By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The Hamilton Southeastern and Westfield basketball teams got together for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference girls-boys doubleheader Friday at the Royals’ gym.
The two games ended in a split decision. The girls went first, and Southeastern used a tough defense and a great performance from Riley Makalusky to beat the Shamrocks 54-35. In the boys game, the Royals got off to a hot start, but Westfield got going from outside in the second quarter, and that would lead the ‘Rocks to a 55-43 victory.
It was a special, well-attended night for both games, and also served as Southeastern’s Hoops for Hope game benefitting The V Foundation, which was started by ESPN and college coach Jim Valvano to provide funding for cutting-edge cancer research.
GIRLS GAME
The first half of the girls game was a low-scoring affair, with the Royals leading 9-4 at the end of the first quarter and 19-10 at halftime. Riley Makalusky had nine points at the break, and she was just getting started.
Southeastern made an 11-3 run in the third quarter that took up five minutes of game time. Makalusky scored seven of those points, including a three-point play with 3:42 left in the quarter. After that, Makalusky scored off a steal by Olivia Brown, and HSE was up 30-13.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Riley Makalusky scored 27 points for the Royals girls in their victory Friday. (Kirk Green)
Westfield cut the lead to 30-20 with its own 7-0 run. Aubrey Crockett nailed a 3-pointer, then Lindsey Van Dyke scored on back-to-back layins. Makalusky and Maren Dee traded 3s, which kept the Royals ahead 33-23.
Kayla Stidham finished the third quarter with a free throw, which turned out to be the start of an 8-0 Royals run. This one was capped by a layin by Maya Makalusky. After that, Southeastern kept its lead between 15 and 22 points for the remainder of the game.
“I thought our defensive effort was really good tonight,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “They did some nice things there, especially in the second half, but I thought for the most part we stayed connected. We were working together, trying to take away some of their opportunities. But the main thing was, we were able to get stops.”
Riley Makalusky finished with 27 points, easily leading all scorers. Brown had her usual outstanding game, with eight points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. Maine Hooks had two blocked shots.
Van Dyke led Westfield with eight points. Crockett collected six rebounds, followed by five for Kiki Loveless, and Ellie Kelleher handed out four assists.
“They really pressured us on the perimeter, put us on our heels a little bit there in the first half,” said Shamrocks coach Kelsey Key. I also think that we gave up some easy things in transition that helped them get going, too. That’s a really good team with a lot of really high-level basketball players. So ultimately, you can’t give up easy baskets and then you can’t allow pressure to put you on your heels.”
Westfield girls coach Kelsey Key talks things over with her players. (Kirk Green)
BOYS GAME
Southeastern’s boys came out fast, scoring the first six points of the game. Michael Griffith made a dunk for the opening basket, then Reph Stevenson added the next four points with a layin and two free throws. Trey Buchanan got Westfield on the board with a 3, but Braeden Totten’s layin put the Royals up 8-3.
The Shamrocks took over after that, using a 17-2 run that stretched well into the second quarter and put them up 20-10. The first part of the run was six unanswered points, which got Westfield up 9-8 at the end of the first period. Charles Farrell drained a 3 during that stretch.
Myles Holman made two free throws to begin the second quarter, putting HSE up 10-9. But Westfield threw in three consecutive triples, one each from Caleb Wise, Seth LaRavia and Will Harvey, and the Shamrocks were up 18-10. A layin by Alex Romack finished the run.
Westfield’s Alex Romack led the Shamrocks boys with 18 points. (Kirk Green)
“We made a lot of shots in the first half,” said ‘Rocks coach Shane Sumpter. The coach said that once his team was able to get the lead, “we were just able to hold on to that,” he said.
Westfield was soon up 29-14, and that would be the halftime score. The Royals went on a 7-0 run to begin the third quarter, cutting the lead to 29-21. Donovan Hamilton helped out with a 3.
Buchanan made a 3 to end the run, then Farrell’s layin made the score 34-21. Another LaRavia triple finished the third quarter and gave Westfield a 39-27 advantage going into the fourth quarter. The Shamrocks’ lead never dropped below 10 points during the fourth period, but the Royals kept battling until the end. Hamilton scored 10 points during that quarter.
“We had to change some things up in the second half,” said HSE coach John Ashworth. “Definitely proud of our kids to keep fighting and clawing, keep chipping away.”
“It’s tough to win on the road in this conference,” said Sumpter. “This is a great, great test for us.”
