Hamilton Heights finished third at the Plainfield Winter Classic on Saturday, playing against two Class 4A teams.
The 3A Huskies fell to Roncalli 60-53 in their first game. The Rebels led 8-3 after the first quarter, but Heights cut that lead to 22-20 by halftime. Roncalli held a 42-39 advantage after three periods, then outscored the Huskies 18-14 in the fourth.
Three players scored in double figures for Heights. Jillian Osswald scored 17 points, MyKayla Moran added 16 points and Bayleigh Runner contributed 14 points. Moran pulled six rebounds, while Osswald handed out five assists to go with four rebounds. Runner made four steals.
In the third-place game, the Huskies beat the host Quakers 70-69. Plainfield led 20-16 after the first period, but Heights was in control of the next two, leading 36-32 at halftime and 56-45 at the end of three. The Quakers came back to tie the game at 69-69, but Runner drove to the basket in the final seconds, got fouled and made one of two free throws to seal the victory.
Osswald had a sensational game, making five 3-pointers on her way to 23 points, collecting six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Moran came close to a double-double, with 14 points and nine rebounds. Runner scored 13 points and Payton Dissett added 12 points; both also had five rebounds. Runner handed out seven assists and Dissett dished out four.
“Jillian Osswald played two fantastic games,” said Huskies coach Keegan Cherry. “She has elevated her game big time. MyKayla Moran and Syd Runyan are making tremendous progress. The minutes they experienced in both games today is something that can’t be replaced. Both got better against very good competition.
“Payton Dissett also strung together some of her best minutes of the season in game 2. Bayleigh Runner was key to handling the pressure in both games and did a good job of finding open players.”
Heights is 8-9 and returns to its home gym on Thursday to host Lewis Cass in a Hoosier Conference game.
RONCALLI 60, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 53
Heights FG FT TP PF
Jillian Osswald 6-12 3-4 17 0
Bayleigh Runner 5-12 4-6 14 4
Payton Dissett 0-6 0-0 0 5
Kaylee Rhoton 0-0 1-2 1 1
Chloe Henderson 1-2 1-2 3 2
Sydney Runyan 1-3 0-0 2 3
Hailey Champion 0-0 0-0 0 0
MyKayla Moran 5-13 6-9 16 1
Totals 18-48 15-23 53 16
Score by Quarters
Roncalli 8 14 20 18 – 60
Heights 3 17 19 14 – 53
Heights 3-point shooting (2-7) Osswald 2-4, Runner 0-3.
Heights rebounds (20) Moran 6, Osswald 4, Runner 3, Henderson 3, Runyan 3, Dissett 1.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 70, PLAINFIELD 69
Heights FG FT TP PF
Jillian Osswald 8-14 2-3 23 1
Bayleigh Runner 4-7 3-4 13 2
Payton Dissett 5-11 0-0 12 1
Chloe Henderson 0-1 0-0 0 2
Sydney Runyan 4-7 0-2 8 2
Hailey Champion 0-0 0-0 0 1
MyKayla Moran 4-11 6-9 14 1
Totals 25-51 11-18 70 10
Score by Quarters
Plainfield 20 12 13 24 – 69
Heights 16 20 20 14 – 70
Heights 3-point shooting (9-18) Osswald 5-7, Dissett 2-8, Runner 2-2, Henderson 0-1.
Heights rebounds (28) Moran 9, Osswald 6, Runner 5, Dissett 5, Runyan 3.