Hamilton Southeastern had a solid defensive effort Thursday night against Warren Central, and that led the Royals to their fifth straight win.
Southeastern, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, beat the Warriors 40-31 in a home game. The Royals got off to a good start, leading 14-7 after the first quarter. Sydney Parrish, who was honored at the game for becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer, added to her total with eight first-period points.
The Warriors cut into Southeastern’s lead slightly by halftime, but HSE still led 20-14 at the break. The Royals cruised through the third quarter, leading 35-20 before Warren made a basket at the end of the period.
Still, Southeastern held a 35-22 lead going into the fourth, and a Parrish free throw and basket off a steal pushed that advantage to 38-22. The Royals then held firm as the Warriors made a final run. Southeastern never allowed Warren Central to reach double digits in any of the four quarters.
“First, I thought our kids did a great job of taking away dribble penetration lanes,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “The films we have on them, they like to try and get their way to the basket via the dribble and I thought our kids did a really, really good job.”
Huppenthal was pleased with the team’s effort as well.
“Seemed like any loose balls, we got a hold of them,” said Huppenthal. “That’s a credit to our kids. We challenged them defensively and they rose to the challenge.”
Parrish scored 19 points, including two 3-pointers, and also had eight steals. Jackie Maulucci added 10 points and handed out four assists. Lauren Morris made a pair of 3s and Makayla Hinshaw led the rebounding with five.
The Royals are 15-2 and go on the road tonight to play at Terre Haute South.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 40, WARREN CENTRAL 31
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Jackie Maulucci 3-7 3-5 10 1
Makayla Hinshaw 0-3 4-4 4 1
Lauren Morris 2-6 0-0 6 0
Sydney Parrish 5-16 7-10 19 2
Bailee Poore 0-0 0-0 0 3
Lydia Self 0-3 1-3 1 2
Ryan Viele 0-4 0-0 0 3
Bri Baker 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 10-39 15-22 40 12
Score by Quarters
Warren Central 7 7 8 9 – 31
Southeastern 14 6 15 5 – 40
Southeastern 3-point shooting (5-22) Parrish 2-8, Morris 2-6, Maulucci 1-3, Self 0-2, Viele 0-2, Hinshaw 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (16) Hinshaw 5, Maulucci 4, Self 3, Parrish 3, Poore 1.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Lauren Morris made two 3-pointers for the Royals during their Thursday win over Warren Central. (Kirk Green)