Royals stay unbeaten, ready for first conference game Friday

By RICHIE HALL

sports@readthereporter.com

FISHERS – Hamilton Southeastern kept its unbeaten season intact on Tuesday, beating Cathedral 50-39 in a home game.

The Class 4A No. 2 Royals led 9-8 after the first quarter; Abby Brown came off the bench to score five points. The Irish scored the first basket of the second period to lead 10-9, but Southeastern answered by scoring seven consecutive points. Addison Van Hoesen was good on a rebound basket, Kayla Stidham made the first of several 3-pointers and Makalusky added a layin.

The Royals held an 18-12 advantage and increased their lead to 36-24 after three quarters. Stidham nailed three triples in the period, with her third 3 giving HSE its largest lead of the game at 34-17.

Cathedral went on an 8-0 run that bridged the third and fourth periods, cutting the Royals’ lead to 36-28 before Stidham hit her fifth 3 of the game. The Irish got within 41-35 with 3:31 left, but Southeastern was able to hold on. Makalusky went 5-of-5 from the free throw line in the fourth, including a three-point play that sealed the game.

“We came out running the offense and we executed and got some good looks there to get that double-digit lead,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “Give them credit, they kept fighting, came back, hit some shots. We got a little stagnant offensively and allowed them to get back in the game and just had to go for a little dogfight until the end.”

Makalusky scored 18 points, while Stidham’s five 3s turned into 15 points.

Southeastern is 4-0 and plays its first Hoosier Crossroads Conference game of the season Friday at Franklin Central.