By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – Experience is serving the Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team well this season.
The Class 4A No. 3 Royals ran their record to 9-0 on Wednesday with a 60-48 victory over 4A No. 4 Noblesville in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game at The Mill. Southeastern led for all but a couple minutes of the game, taking a big halftime lead and holding off a Millers comeback in the second half.
Noblesville led 2-0 and 4-2 in the first quarter, with Kaitlyn Shoemaker scoring all of those points. But Lauren Stewart hit a 3-pointer to give the Royals a 5-4 lead, and they never trailed again.
Southeastern slowly built a 13-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. Senior Olivia Brown scored six points. The Royals then broke away even further in the second quarter, using an 8-0 run to take a 27-13 lead with 2:22 left in the half. Senior Teegan Acres scored four of those points, and sophomore Maya Makalusky drilled a 3.
“We have different people stepping up,” said HSE coach Brian Satterfield. “Yeah, we got our leading scorers, but we feel confident in everybody that’s out there to be able to step up and hit shots.”
Stewart’s second triple of the game came right before halftime, and it put Southeastern up 32-16 at the break. The Makalusky sisters then took over during the first part of the third quarter, with both Riley and Maya both scoring seven points. That pushed the Royals ahead 46-24.
The Millers came blasting back after that, going on a 14-0 run to get within 46-38. Reagan Wilson scored nine of those points, including a 3 and a basket off a steal. But Stewart threw in her third 3-pointer at the buzzer, so the Royals led 49-38 going into the fourth.
Noblesville got to within 49-44 with a 6-0 run before the Makaluskys took over again. Riley added five points and Maya scored four as Southeastern finished the game on a 9-1 run.
Riley Makalusky and Maya Makalusky both scored 14 points for Southeastern, followed by Brown’s 11 and Acres’ 10. Brown also collected 10 rebounds for a double-double and also had eight assists.
“When I was a freshman, I looked up to Sydney (Parrish) and Jackie Maulucci for sure,” said Brown. “And I think looking up to them as amazing leaders really just put me in the position I am now, and hopefully I can be that leader for them as well.”
Wilson finished the game with 22 points, while Kaitlyn Shoemaker added 15 points. The Millers were without Ava Shoemaker, while Meredith Tippner had to leave the game in the first half after getting injured.
“We battled for sure,” said Noblesville coach Donna Buckley. “But when you’re going against a team that’s that talented, you got to have more weapons to be able to do some things.”
Southeastern is now 3-0 in conference play. The Royals are off until Tuesday when they host Pendleton Heights. The Millers are 2-1 in HCC play and 6-3 overall, and play Saturday afternoon at Fort Wayne Northrop.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 60, NOBLESVILLE 48
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Maya Makalusky 4-7 4-5 14 4
Teegan Acres 4-5 2-2 10 1
Riley Makalusky 5-15 3-4 14 2
Olivia Brown 4-7 3-4 11 3
Maine Hooks 0-0 0-0 0 3
Kennedy Holman 1-5 0-0 2 2
Lauren Stewart 3-10 0-0 9 2
Kayla Stidham 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 21-49 12-15 60 17
Southeastern 3-pointers (6-19) Stewart 3-9, M. Makalusky 2-4, R. Makalusky 1-3, Holman 0-2, Acres 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (32) Brown 10, Holman 4, Acres 4, Stewart 4, R. Makalusky 3, M. Makalusky 2, team 5.
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Kaitlyn Shoemaker 4-7 7-9 15 2
Reagan Wilson 8-19 4-5 22 1
Meredith Tippner 1-5 1-2 3 0
Kate Rollins 2-6 0-0 5 2
Dani Mendez 1-1 1-2 3 4
C.C. Quigley 0-0 0-0 0 4
Brooklyn Ely 0-2 0-0 0 1
Carly Motz 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 16-40 13-18 48 14
Noblesville 3-pointers (3-15) Wilson 2-7, Rollins 1-3, Shoemaker 0-2, Ely 0-2, Tippner 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (24) Wilson 5, Shoemaker 4, Tippner 4, Rollins 4, Mendez 4, Quigley 1, team 2.
Score by Quarters
Hamilton Southeastern 13 19 17 11 – 60
Noblesville 7 9 22 10 – 48