A late decision turned into a championship for the Hamilton Heights girls basketball team.
The Huskies added the Frankfort Holiday Tournament to their schedule, playing at the legendary Case Arena on Saturday. Heights won two games easily to take the championship, beating the host Hot Dogs in the semi-finals 64-17 and Lapel in the final game 67-42.
The Huskies outscored both of their opponents in each quarter both games. Against the Bulldogs, Heights led 20-7 after the first quarter and 36-18 at halftime. Three players scored in double figures for the Huskies: Camryn Runner threw in five 3-pointers on her way to 24 points, Ella Hickok scored 15 and Jillian Osswald added 14 points.
In the semi-finals, Heights led Frankfort 39-14 at halftime, then allowed the Hot Dogs only three points in the third quarter and none in the fourth. Osswald scored 20 points, while Runner chipped in 17 points; both players had three 3s. MyKayla Moran scored 11 points.
“Really appreciate the opportunity Frankfort gave us by allowing our girls to compete in their Holiday Tournament,” said Huskies coach Keegan Cherry. “I thought our girls competed hard in both games. We were fortunate enough to play with the lead all day. And sometimes that can be hard for teams to stay mentally dialed in when playing with bigger leads. We challenged our girls today to be as tough mentally as they are physically. We have expectations and a standard we want to play to regardless of who we are playing or what the score is. We had a few lapses, but overall a great team effort both games.”
Heights is unbeaten for the season at 6-0. The Huskies will begin play in another tournament on Monday, at the Lebanon Bloom Bank Classic. Heights will take on Perry Meridian at 10 a.m., then play another game Monday and one on Tuesday.
SEMI-FINAL GAME
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 64, FRANKFORT 17
Heights FG FT TP PF
Ella Hickok 1 0-0 2 1
Jillian Osswald 7 3-4 20 2
Camryn Runner 5 4-4 17 0
Syd Runyan 1 0-0 2 1
MyKayla Moran 5 1-2 11 1
Kaylee Rhoton 3 2-2 9 1
Hadleigh Cherry 1 0-2 2 1
Adyson Baber 0 0-0 0 0
Rachel Hunter 0 1-2 1 1
Morgan Ottinger 0 0-0 0 2
Totals 23 11-16 64 10
Score by Quarters
Frankfort 8 6 3 0 – 17
Heights 16 23 12 13 – 64
Heights 3-pointers (7) Osswald 3, Runner 3, Rhoton 1.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 67, LAPEL 42
Heights FG FT TP PF
Ella Hickok 5 3-4 15 0
Jillian Osswald 3 7-9 14 1
Camryn Runner 8 3-3 24 4
Syd Runyan 1 2-2 4 1
MyKayla Moran 2 3-4 7 3
Kaylee Rhoton 1 0-0 3 2
Hadleigh Cherry 0 0-0 0 1
Adyson Baber 0 0-0 0 0
Rachel Hunter 0 0-0 0 0
Morgan Ottinger 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 20 18-22 67 12
Score by Quarters
Lapel 7 11 13 11 – 42
Heights 20 16 16 15 – 67
Heights 3-pointers (9) Runner 5, Hickock 2, Osswald 1, Rhoton 1.