Romack finished the game with 18 points, followed by 13 for Buchanan and 11 for LaRavia; both Buchanan and LaRavia had three 3-pointers. Romack led the rebounds with seven, followed by five for Buchanan. Romack dished out four assists and LaRavia made two blocks.
Hamilton scored 13 points for Southeastern, followed by 12 for Stevenson; both had four rebounds. Gavin Papandria led the assists with four.
NEXT GAMES
The Royals girls are 5-1 in conference play and 17-2 overall, and host Lawrence North Tuesday in their home finale. Westfield is 2-3 in the HCC and 10-8 overall, and plays this afternoon at Indian Creek.
The Shamrocks boys improved to 2-1 in the HCC and 9-2 overall and host Brownsburg next Friday in another conference game. Southeastern is 1-2 in HCC play and 4-9 overall, and plays at Anderson tonight.
GIRLS GAME
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 54, WESTFIELD 35
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Ellie Kelleher 2-9 3-3 7 1
Aubrey Crockett 2-10 0-0 6 4
Emmrey Collinsworth 1-10 1-3 4 2
Kiki Loveless 2-3 0-0 4 0
Lindsey Van Dyke 4-7 0-1 8 0
Reagan Lorenzen 0-0 0-0 0 0
Maren Dee 2-2 0-0 6 0
Meg Hamilton 0-0 0-0 0 0
Mia Crask 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 13-41 4-7 35 7
Westfield 3-pointers (5-18) Crockett 2-7, Dee 2-2, Collinsworth 1-7, Kelleher 0-2.
Westfield rebounds (23) Crockett 6, Loveless 5, Collinsworth 3, Kelleher 2, Van Dyke 2, Lorenzen 1, team 4.
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Maya Makalusky 3-13 0-0 6 2
Teegan Acres 2-4 0-0 4 1
Riley Makalusky 10-15 4-5 27 0
Olivia Brown 4-5 0-1 8 4
Lauren Stewart 1-5 0-0 2 1
Kennedy Holman 2-6 0-0 4 1
Maine Hooks 0-1 0-0 0 0
Kayla Stidham 0-1 1-2 1 0
Blair Satterfield 0-0 2-2 2 0
Olivia White 0-0 0-0 0 0
Charity Beal 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 22-50 7-10 54 9
Southeastern 3-pointers (3-16) R. Makalusky 3-6, M. Makalusky 0-3, Stewart 0-3, Holman 0-2, Acres 0-1, Hooks 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (33) Acres 8, Brown 7, Holman 6, Stewart 5, M. Makalusky 4, R. Makalusky 1, Stidham 1, Hooks 1.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 4 6 13 12 – 35
Southeastern 9 10 15 20 – 54
BOYS GAME
WESTFIELD 55, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 43
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Trey Buchanan 4-9 2-2 13 1
Sam Bishop 0-2 2-3 2 1
Charles Farrell 2-3 1-2 6 1
Alex Romack 5-11 8-11 18 3
Armani Middlebrooks 0-2 0-1 0 3
Caleb Wise 0-1 0-0 0 0
Will Harvey 2-2 0-0 5 0
Seth LaRavia 3-5 2-2 11 3
Totals 16-35 15-21 55 12
Westfield 3-point shooting (8-16) Buchanan 3-8, LaRavia 3-4, Harvey 1-1, Farrell 1-1, Wise 0-1, Bishop 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (26) Romack 7, Buchanan 5, Farrell 3, Bishop 2, LaRavia 2, Middlebrooks 2, Harvey 1, Wise 1, team 3.
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Donovan Hamilton 4-12 3-4 13 2
Reph Stevenson 4-9 4-6 12 3
Deion Miles 0-2 0-0 0 0
Braeden Totton 2-2 0-0 4 1
Michael Griffith 2-4 0-0 4 3
Myles Holman 1-2 5-5 7 4
Eli Robinson 0-3 0-0 0 1
Joe Karwowski 0-1 1-2 1 2
Jack Jacobs 0-0 0-0 0 1
Gavin Papandria 0-0 0-0 0 0
Christian Pfeifer 1-2 0-0 2 0
Totals 14-37 13-17 43 17
Southeastern 3-pointers (2-10) Hamilton 2-6, Robinson 0-2, Miles 0-1, Pfeifer 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (20) Hamilton 4, Stevenson 4, Holman 2, Totten 2, Papandria 2, Griffith 2, Miles 1, Pfeifer 1, team 2.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 9 20 10 16 – 55
Southeastern 8 6 13 16 – 43