By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – Sectional 8 is known throughout Indiana to be one of the toughest sectionals in any sport, especially in girls basketball.
That was certainly true Tuesday night’s two first-round games. Host Westfield took to the court first, and the Shamrocks defended their home gym with a 54-44 win over Zionsville. In the second game, No. 5-ranked Hamilton Southeastern held off a late surge from No. 10 Carmel to get a 51-44 victory.
Westfield will take on No. 3-ranked Fishers in the first semi-final on Friday, which tips off at 6 p.m. The Royals play Noblesville in the second semi-final.
THREE-FOR-ALL
The Westfield-Zionsville game started as a “three-for-all.” The Eagles used a pair of 3-pointers to take an 10-5 lead with 4:30 left in the first period. Jessica Castor also made a 3 during the early part of the quarter.
But the Shamrocks let loose from beyond the arc in the later part of the period. Alyssa Crockett hit a 3, then Ava Henson drained back-to-back triples, giving Westfield a 14-10 lead. The run continued into the second quarter, with Crockett’s basket putting the ‘Rocks ahead 16-10.
“We did a lot of mental training before and just this whole wee
Westfield never trailed again, although Zionsville would remain close for the entire game. The Shamrocks led 27-25 at halftime, but Crockett quickly pushed that lead to 32-25 just a few seconds into the third quarter, making a layin and a 3-pointer.
Westfield coach Ginny Smith said her team had been talking about being mentally tough, “that in this sectional, probably every game’s going to be close,” she said. “We got to be able to take some punches and be able to come back from those. And I felt like tonight we had a really good game plan defensively. I felt like we stuck to the game plan.”
Henson said the team did “a lot of mental training” while preparing for the game. “And I think because of our preparation, that gave us confidence and just to not panic and be calm and play our game, because when we play our game, it doesn’t matter what the other team’s doing. We know that we can come back. They make a shot, that’s over with, we can come back and get the next one. So that’s our mentality. When stuff like that happens, just keep playing and just fix what happens.”
Henson hit a 3 to give the ‘Rocks their largest lead of the game, 35-27, early in the third. Ashtin DeCraene stepped up in the later part of the period, with a triple and two foul shots, making the free throws with 2:06 left. Neither team scored for the remainder of the quarter, which ended with Westfield up 41-33.
“I think we had a great third quarter, and that’s not been the norm for us this year,” said Smith. “We’ve always struggled somewhat in the third. It was really good to see the kids come out with a level of just grittiness to them. They resolved to not let down. I think it showed in the end.”
The Shamrocks maintained a four- to eight-point lead for most of the fourth period, pulling away in the final minute as the Eagles were forced to foul. Henson made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 18.2 seconds, with Castor and DeCraene both chipping in two.
Henson, a senior, finished the game with 18 points, including three 3s, and led the rebounding with four. Crockett added 16 points and DeCraene scored 10. Olivia Robey helped out with five steals and four assists.
Westfield improved to 14-10 after the win, while Zionsville finished its season 6-17.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
The Southeastern-Carmel game started in similar fashion to the first contest, with a back-and-forth first quarter. The Greyhounds’ Hannah Lach opened things up with a 3-pointer, then Jackie Maulucci answered with five straight points, a layin and a 3.
Kiara Gill tied the game with a basket, and Bridget Dunn hit a 3-pointer, but HSE’s Lydia Self made a 3 to tie the game again. Lach drained a second triple to put Carmel up 11-8.
Sydney Parrish then scored seven straight points for the Royals, ending the first period with a jumper, then opening the second with a 3 and a layin. Lauren Morris made the run 10-0 with a 3-pointer; that put Southeastern up 18-11 and it would stay in front the rest of the way.
“We knew coming over here that this wasn’t going to be easy,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “They got some really, really good players and they battled the whole game.”
The Royals led 27-20 at halftime, with Parrish making a 3 to finish the half. Southeastern then took a 42-29 lead late in the third quarter; Parrish added another nine points, with Self and Morris each hitting another 3-pointer.
Carmel made a 9-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Kate Clarke started it with a triple, then Dunn’s layin was the final basket of the third period. Clarke opened the fourth with two foul shots, and a putback from Dunn got the ‘Hounds within 42-38.
“We knew they’d make runs,” said Parrish. “We knew it was going to be a game of runs. I give credit to them for making that run. It’s really hard to come back in the fourth quarter and do that. But credit to our team and our defensive end. We were able to get stops, score, stop, score and handle the ball under the pressure and I think that’s what won us the game.”
Parrish ended the run with a layin, then added two free throws to give HSE a 46-38 lead. Lach cut it to 46-40 with a basket. Southeastern began to drain the clock, and ran it down before Self was fouled in a 1-and-1 situation with 1:39 left. She made both foul shots to put the Royals up 48-40, and HSE was able to hang on from there.
