By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – For the first time in five years, the Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team has the Mudsock Trophy.
The Royals had to work for it, as they needed overtime to beat Fishers 70-67 last Saturday at the Tiger Den. Southeastern came back from a six-point deficit with under two minutes left in the game, then Maya Makalusky took over in the overtime by scoring eight points to push the Royals to victory.
“It meant the world,” said Makalusky. “We worked so hard for this, and it’s just these little things in practice, and we knew what it took. There’s a lot of emotion involved in this.”
Southeastern trailed 58-52 with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter. Baskets by Kayla Stidham and Kayla Brinley got the Royals within 58-56 before Nevaeh Dickman scored with 42.4 seconds left.
Trailing 60-56, Southeastern tied the game with a Stidham layin, then Makalusky made two free throws with 9.5 seconds to go. Once the overtime began, Makalusky scored the first basket on a jump shot.
Dickman tied the game with a layin, but a Makalusky free throw moved HSE up 63-62. Makalusky made three of four foul shots to get her team up 66-62 with 50.5 seconds left.
Southeastern’s Maya Makalusky scored 28 points and moved past the 1,000-point mark during the game. (Joshua Herd)
A free throw by Kate Thomas and a basket off a steal by Morgan Roberts got Fishers within 66-65. But Makalusky made two more free throws to get the lead up to three. Then with 10 seconds left, Brinley made a steal under the Tigers’ basket, was fouled and sealed the game with two more free throws.
“Offensively, she’s always in the right spot,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. The steal was one thing, but Satterfield also was pleased that she “hit those big free throws.”
The Royals got off to a hot start, leading 8-2, then 13-6 during the first quarter. Makalusky made two 3s, while Stidham drained one.
Fishers roared back to tie the game at 16-16 by the end of the first quarter. Talia Harris took over the game, pouring in eight points, including two and-ones, during the last three minutes of the period.
A 3 by Joirdyn Smith gave the Tigers a 21-17 lead early in the second period. The two teams traded the lead before Makalusky and Stidham baskets gave Southeastern a 30-25 advantage. Fishers came back to lead 31-30 at halftime, with Smith draining a 3 and Harris making a layin, then a free throw to push the Tigers ahead.
Fishers’ Talia Harris led all scorers with 29 points. (Joshua Herd)
Harris continued her outstanding play in the third quarter, adding 10 points. That included two 3s; her second triple gave Fishers a 41-34 lead. She then went 4-of-4 from the line, including two with 8.4 seconds left to put the Tigers up 45-40 going into the fourth.
Fishers led by eight three times in the fourth quarter, all of them thanks to Harris baskets. Stidham got going with eight points, including two 3s, during the middle stages of the quarter. Two free throws from Allison Scheu gave Fishers a 58-52 lead before HSE began its comeback.
Makalusky finished the game with 28 points and moved past the 1,000-point mark during the game. She did so with her sister Riley Makalusky (now playing at Butler University) and Sydney Parrish, the Royals’ 2020 Miss Basketball and current Indiana University players, looking on.
“These are people that I’ve always looked up to, people that I aspire to be like. My sister is my biggest supporter,” said Makalusky, who is committed to Indiana.
Stidham scored 17 points, while Kennedy Holman scored 10. Harris led all scorers with 29 points, followed by Dickman with 18.
The Royals are 11-1, and 5-0 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference play. They play at Cathedral on Tuesday. Fishers is 2-2 in the conference and 9-4 overall and plays Friday at Fort Wayne Carroll.