By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
WALTON – Hamilton Heights took a road trip in Hoosier Conference East Division action on Thursday night and couldn’t have left Walton any more satisfied.
The Huskies got started early and kept their feet on the gas with a dominating road win over the Lewis Cass Kings, 47-15.
The team had plenty of time off to prepare for the stretch run and it was anxious to get back out on the court and that was completely obvious. The Huskies last played on Dec. 20 at home against Lapel and also were given a week off last week.
Storming out to a 15-2 lead after one quarter, the Huskies were in complete control from the opening tip.
“I’m really proud of the team tonight. Coming off an extended break where we gave the girls a week off, I thought overall we executed fairly well,” said Hamilton Heights head coach Keegan Cherry.
The host Kings woke up in the second with their better scoring quarter of the night, besting Heights 9-7, but were still doubled up 22-11 at halftime.
“We missed some defensive rotations there in the second quarter, but only gave up four points in the second half. I’m pretty pleased with that effort,” continued Cherry on his team’s defensive statement.
“Lewis Cass played a box-and-one defense on Runner and we had other girls step up and make shots. And that’s what it takes, players beating zones,” stated Cherry on the installed defense the Kings played to try to stop Runner.
The second half was all Huskies as they would outscore Lewis Cass 25-4 en route to a 47-15 blowout win over the Lewis Cass Kings.
Heights kept it steady in the final two quarters, allowing for Camryn Runner to reach the 1,000-point milestone in her career.
“I’m happy for Camryn Runner. She passed the 1,000th point milestone,” said a proud Keegan Cherry.
“She is one of the most humble kids we’ve coached here at Heights. She does things the right way and works really hard. She’d be the first to acknowledge that for every basket she’s made, there’s been an assist from a great teammate,” Cherry continued on Runner.
“As a program, we were really excited to celebrate this accomplishment with her tonight. But no doubt, she’s a special player. And what’s really cool, she’s an even better person,” said Cherry complementing Runner.
Runner began the night with 986 points and finished with 18 points to lead all scorers. She now has 1,004 points in just 58 career games for the Huskies and she’s just a junior.
Kaylee Rhoton joined Runner in double-figures with 11 points, including three of her four field goals from three-point land. Ella Hickok added seven and Katie Brown chipped in with five.
The Huskies (12-2, 1-0 Hoosier East) have now won eight of their last nine and have another crucial East Division test, as they welcome East Division leader Northwestern (10-3, 2-0 East Division) for an afternoon tipoff at 2 p.m. Saturday.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 47, LEWIS CASS 15
Heights FG FT TP PF
Ella Hickok 3 0-1 7 3
Camryn Runner 6 5-6 18 1
Kaylee Rhoton 4 0-0 11 2
Kassidy Schakel 2 0-0 4 2
Hadleigh Cherry 1 0-0 2 3
Katie Brown 2 0-0 5 0
Taylor Harley 0 0-0 0 2
Morgan Ottinger 0 0-0 0 1
Totals 18 5-7 47 14
Score by Quarters
Hamilton Heights 15 7 12 13 – 47
Lewis Cass 2 9 3 1 – 15
Heights 3-pointers (6) Rhoton 3, Hickok, Harley, Runner.