By JIM BELSER
The intensity couldn’t have gotten any higher Saturday night at Fishers as the Tigers tangled with Hamilton Southeastern in girls’ basketball to determine this year’s Mudsock trophy winner. In the end it was the Royals cool composure down the stretch that carried them to a 54-49 victory over their Hoosier Crossroads Conference rivals.
“When we get together, whatever your record is, whatever you’ve done on the past doesn’t matter, Hamilton Southeastern coach Chris Huppenthal said. “I was proud of our kids, they stayed composed and hopefully that will help us on the future.”
Hamilton Southeastern withstood a torrid comeback attempt by Fishers late in the fourth quarter after being up by as many as 10 points. Shelby Ford, coming off the bench in place of an injured Sydney Parrish, knocked down a free throw during the Tiger run with 46 seconds to go, putting the Royals up 50-46.
“When she hit the free throw with 46 seconds left, it put us up by four and became a two-possession game,” Huppenthal said.
Teammates Molly Watson and Malea Jackson followed her success at the foul line, combing for 3 of 4 from the stripe the rest of the way to hold on for the win and move the Royals to (12-2) on the season. Despite the loss, Fishers holds on to a winning record at (7-6).
Parrish of Hamilton Southeastern saw limited action in the contest as she battled early foul trouble and left the game with just under a minute to go after hitting her chin on court following a foul on a drive to the basket. She finished with 12 points on the night.
Malea Jackson led the Royals in scoring with 14 points. For Fishers, Toni Grace led the Tigers with 16, while teammate and sophomore guard Tamia Perryman chipped in 14.
Down 45-35 with just over five minutes left, Fishers got a steal and a fast break score from Katie Burton. Kenedi London hit a 3 pointer for Fishers and Grace scored on a fast break bucket following a Fishers steal to cut it to 49-44. Fishers gave itself one last chance when it forced a late game turnover with Burton diving on the floor to gain possession and calling time out.
Two late scores by Perryman of Fishers wasn’t enough to threaten for the win. For Fishers coach Lauren Vail, it was business as usual between the two schools.
“They are an extremely talented basketball team. He had kids step up and hit big shots. Kids that don’t necessarily hit big shots,” Fishers coach Lauren Vail said. “They were poised down the stretch when we tried to speed them up. I though both teams played exceptional hard, and I thought it was a great basketball game.”
The Lady Royals controlled the pace for much of the first half even with leading scorer Sydney Parrish on the bench with two fouls for much of the second quarter. Picking up the slack was teammate Jackie Maulucci, who contributed eight second-quarter points to keep the Tigers at bay.
Molly Walton of HSE gave the visitors their biggest lead of the first quarter after going coast to coast for a layup following a steal. Her score at the 1:42 mark gave the Royals a 12-8 lead. Fishers came back to tie things up at 12 with 10 seconds left in the first with a steal and a fast break score by Toni Grace.
The Royals opened a scoring gap in the second quarter as the Tigers struggled to find their range. Fishers was just 2 for 7 shooting in the second quarter.
Fishers takes on Delta in Muncie at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20. Hamilton Southeastern plays Plainfield at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21 in an away game.
ABOVE: The Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team accepts the Mudsock Trophy from Dub Clark after its 54-49 victory at Fishers Saturday night. The victory puts the Class 4A No. 6 Royals at 12-2 for the season.
BELOW: Fishers’ Ali Gerka looks for an opening during the Mudsock game. (Kirk Green)
