By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
Carmel had one goal in mind as the girls basketball Class 4A Sectional 8 championship began Saturday night at Fishers: Let it fly.
The Greyhounds got off to an aggressive start, and that carried them to a third consecutive sectional title. Carmel, the second-ranked team in 4A, beat Hamilton Southeastern 68-48 to win Sectional 8 and qualify once again for the Kokomo regional.
The ‘Hounds led 23-6 after the first quarter, with their two sharpshooters leading the way: Tomi Taiwo drained four 3-pointers in that period alone, while Amy Dilk threw in three triples.
“We wanted to play a real aggressive, physical game,” said Carmel coach Tod Windlan. “We told our kids, our good shooters, ‘When you’re open, let it fly and shoot it with confidence.'”
That confidence carried through into the second quarter, in which the Greyhounds led 33-9 at one point. Reagan Hune added five points in that period, while Taiwo hit another ‘3,’ bringing her total to five. After receiving a scare from Noblesville in Friday’s semi-finals, Carmel wasn’t about to let Saturday be a repeat.
“Yesterday, it was a battle for sure, and today we learned our lesson,” said Taiwo. “We ran over sets again and we figured out what we needed to do to come out with a win and obviously make it easier for ourselves. And we made our shots.”
The Royals finished the second quarter on a 7-0 run, cutting Carmel’s lead to 33-16 at halftime. Molly Walton helped HSE out with four points, a free throw and a 3-pointer.
But the ‘Hounds opened the second half on an 10-0 run. Taiwo scored seven of those points, starting with her sixth 3-pointer of the game. She was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points.
Jasmine McWilliams scored the other three points, on a free throw and a layin. After that, Carmel continued to roll, enjoying its largest lead of the game in the third quarter at 51-22.
“That team’s good and we had them down close to 30 at one point,” said Windlan, who credited assistant coach Craig Brunnemer with a good scouting report. “We really played well on both ends, and I thought we were the aggressor on both ends.”
The Royals made a push in the fourth quarter, scoring eight unanswered points to get to with 56-41. Amaya Hamilton scored six points of that run, while Walton’s quick steal turned into two more points. Southeastern was still within 58-43 with 3:38 left to go, but Carmel wouldn’t allow them to get closer. The Greyhounds scored their last eight points from the free-throw line, going 8-of-8 in the final three minutes.
“It’s definitely been like a journey, but doing it with the team I have has been awesome, and being able to play with the seniors that I have has just been great,” said Blake Smith. She led the way on the boards, with seven rebounds. McWilliams collected six and Dilk had five.
Dilk also added 18 points and dished out nine assists. She did all this with her knee wrapped up after hurting it in Friday’s game.
“It was just a tweak,” said Dilk. “I just wanted to be able to play with my team and I just knew I had to gut it out. That’s why I did it. I’m just proud of my team.”
“Amy’s just a warrior,” said Windlan. “That knee’s swollen and not real good and stuff. But she just got the heart. She wants to win. Reagan and Tomi, I thought were outstanding and Jasmine started going to the glass really hard, rebounding for us.”
McWilliams and Hune both finished with 10 points.
Malea Jackson scored 14 points to lead the Royals, while Hamilton added 13 and Walton scored 12. Walton also pulled five rebounds for HSE, which finished its season 16-8.
Carmel, meanwhile, is now 24-2; that sets a new school record for wins in a season. Next up is Zionsville, the 10th-ranked team in 4A, in the noon semi-final of the Kokomo regional on Saturday, Feb. 10. The first semi-final will see Fort Wayne Carroll take on Fort Wayne South.
Carmel 68, Southeastern 48
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Malea Jackson 4-10 4-4 14 3
Molly Walton 5-12 1-4 12 4
Amaya Hamilton 4-6 5-6 13 1
Tayah Irvin 1-7 2-2 4 4
Sydney Parrish 1-10 0-0 2 1
Jackie Maulucci 0-1 0-0 0 0
Shelby Ford 1-4 0-0 2 2
Lydia Self 0-0 0-0 0 0
Erikka Ededuwa 0-0 0-0 0 0
Bailee Poore 0-0 1-3 1 0
Totals 16-50 13-19 48 15
Southeastern 3-point shooting (3-15) Jackson 2-3, Walton 1-3, Parrish 0-5, Irvin 0-4.
Southeastern rebounds (19) Walton 5, Hamilton 4, Parrish 3, Jackson 2, Irvin 2, Poore 2, Ford 1.
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Amy Dilk 4-11 6-6 18 1
Blake Smith 1-2 0-0 2 5
Tomi Taiwo 8-11 4-4 26 2
Jasmine McWilliams 3-5 4-6 10 2
Reagan Hune 4-6 0-0 10 3
Maddi Sears 0-0 0-0 0 2
Molly Gillig 0-0 0-0 0 0
Mackenzie Wood 0-2 0-0 0 1
Macy Berglund 0-0 2-2 2 1
Tally Seitz 0-1 0-0 0 0
Vanessa Mullins 0-1 0-0 0 0
Sophie Bair 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 20-39 16-18 68 17
Carmel 3-point shooting (12-19) Taiwo 6-8, Dilk 4-7, Hune 2-2, McWilliams 0-1, Seitz 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (35) Smith 7, McWilliams 6, Dilk 5, Taiwo 4, Mullins 2, Hune 1, Berglund 1, Wood 1, team 8.
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 6 10 10 22 – 48
Carmel 23 10 18 17 – 68
ABOVE: The Carmel girls basketball team won its third consecutive sectional championship Saturday, beating Hamilton Southeastern 68-48 at Fishers. The Greyhounds will play Zionsville in the second semi-final of the Kokomo regional next Saturday.
BELOW: Carmel’s Tomi Taiwo (22) scored 26 points for the Greyhounds in their sectional championship win on Saturday. Pictured at far left is Hamilton Southeastern’s Malea Jackson, who scored 14 points for the Royals. (Kirk Green)
