By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Carmel became the latest girls basketball team to score an impressive season-opening victory Saturday afternoon at the Eric Clark Activity Center.
The Greyhounds, ranked No. 5 in the Class 4A pre-season poll, overwhelmed 4A No. 2 Homestead 66-32. Carmel broke out of a tight first quarter to completely take over the game, with its two recent Division I signees leading the way.
The ‘Hounds trailed 9-7 early in the first period. The Spartans’ Allison Stephens was dominating early, scoring eight of those Homestead points. Kate Clarke was doing her part to keep Carmel close, though, as she had five points in the quarter.
“Our first two possessions, we started with two turnovers and anytime you do that, it puts you in a bad position,” said Greyhounds coach Erin Trimpe. “And Homestead really capitalized on them, hit two 3s right in a row and put us in a position where we had to make a little comeback.”
That little comeback grew into a big Carmel run. Hannah Lach got the ‘Hounds in front 10-9 with a 3-pointer, and that was the start of a 20-0 run that lasted well into the second quarter. Five different players contributed, including Riley Pennington, who scored the final three points of the first period, which ended with Carmel up 15-9.
The Greyhounds would jump ahead 27-9 by the time the run was finished. Clarke had five points during that time, Dunn made a pair of baskets, Evan Spidel made a pair of free throws, and Lach ended the run where it began, with a 3-pointer.
Trimpe was proud of the fact that her team regrouped after the Spartans made their initial run.
“They didn’t let it frazzle them,” said Trimpe. “I think that speaks to the experience that we’re bringing back this year. They started taking care of the ball. They executed their offenses really well. When you do that and you can have girls on the floor leading you the way that we have, Kate and Bridget especially, really good things are going to happen.”
Carmel’s lead continued to grow as the game progressed. The ‘Hounds led 33-15 at halftime; Spidel scored five points of a 6-0 run that took up the waning minutes of the half. Carmel then used a 17-0 run to bridge the third and fourth quarters; Lach scored seven points, with her, Clarke and Dunn all making a 3-pointer during that time.
All three of those players wound up in double figures. Dunn scored 19 points and also pulled five rebounds. Dunn also had four assists and three blocked shots. Clarke added 16 points, while Lach scored 13 and came close to a double-double with nine rebounds. All three players made three 3-pointers. Lach and Emily Roper both handed out four assists.
This was the first game Dunn and Clarke played as Division I commits. Dunn, a senior, is headed to Kent State University.
“It was definitely a difficult decision,” said Dunn. “It took a long time. First of all, I was lucky enough to be able to go out and visit before everything locked down, so that was definitely a plus for me, being able to see all the schools that I was interested in.”
When Dunn got to Kent State, she said she “just clicked really well with the coaching staff and the girls that I got to meet and go out to eat with and just hang out with them. It just felt like the right decision for me.”
Clarke, a junior, has committed to the University of Michigan, becoming the second Carmel player to join the Wolverines in recent years. Amy Dilk, the 2018 Miss Basketball, is about to begin her junior year at Michigan.
“The recruiting process was a little different with COVID for me,” said Clarke. “But I had already visited Michigan, so that helped a lot. I’m just super comfortable with the coaching staff and the girls that I’ve met. I’m just super excited.”
The Greyhounds next play Thursday at Heritage Christian.
CARMEL 66, HOMESTEAD 32
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Bridget Dunn 7-9 2-2 19 2
Evan Spidel 3-3 2-2 9 3
Kate Clarke 5-13 3-5 16 0
Hannah Lach 5-10 0-0 13 1
Mackenzie Thomas 1-4 0-0 2 2
Riley Pennington 1-3 1-2 3 3
Emily Roper 1-2 0-0 2 4
Erin Baker 1-1 0-0 2 0
Laura Valiente 0-0 0-0 0 1
Tori Tomalia 0-1 0-0 0 0
Maya Berglund 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 24-46 8-11 66 16
Score by Quarters
Homestead 9 6 9 8 – 32
Carmel 15 18 16 17 – 66
Carmel 3-point shooting (10-20) Lach 3-7, Clarke 3-6, Dunn 3-4, Spidel 1-1, Tomalia 0-1, Thomas 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (35) Lach 9, Roper 6, Dunn 5, Thomas 5, Pennington 4, Spidel 2, Clarke 2, Baker 1, Tomalia 1.