By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – One of the nice things about playing basketball in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference is that a young team can become an experienced team very quickly.
Just ask the Fishers girls basketball team. The Tigers were young coming in to this season, but they’re starting to play like poised veterans. That maturity helped Fishers to another Mudsock trophy win Saturday night at the Tiger Den.
The Class 4A No. 4 Tigers won the Mudsock for the third consecutive year, beating Hamilton Southeastern 69-61. It was a typical rivalry game, with both teams playing well and at a high intensity level. Such a contest might be difficult for a young team to handle, but Fishers did that pretty well.
“I thought they responded very well,” said Tigers junior Olivia Smith. “This isn’t our first big game. We’ve had Noblesville, Zionsville. Just them stepping up, cheering, playing the role that they know how to play and just sticking together as one team.”
The first quarter was close until the final couple minutes. Both teams played to a 14-14 tie, with the young players stepping up. Royals freshman Maya Makalusky scored 10 points during that run, including a pair of 3s. Karina Scott hit two triples as well.
Then Joirdyn Smith took over. The Fishers sophomore went on a personal 8-0 run to finish the quarter, nailing two 3s and a floater to give the Tigers a 22-14 lead after one. Smith then made it a 10-0 run by hitting two free throws, putting her team up 24-14.
“The biggest thing with Joirdyn is to be our point guard and to make sure that we’re facilitating things and the ball keeps moving,” said Fishers coach Lauren Votaw. “And obviously, she shoots it really well, so when she has those opportunities, we want her to take advantage of those.”
The momentum from that run kept the Tigers in front for a while, even when Southeastern made its runs. Talia Harris also started hitting long-range shots, with two 3s and eight points in the quarter. Meanwhile, the Royals’ Olivia Brown also scored eight points in the second period as well.
Fishers led 37-30 at halftime. Southeastern made a move in the third quarter; Riley Makalusky began to shine by scoring eight points, and Lauren Stewart hit a 3 to get HSE ahead 44-43.
Olivia Smith continued to show her leadership in the period, with seven points in the third, including a triple that pushed Fishers back up 46-44. The back and forth continued for the remainder of the quarter, which ended with the score tied at 50-50.
The Royals quickly went up 55-50 after Maya Makalusky hit a 3 and Makayala Hinshaw made two free throws. The Tigers responded with a 7-0 run; Harris poured in five points to tie the game, and Olivia Smith made two free throws for a 57-55 lead.
Brown tied the game with a layin, but Fishers used another quick 6-0 run to take the lead for good. Joirdyn Smith drained a 3, then Olivia Smith was good on a three-point play. A layin by Hailey Smith gave Fishers a 66-58 lead with a minute to go, and the Tigers held on from there.
“First of all, credit to Southeastern,” said Votaw. “They hit some big shots. Olivia Brown was outstanding. I just was really proud of the way our kids responded.”
Votaw said she challenged her team before the fourth quarter “to really separate themselves, and we separated ourselves perhaps the wrong way to start the fourth. But then they did, they battled back. And we just had contributions from a lot of different people tonight.”
“We definitely had some ups and downs throughout this game, but we knew we have to come together in order to win this game,” said Hailey Smith. “We made some adjustments after halftime and in the middle of the game, so we just knew after that we had to stick together.”
Joirdyn Smith led all scorers with 19 points, Olivia Smith had 18 points, and the rapidly-improving Harris scored 12. As for the Royals, Maya Makalusky, Riley Makalusky and Brown all finished with 17 points. Maya Makalusky totaled five 3-pointers.
The Tigers are now 4-0 in conference play and all by themselves on top of the standings. HSE is 3-2 in the conference.
Fishers is 10-2 and travels to Fort Wayne to play two games on Tuesday, taking on Homestead at 10 a.m. and Carroll at 4 p.m. Southeastern is 7-5 and also plays at Fort Wayne on Tuesday. The Royals will play Carroll at 10 a.m. and Homestead at 4 p.m.
FISHERS 69, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 61
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Maya Makalusky 5 2-2 17 4
Makayla Hinshaw 1 2-2 4 3
Riley Makalusky 7 4-3 17 3
Olivia Brown 6 5-8 17 3
Zoe Bolding 1 1-3 3 3
Teegan Acres 0 0-0 0 2
Lauren Stewart 1 0-0 3 1
Maine Hooks 0 0-0 0 2
Totals 21 14-18 61 21
Southeastern 3-pointers (6) M. Makalusky 5, Stewart 1.
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Karina Scott 2 0-0 6 4
Joirdyn Smith 5 6-6 19 2
Kate Thomas 1 1-2 3 4
Hailey Smith 1 5-8 7 3
Olivia Smith 7 3-7 18 2
Ava Carter 1 0-0 2 0
Talia Harris 4 2-4 12 0
Alycia Triplett 1 0-0 2 0
Totals 22 17-27 69 15
Fishers 3-pointers (8) J. Smith 3, Scott 2, Harris 2, O. Smith 1.
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 14 16 20 11 – 61
Fishers 22 15 13 19 – 69