“Something that we’ve talked about all year is, you don’t try to win this game in February,” said Huppenthal. “You start preparing for this back in June and July and get your kids ready to play basketball.”
Parrish finished the game with 25 points, including three 3-pointers, and broke the Hamilton County girls scoring record with a second-quarter putback. Parrish now has 1,887 career points, moving past the 1,869 points scored by Noblesville’s Courtney Cox, a record that had stood for over 30 years.
“A lot of it’s my teammates,” said Parrish. “You can’t put up that many points without getting the ball from your teammates and setting you up, so big credit to them.”
“It’s good she has the record,” said Huppenthal. “You look at one of the best players ever to come out of this county as well as the state.”
Parrish was named as one of the 10 semi-finalists for the Naismith High School Girls Trophy, presented to the top girls player in the United States.
“What people get to see here and what we’ve got to see for the last four years is special with her,” said Huppenthal. “She’s obviously a great basketball player. She’s a heck of a teammate.”
Self scored eight points; she and Morris both had two 3s. Parrish led the rebounds with eight, while Maulucci collected seven rebounds and handed out five assists. Parrish also blocked two shots.
Dunn scored 15 points for Carmel and pulled nine rebounds, with Clarke adding 10 points. Dunn had two blocks.
“I am just so proud of them,” said Greyhounds coach Erin Trimpe. “They never quit.” She credited her team with fighting back after getting down by 13 points.
“But HSE is just such a good team, so you have to credit the things that they did,” said Trimpe. “But I was really proud of our effort and the way we fought back and the way we kept in it and didn’t quit, ever.”
Southeastern is 21-2 for the season, while the Greyhounds finished 15-8.
WESTFIELD 54, ZIONSVILLE 44
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Olivia Robey 0-4 0-0 0 0
Alyssa Crockett 5-8 4-4 16 3
Ava Henson 6-12 3-4 18 3
Jessica Castor 1-6 4-4 7 3
Ashtin DeCraene 2-6 4-4 10 0
Emily Robinson 0-1 0-0 0 0
Madi Kerrigan 1-1 0-1 2 0
Chesney Tebbe 0-3 1-2 1 2
Ashley Black 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 15-41 16-19 54 11
Score by Quarters
Westfield 14 13 14 13 – 54
Zionsville 10 15 8 11 – 44
Westfield 3-point shooting (8-21) Henson 3-4, DeCraene 2-6, Crockett 2-4, Castor 1-4, Robinson 0-1, Robey 0-1, Tebbe 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (23) Henson 4, Robey 3, Tebbe 3, Crockett 3, Castor 3, DeCraene 3, Robinson 1, Kerrigan 1, Black 1, team 1.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 51, CARMEL 44
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Jackie Maulucci 2-9 2-4 7 1
Makayla Hinshaw 0-0 0-0 0 3
Lauren Morris 2-5 1-2 7 1
Sydney Parrish 10-20 2-3 25 1
Bailee Poore 0-2 0-0 0 2
Lydia Self 2-3 2-2 8 3
Ryan Viele 1-4 2-2 4 1
Olivia Brown 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 17-43 9-13 51 12
Southeastern 3-point shooting (8-20) Parrish 3-6, Morris 2-5, Self 2-3, Maulucci 1-4, Viele 0-1, Poore 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (22) Parrish 8, Maulucci 7, Self 3, Viele 2, Hinshaw 1, Poore 1.
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Kiara Gill 2-5 0-0 5 2
Bridget Dunn 7-9 0-1 15 3
Riley Pennington 2-3 0-0 4 4
Kate Clarke 3-15 2-2 10 2
Hannah Lach 3-7 0-0 8 3
Fatima Valiente 0-2 2-3 2 1
Gracie Collins 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 17-41 4-6 44 15
Carmel 3-point shooting (6-21) Clarke 2-8, Lach 2-6, Gill 1-4, Dunn 1-2, Valiente 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (21) Dunn 9, Lach 4, Pennington 3, Valiente 2, Clarke 2, Gill 1.
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 10 17 15 9 – 51
Carmel 11 9 14 10 – 44
Hamilton Southeastern’s Sydney Parrish makes a basket in the second quarter of the Royals’ Sectional 8 game with Carmel Tuesday night at Westfield. Southeastern won 51-44 to advance to Friday’s semi-finals. The basket gave Parrish the Hamilton County girls scoring record; she now has 1,887 career points. (Kirk Green)
Westfield’s Jessica Castor takes a shot during the Shamrocks’ sectional game with Zionsville. Westfield won 54-44 to advance to the semi-finals. (Kirk Green)
Carmel’s Bridget Dunn scored 15 points during the Greyhounds’ Sectional 8 game with Hamilton Southeastern on Tuesday. (Kirk Green)