By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
FISHERS – In the first game of what’s deemed as the toughest sectional in the state, the host Hamilton Southeastern Royals were out to make a statement and that’s exactly what happened on their home court on Tuesday evening.
A quick start by the Royals was all they needed on the way to a convincing sectional-opening win over Westfield, 52-21.
Zoe Lawless drained a three from the right, Addison Van Hoesen a layup, an offensive rebound putback from Kayla Stidham and just like that it was 9-0 HSE. That forced Westfield to burn its first timeout with 5:57 left in the first.
“We needed to make sure that we tried to get out there and set the tone and not even let them think that they were going to get in there and be in the game,” said Hamilton Southeastern head coach Brian Satterfield.
“One thing we’ve really been trying to work on is doing a little bit better getting back to where we were defensively and I thought we did that tonight,” Satterfield continued.
After a pair of Maya Makalusky free throws, Van Hoesen got the lead to double digits at 13-2.
Kenley Johnson made a layup and was fouled. She sank the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play for a 16-4 lead. A left wing three by Stidham pushed it to 15 and then Makalusky nailed a right corner triple in the final seconds of the first for a 22-5 advantage for the Royals after one quarter.
Makalusky
It was tough for Westfield to find any sort of rhythm offensive, which in turn helped HSE take advantage and build on its lead.
The ‘Rocks started 0-for-10 from the floor, with seven turnovers, before they made their first field goal. Samantha Price made a layup with 3:27 left in the second and Ellie Kelleher knocked down a three to cut it to 31-12 with 3:10 until halftime.
“The slow start really hurt us,” said Westfield head coach Kelsey Steele. “At the half, we shot 11 and eight percent from the floor. And when you do that, that’s really hard. That puts you in a little bit of a hole, especially against a team that is good enough to make you pay,” continued Steele.
The Royals kept a comfortable lead after two quarters at 38-12.
Southeastern was able to sit back in comfort in the second half. HSE outscored Westfield 14-9 in the final two quarters, but more importantly the Royals held Westfield well below its season average of 47 per contest in a 52-21 dominating win to open sectional play.
Usually, the nerves are there and players have jitters in the state tournament that can cause them to play certain ways they normally wouldn’t.
“As you roll into tournament time, you’re always curious to see how the kids are going to react. Our girls seemed locked in and ready to go from the start. That’s a big thing for us and hopefully something we can build on,” stated Satterfield.
As HSE moves on to the semifinals, Westfield’s (13-10) season comes to a close. The Shamrocks graduate three seniors that have been a big part of the program’s success the past four years.
Ellie Kelleher (Indiana Wesleyan), Kiki Loveless (Indiana Tech) and Reagan Lorenzen (Rose Hulman) will all be continuing their playing careers in college.
“Those three have put in a lot of hours, a lot of time. They’re really hard workers, but are three even better people,” stated Steele.
“Over the past two years getting to spend time knowing them as people, they love well, they serve well, they lead well. Who they are off of the basketball court is even better and I’ll always be proud of that,” Steele continued about her three seniors.
Junior Maya Makalusky led all scorers with a game-high 13 points on four field goals. Sophomore Kennedy Holman scored eight and also dished out seven assists. Fellow sophomore Kayla Stidham was active with 11 and grabbed six rebounds.
Holman
Stidham is the daughter of 1997 Miss Basketball Lisa Shepherd at Richmond, where she scored 2,140 points and averaged 29.9 her senior season.
The Royals know that Friday night’s semifinal matchup against Zionsville won’t be easy. HSE edged the Eagles recently on Jan. 19, 76-72.
“We know it’s going to be really tough and we have to be ready. Hopefully we carry over what we did tonight into Friday,” Satterfield stated.
Hamilton Southeastern (20-3) advances to the first semifinal on Friday and will play Zionsville (16-6) at 6 p.m.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 52, WESTFIELD 21
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Ellie Kelleher 1 0-0 3 2
Aubrey Crockett 3 0-1 6 4
Kiki Loveless 0 0-0 0 3
Reagan Lorenzen 0 1-2 1 3
Lindsey Van Dyke 1 6-7 8 4
MaKayla Hatcher 0 1-4 1 1
Sam Price 1 0-0 2 1
Meg Hamilton 0 0-0 0 0
Madeline Linville 0 0-0 0 0
Mia Crask 0 0-0 0 0
Kate Roh 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 6 8-14 21 18
Westfield 3-pointer: Kelleher.
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Maya Makalusky 4 3-4 13 1
Kennedy Holman 3 2-4 8 1
Zoe Lawless 2 1-2 6 0
Kayla Stidham 3 3-4 11 0
Addison Van Hoesen 2 0-0 4 3
Antonette Green 0 0-0 0 1
Kenley Johnson 1 1-1 3 1
Kayla Brinley 2 0-0 4 3
Abigaile Brown 0 1-2 1 2
Abigail Orme 0 0-0 0 0
Tommi Burton 1 0-0 2 0
Hannah Wade 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 18 11-17 52 12
Southeastern 3-pointers (5) Makalusky 2, Stidham 2, Lawless.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 5 7 4 5 – 21
Southeastern 22 16 9 5 – 52