By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team kept its season perfect on Friday.
The Class 4A No. 5 Royals beat Carmel in an all-county game at the Eric Clark Activity Center. Southeastern used a solid defense effort and an offense that got more efficient as the game went on to run its record to 8-0 for the season.
“I thought we did a really good job defensively the first half,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “After a little halftime talk, I thought our offense was much more efficient the second half. I thought we were able to get the type of quality shots that we wanted.”
Southeastern led 11-3 after the first quarter, with Riley Makalusky scoring four points. Already the Royals’ balance was on display, as four different players scored during that period.
Maya Makalusky finished the HSE first-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer, then nailed another 3 early in the second quarter. The Royals steadily built their lead through to the halftime buzzer; Riley Makalusky added five points late in the period and Southeastern was up 23-10 at the break.
The third quarter was more defensive, with the Royals coming out on top 7-6 to hold a 30-16 lead going into the fourth. Maya Makalusky hit her third 3-pointer of the game in that quarter.
Carmel kept battling in the fourth quarter, and got as close as 34-23 after Izzy Shepherd drained a 3. But the Makaluskys took over after that, with Maya Makalusky making two more triples, and Riley Makalusky adding six points of her own. Teegan Acres scored four points of a final 6-0 Southeastern run that finished the game.
“There’s always effort,” said Greyhounds coach Erin Trimpe. “They play really hard and they want to win, and I think it shows in late-game situations how young we are. We fought back really hard and got it down to 11 in the fourth quarter, which shows a lot of grit from our girls and a lot of focus and energy. And then when we need stops and we need rebounds and you got to know where personnel is and that communication piece, it’s not natural for them yet.”
Both Riley Makalusky and Maya Makalusky scored 17 points for the Royals. Riley Makalusky led the rebounds with eight, followed by Maya Makalusky with six. Freshman Kennedy Holman scored eight points and handed out four assists, while Olivia Brown provided seven assists.
“We got different people that contribute on different nights,” said Satterfield. “We got different people that contribute different things within the schemes and what we’re trying to do at either the offensive end or the defensive end and the balance we have within the group. Yes, certain people have certain roles that they have. But the thing is, they’re all accepting those roles and trying to compete and do their role the best that they can and I think that’s what’s special about this group.”
Shepherd led Carmel’s scoring with 11 points. Hannah Lach added nine points and seven rebounds, while Mackenzie Woods pulled five rebounds.
“We’re young, figuring out how to win games,” said Trimpe.
The Royals’ next game will be at another county opponent: Southeastern travels to The Mill Wednesday to take on Noblesville. Carmel is 0-6 and hosts Lawrence North on Tuesday.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 55, CARMEL 32
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Maya Makalusky 6-10 0-0 17 1
Teegan Acres 2-4 2-2 6 1
Riley Makalusky 6-15 4-4 17 1
Olivia Brown 2-6 1-3 5 0
Maine Hooks 0-2 0-0 0 0
Kennedy Holman 3-5 2-5 8 4
Lauren Stewart 1-2 0-0 2 0
Kayla Stidham 0-2 0-0 0 0
Blair Satterfield 0-0 0-0 0 0
Addison Van Hoesen 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 20-46 9-14 55 7
Southeastern 3-pointers (6-19) M. Makalusky 5-9, R. Makalusky 1-2, Brown 0-2, Stidham 0-2, Hooks 0-2, Acres 0-1, Stewart 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (31) R. Makalusky 8, M. Makalusky 6, Brown 6, Acres 5, Holman 3, Stewart 3.
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Izzy Shepherd 3-15 4-6 11 3
Mackenzie Woods 0-3 1-2 1 3
Lauren Perry 0-3 0-0 0 2
Jamie Elliott 2-6 0-2 5 1
Hannah Lach 2-6 5-6 9 4
Keaton Gatlin 1-5 0-0 2 1
Brooke Thoren 0-1 0-0 0 1
Rilee McBride 2-4 0-0 4 0
Mallory Bourquein 0-0 0-0 0 1
Lydia Pedersen 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 10-43 10-16 32 16
Carmel 3-pointers (2-18) Shepherd 1-7, Elliott 1-2, Lach 0-3, Gatlin 0-3, Woods 0-1, Perry 0-1, McBride 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (23) Lach 7, Woods 5, McBride 4, Perry 3, Gatlin 2, Shepherd 1, Elliott 1.
Score by Quarters
Hamilton Southeastern 11 12 7 25 – 55
Carmel 3 7 6 16 – 32