By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – Everyone talks about what championship teams do to win, but there’s one thing they don’t do: They never quit.
“These kids, they don’t know what ‘give up’ is,” said Fishers girls basketball coach Lauren Votaw. She was speaking minutes after her Tigers team had come back from way down to win the Class 4A Sectional 8 championship at Westfield. Third-ranked Fishers trailed 21-5 in the second quarter to fifth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern, but roared back in the second half to win 50-42, securing the team’s second sectional title. The Tigers won their first in 2014.
“And they came in today with this mission that this was our time,” said Votaw.
The Royals were in control for most of the first half. Sydney Parrish opened the game with back-to-back baskets, then a Lauren Morris 3-pointer put Southeastern up 7-2. Fishers’ Katie Burton cut into that lead with her own 3-pointer, keeping the Tigers within 7-5.
The Royals then went on a 14-0 run that extended into the second period. Ryan Viele hit a 3-pointer that put HSE up 14-5 at the end of the first quarter, and Morris promptly hit a 3 to begin the second. Baskets from Parrish and Makayla Hinshaw gave the Royals a 21-5 lead.
Lydia Stullken ended the run when she made a layin with 4:35 left in the second period. No one knew it at the time, but that would be the start of a 17-2 run for Fishers. Burton drained a 3 and made a layin, then Tamia Perryman’s two foul shots with 1.9 seconds left got the Tigers within 23-14 at halftime.
Votaw characterized Fishers’ locker room as “unique” during halftime.
“We haven’t been down a whole lot at half,” said Votaw. “And that was a relatively significant margin against a team as good as Southeastern. But I reminded them that we were down eight twice, including eight in the fourth quarter against them the first time.”
That first time was the Mudsock game earlier in the season – “48-40, I can still see it in my head,” said Votaw. “And so I was like, ‘This is nothing.’ They just don’t have any quit. We hit big shots. We took care of business.”
Fishers opened the third quarter with eight unanswered points: Perryman scored off a steal, Hailey Smith converted a three-point play, then Kaitlynn Feagan made a 3. The Tigers were now within one, 23-22.
The Royals pushed their lead back to 28-22 after Viele’s layin and a triple by Parrish. Southeastern still led 29-26 after three periods, and a Parrish putback gave them a 31-28 lead with around five minutes left in the fourth.
Then Perryman took over. The senior hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, then Burton’s free throws gave Fishers its first lead, 33-31 at the 3:57 mark. Parrish scored on another putback, but Perryman nailed another 3. The Tigers were now up 36-33 and would hold the lead until the final buzzer.
Perryman hit two more 3s in the quarter, with her fourth triple giving Fishers a 42-35 advantage.
“I was wide open, and if I’m open, I’m going to shoot it,” said Perryman. “They kept doing it. After I hit the first one, I was like ‘All right, confidence booster.’ Then I just kept hitting them and kept hitting them. When I got to the fourth one, our coach is like ‘Layup only.’”
“I’m so proud of that kid,” said Votaw. “I don’t think there is another player that I’ve coached who has grown up as much as a person and a player in her four years than that kid right there.”
Perryman did make a layin to get the Tigers up 44-37. Fishers then closed the game from the free-throw line, with Burton going 4-for-4 and Hailey Smith making 2-of-2.
Perryman finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds, while Burton added 14 points.
Parrish earned a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds in her final game for Southeastern, as she now heads to the University of Oregon. She finished her career with 1,925 points, setting a new Hamilton County girls scoring record a few days ago. Viele collected five rebounds and Jackie Maulucci handed out four assists. The Royals finished their season 22-3.
The Tigers are 23-1, extending their school record for wins in a season. Fishers will play next Saturday in the Marion regional, taking on No. 1 Northwestern in the first semi-final game. The second semi-final will see Fort Wayne Carroll take on No. 4 Homestead, giving the regional three of the top four teams.
“This team is so special,” said Votaw. “As I said last night, I was just grateful that we got one more night to play together, and now I get one more week, at least one more week to spend with them. I’m just so excited.”
FISHERS 50, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 42
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Audra Emmerson 0-6 0-0 0 2
Kaitlynn Feagan 1-3 0-0 3 1
Tamia Perryman 6-9 2-6 18 1
Lydia Stullken 2-6 0-0 4 1
Katie Burton 3-7 6-6 14 3
Hailey Smith 2-5 4-7 8 3
Olivia Smith 1-3 1-2 3 1
Katie Howard 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 15-39 13-21 50 12
Fishers 3-point shooting (7-18) Perryman 4-6, Burton 2-4, Feagan 1-3, Emmerson 0-4, H. Smith 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (17) Perryman 6, Stullken 3, Burton 3, H. Smith 2, Emmerson 1, Feagan 1, O. Smith 1.
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Jackie Maulucci 1-3 0-0 2 0
Makayla Hinshaw 2-4 0-0 4 4
Lauren Morris 2-12 0-0 6 1
Sydney Parrish 8-18 6-8 23 4
Bailee Poore 0-0 0-0 0 3
Lydia Self 0-3 0-0 0 4
Ryan Viele 3-6 0-0 7 3
Olivia Brown 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 16-46 6-8 42 19
Southeastern 3-point shooting (4-26) Morris 2-11, Parrish 1-8, Viele 1-2, Self 0-2, Maulucci 0-2, Hinshaw 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (28) Parrish 12, Viele 5, Hinshaw 4, Self 3, Morris 2, Poore 2.
Score by Quarters
Fishers 5 9 12 24 – 50
Southeastern 14 9 6 13 – 42
Fishers’ Kaitlynn Feagan (11) and her teammates hold up the Sectional 8 trophy after the Tigers’ 50-42 win over Hamilton Southeastern Saturday at Westfield. It’s the second girls basketball sectional title for Fishers. (Kent Graham)