By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – A hard-fought girls basketball game went Hamilton Southeastern’s way Wednesday night.
The Royals visited The Mill at Noblesville and held off the Millers 49-45 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference contest. Southeastern jumped out to a double-digit advantage in the second quarter before the Millers came back, slowly chipping away at the Royals’ lead. Noblesville then surged ahead a few times in the second half before Southeastern pulled ahead for good.
“Once they took the lead, we found a way to bounce back and get some key buckets,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “I know Kennedy was able to attack off the rim. We got some good ball movement, hit some shots and we were able to knock down free throws. But more importantly, down the stretch, the last three or four minutes, I thought we got some key stops.”
Southeastern led 39-38 going into the fourth quarter. The Millers’ C. C. Quigley used a putback to get her team up 40-39. Kennedy Holman answered that with a layin, to which Quigley responded by making another rebound basket.
That gave Noblesville a 42-41 lead, but HSE’s Antonette Green took care of that with a 3-pointer. Holman helped out with another basket, then Meredith Tippner threw in a triple to keep the Millers within 46-45.
Holman stepped up again, making a layin with around two minutes to go that got the Royals ahead 48-45. Both teams made stops during those final minutes, and Kayla Stidham iced the game by making a free throw with 11 seconds left.
Noblesville freshman Maia Blower made two 3-pointers
for the Millers. (Richie Hall)
“We made the plays down the stretch when we needed to,” said Satterfield.
Tippner scored the game’s first points with a 3 at the 5:36 mark of the first quarter. Another Tippner triple gave Noblesville a 6-5 lead late in the first. Southeastern got going after that, making a 16-2 run that carried well into the second quarter.
Holman began the run with a putback, then Stidham drained a pair of 3s. Abby Brown’s layin finished the first-quarter scoring, then Maya Makalusky opened the second period with a 3. Holman’s triple pushed the Royals ahead 21-8.
Millers freshman Maia Blower threw in a 3, which began a 17-7 run for Noblesville that lasted until halftime. Tippner poured in six points during that run, with Norah Vetor hitting a 3 and Kate Rollins making a traditional three-point play.
Southeastern led 28-25 at the break and was able to stay ahead for most of the third quarter. Stidham answered a Rollins 3 with an and-1 to put HSE up 35-29. Blower drained another 3 for the Millers and Rollins’ triple gave Noblesville its first lead since the first quarter at 38-37. Stidham put the Royals back on top at 39-38 with two free throws, and the teams would continue that battle into the fourth quarter.
Holman led the scoring with 17 points and pulled seven rebounds, while Stidham made three 3s on her way to 15 points. Makalusky was held to seven points but did her part on defense, getting seven rebounds.
Tippner led all scorers with 19 points, also making three 3s, and collected six rebounds. Ally Hutchinson had five steals.
“Oh, there were a ton of positives,” said Millers coach Donna Buckley. “They’re supposed to be the team that wins. We’re trying to chase them down. Everybody in our sectional’s chasing them down. And to know that we were right there tonight and our two freshmen (Blower and Vetor) played really well. We played several minutes with two freshmen on the floor against a really good basketball team. C.C. really gave us some big minutes. I thought Kate was awesome tonight, chasing in the box-and-1.”
The Royals are 3-0 in conference play and 7-0 overall. They will travel to Evansville North this weekend to play two games, taking on Evansville Memorial at 7:30 p.m. Friday, then playing the host Huskies at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Noblesville is 1-2 in HCC action and 4-3 overall. The Millers host Hamilton Heights tonight in a make-up game; the varsity-only contest begins at 7 p.m.