By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – A spectacular defensive third quarter propelled the Hamilton Heights girls basketball team to a first-ever Hoosier Conference championship last Saturday.
The Huskies hosted Rensselaer Central for the conference title in a clash between the top two teams in Class 3A. Heights was ranked No. 2 and the Bombers were No. 1, but the Huskies blasted through Rensselaer to win 54-32. The Bombers were the last undefeated girls team in Indiana before the game.
The first half was a tight one. Rensselaer led 9-7 at the end of one, then used back-to-back 3-pointers from Taylor Van Meter to go up 17-15.
Camryn Runner tied the game with a layin, then a Hadleigh Cherry free throw pushed Heights into the lead. Ella Hickok stepped up with a layin at the buzzer, and the Huskies led 20-18 at halftime.
Katie Brown scored 13 points for the Huskies, including three 3-pointers. (Bob Cross)
Neither team scored in the third quarter until the 4:30 mark, when Hickok made a floater. The floodgates opened after that for the Huskies, as they poured in 13 more points. Katie Brown and Hickok both nailed 3s, and suddenly Heights had a double-digit lead.
Runner then took over. She made a three-point play with 2:09 to go, made a layin, then hit two free throws with 37 seconds left. The Huskies now led 35-17. The Bombers made a free throw with 15 seconds to go in the third, but that would be their only point during the quarter.
“We had a really good week of practice,” said Cherry. “Our girls were bought in on the scouts, so we had our personnel. But our girls just made plays. All the credit goes to our locker room. They’re the ones that made the plays.”
Heights cruised through the fourth period, outscoring Rensselaer 19-14. Kassidy Schakel hit two early layins, then Runner added eight more points in the game’s final 5:56, including all six of her free-throw attempts.
“We made shots in the second half that we missed in the first half and we were able to spurt ahead and maintain our lead,” said Cherry.
Runner finished with 24 points. Brown totaled three 3s for 13 points and Hickok scored 10.
Hamilton Heights is now 19-2. The Huskies host Heritage Christian on Thursday to finish the regular season.