By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – There was quite a bit on the line when Westfield visited Hamilton Heights Saturday afternoon in a girls basketball showdown.
The Huskies were undefeated while the Shamrocks were riding a 10-game win streak. In the end, Heights stayed perfect as it used a remarkable defensive effort to take a big fourth-quarter lead, then held off Westfield’s inevitable comeback for a 44-41 victory.
“I thought it was tremendous,” said Huskies coach Keegan Cherry. “I thought we gave tremendous effort. We fought for 32 minutes. That is a fantastic, fantastic team, and Coach (Ginny) Smith is one of the best. She’s as hard to prepare for as anybody on our schedule. We have nothing but the utmost respect for Coach Smith and her entire program. She has fantastic kids.”
It was Heights’ Pink Out for Breast Cancer game, so that already made it a special occasion. Huskies senior Jillian Osswald organized the event and gave a speech afterwards, where she announced that over $2,000 had been raised for the IWIN Foundation, which supports individuals statewide receiving treatment for breast cancer.
The first half was a close one. Heights finished the opening quarter ahead 10-6; the game was tied at 4-4 before the Huskies went on a 6-0 run. MyKayla Moran scored six points for Heights, including the first four points of the run, and Ella Hickok made a floater.
Gigi Eldredge stopped the run with a layin that ended the period, and actually launched a 6-0 run for Westfield. The ‘Rocks got baskets from Eldredge and Hailey Remaks to tie the game at 10-10. Hickok pushed the Huskies back in front with a pair of free throws, and Westfield’s Alyssa Crockett answered that with a 3-pointer.
That put the Shamrocks ahead 13-12, but that would be their only lead of the game. Baskets by Sydney Runyan and Moran put Heights ahead 16-13. Crockett’s putback finished the half and kept Westfield within one at 16-15.
After that, the Huskies’ defense took over. Heights cruised through the third quarter, outscoring Westfield 11-0 – the Huskies didn’t allow the ‘Rocks a single point for an 11-minute stretch. Jillian Osswald scored five points in the third, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond half court. That basket put Heights ahead 27-15.
“Coach Cherry does a great job, those kids are playing really hard,” said Smith. “They did the little things today and we did not do the little things.”
The Huskies led 35-20 with 3:24 left in the fourth before Westfield made a furious push, embarking on a 17-5 run to get within 40-37 with 31 seconds left. Emmrey Collinsworth scored five points in the run, including a 3-pointer.
“We’re fighters,” said Smith. “We’re never going to give up on anything.” The coach said her team “did some really good things” in that quarter, but admitted that after falling behind.
“So when you dig yourself a hole like that, against a good team, it’s hard to come out of that,” said Smith.
Olivia Robey also added five points, and it was her triple that got the Shamrocks within three points. Camryn Runner answered that seconds later with two free throws, and the Huskies were able to hold on. Heights didn’t get any baskets in the fourth, but got it done from the line, making 17 of 24 foul shots.
“We knew it was coming, and then when MyKayla got hurt there in the third, some of the things that we had put in to counter their pressure went out the window, and we’re playing kids in different positions, just trying to get to the finish line,” said Cherry. “And we got a little tentative there in the fourth quarter. We went into being afraid to lose instead of keeping the foot on the pedal and trying to win it.
“But credit to our girls. We made a lot of tough plays. It was super physical there in the fourth quarter. They were trying to make their run and we made some foul shots down the stretch and made enough tough plays.”
Osswald led the Huskies with 12 points, while Moran scored 10. Runner collected six rebounds and Runyan made four steals.
Crockett scored 13 points for the Shamrocks and also pulled six rebounds. Robey had four steals.
Heights is now 12-0 for the season and plays a Hoosier Conference East Division game at Western on Tuesday. Westfield is 13-4 and returns to Hoosier Crossroads Conference action Tuesday by hosting Avon.
“We’re going to bounce back,” said Smith. “We got one day to prepare for Avon. Like (assistant) Coach (Blair) Schlicher said in the locker room, some games you win and some games you learn. So today, we learned.”
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 44, WESTFIELD 41
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Alyssa Crockett 4-10 4-4 13 4
Jessica Castor 1-4 0-0 2 3
Olivia Robey 4-6 0-0 9 3
Hailey Remaks 2-7 0-0 5 1
Gigi Eldredge 3-6 0-0 6 2
Jadeyn Hammes 0-1 0-0 0 1
Mikayla Rudolph 0-3 0-0 0 1
Ellie Kelleher 0-3 1-2 1 2
Emmrey Collinsworth 1-1 2-2 5 4
Totals 15-41 7-8 41 21
Westfield 3-point shooting (4-21) Crockett 1-5, Remaks 1-5, Robey 1-2, Collinsworth 1-1, Castor 0-3, Kelleher 0-2, Rudolph 0-2, Hammes 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (22) Crockett 6, Robey 4, Eldredge 4, Remaks 3, Kelleher 1, Hammes 1, Castor 1, Collinsworth 1, Rudolph 1.
Heights FG FT TP PF
Ella Hickok 1-2 4-4 6 2
Jillian Osswald 3-8 5-8 12 1
Camryn Runner 1-5 6-8 8 4
Sydney Runyan 2-4 3-4 7 1
MyKayla Moran 5-6 0-0 10 1
Hadleigh Cherry 0-0 0-0 0 0
Kaylee Rhoton 0-0 1-2 1 1
Totals 12-25 19-26 44 10
Heights 3-point shooting (1-5) Osswald 1-3, Runner 0-2.
Heights rebounds (21) Runner 6, Moran 4, Hickok 2, Osswald 2, Runyan 1, Cherry 1, team 5.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 6 9 0 26 – 41
Heights 10 6 11 17 – 44