By RICHIE HALL
NEW CASTLE – The first option was the winning option for the Royals.
With the Henry Community Health Hall of Fame Classic championship on the line, the game was tied at 50-50 with 1.6 seconds remaining. That was all the Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team needed, as Kayla Brinley threw an inbounds pass to a waiting Addison Van Hoesen under the basket.
Van Hoesen made the layin as the buzzer sounded, and the Royals were celebrating a 52-50 victory over No. 1-ranked and defending Class 4A state champion Lawrence Central. Southeastern’s win kept it undefeated at 15-0 for the season and ended the Bears’ 39-game winning streak.
It was an incredible finish for the Royals, who led for most of the game. Southeastern got up by double digits twice in the first half and was able to hang on in the face of LC’s inevitable comeback and relentless pressure.
Stidham
“It was a true team effort,” said HSE coach Brian Satterfield. “What we did defensively was really good, holding them to 20 points in the first half.” Even when the Bears were making their runs, Satterfield credited his team with sticking together and playing together as a unit, having “different people step up at different times.”
Van Hoesen certainly stepped up at the end, getting in the right place at the right time to make the game-winner. Satterfield said Brinley “made a beautiful pass right to her.”
“As we drew it, we had three options,” said Satterfield. “That was the first option, knowing that they’re probably going to be hugging Maya (Makalusky). I got to give Maya credit for setting the screen.”
Makalusky scored the first basket the game off a steal, the first of five that the senior Indiana University commit made during the contest. Lawrence Central took a 4-2 lead, but it was all Royals after that, as they made a 13-1 run to go up 15-5 late in the quarter. Five different HSE players scored, with Makalusky and Antonette Green both hitting 3-pointers.
The Bears roared back with an 8-0 spurt to cut the Royals’ lead to 15-13 by the end of the quarter. Southeastern began the second period with its own 8-0 run; Brinley drained a triple and Kennedy Holman scored on a layin and 3.
The Royals led 26-20 at halftime, but LC came back again, tying the game at 28-28 when Jaylah Lampley made a layin. Another Lampley basket gave the Bears a 33-32 lead, which Kayla Stidham erased with a 3, then Abby Brown hit two free throws.
Lampley ended the quarter with a triple to get Lawrence Central within 37-36, and a Lola Lampley basket pushed the Bears ahead 38-37. Southeastern managed to stay in front of LC for most of the fourth, with a Makalusky triple and Holman and-1 putting the Royals up four on separate occasions. Aniyah McKenzie tied the game with under 20 seconds left by making a layin, but Southeastern would have the final say.
Makalusky was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and joined Stidham on the All-Tournament team. Holman scored 15 points and dished out four assists, with Stidham scoring 12 and Makalusky 11. Stidham led the rebounds with six and Holman pulled five.
The Royals halted two undefeated seasons at New Castle, as they beat Class 2A No. 1 South Knox 67-59 in their afternoon semifinal. The Spartans held an early 4-0 lead on Southeastern, but Makalusky broke the game open with a personal 11-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters.
The Royals were up 12-10 at the start of the run and finished it up 23-10. South Knox continued to play Southeastern tough for the remainder of the game, but the Royals were able to stay ahead by double digits for the most part. HSE led 35-23 at halftime, with Makalusky scoring 23 points in the half.
Makalusky finished with 35 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
“That’s the one thing about her game that I think has blossomed and grown for her is, she’s doing some other things and got some steals to get a bucket in transition, do things like that,” said Satterfield. “It’s also in the context of what we’re trying to do in the offense.”
Holman scored 12 points and dished out seven assists, while Stidham scored 11 and handed out six assists.
Southeastern is off until next Friday when it plays at Carmel.
