows the character of all them and what they’ve done and how they’ve progressed throughout the year, the team that we have.”
Raining 3s
Both teams had their outside games going at the start. The first six baskets were 3-pointers, with both the Royals and the Tigers making three triples each. All of Warsaw’s 3s came from junior Brooke Zartman, while Kayla Brinley, Maya Makalusky and Kayla Stidham all made one 3.
Kennedy Holman hit the first two-point basket to give HSE an 11-9 lead. After another Tigers 3, Makalusky hit two free throws and the Royals finished the first quarter ahead 13-12.
Zartman opened the second period with five points (two free throws and a 3). Warsaw led 17-13 and stayed ahead during the entire quarter. Southeastern never let the Tigers get too far ahead, but a 6-0 run during the final 1:22 of the half gave Warsaw a 30-23 advantage at the break.
Holman began the second half with back-to-back layins, which the Tigers answered with a layin from Joslyn Bricker and yet another 3 from Zartman, her fifth of the game. Warsaw led 35-27 at that point.
The Royals came roaring back, going on a lightning quick 16-0 run to lead 43-35. Stidham drained a 3 to start the spurt, then Brinley and Holman both traditional three-point plays, with Holman’s and-1 pushing HSE ahead 36-35.
That was only half of the run. Makalusky made a steal, got fouled and hit two free throws. Holman scored again while fouled and made the ensuing free throw, then Makalusky’s layin gave Southeastern a 43-35 lead.
“I think there were two or three times this year where we’ve been down, whether it’s in the first half, third quarter, whatever the case may be,” said Satterfield. “We’ve been down close to double digits and always found a way to fight back. That’s where you see the true character of this group.”
Stidham made two more baskets in the third quarter, which finished with the Royals leading 47-41. Warsaw opened the fourth period with consecutive and-1s, from Zartman and Brooke Winchester, and the game was tied again, 47-47.
A Makalusky layin gave Southeastern a 53-50 lead, but the Tigers went on a 10-0 spurt and held the lead from there. Bricker scored six points of that run, which pushed Warsaw ahead 60-54 with 1:09 left. The Royals fought back once more, getting within 63-61 with under 30 seconds to go, but Zartman went 4-of-4 from the line during the last 13.3 seconds to finish the game.
Makalusky, the 6-4 Indiana University commit, finished the game with 21 points and five rebounds. Juniors Holman and Stidham scored 17 and 15 points respectively, while both pulled seven rebounds. Holman also dished out four assists. Van Hoesen led the rebounds with nine.
Semifinal game
Southeastern won its morning semifinal game at Frankfort by beating Valparaiso 57-39. The Royals steadily built their lead during the first three quarters, going up 16-9 after one period. Stidham scored nine first-quarter points.
HSE poured in 20 points in the second period to lead 36-17 at halftime. Holman had seven points while Stidham was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. The third quarter saw Makalusky take her turn, scoring eight points to help the Royals led 49-27.
Makalusky finished with 16 points, followed by Stidham with 13 and Holman with 11.
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