Saturday was a busy basketball day at Fishers, as the Tigers hosted the Fishers Classic.
The event featured a whole slate of varsity and junior varsity games. The Tigers and Hamilton Southeastern both took on teams from Ben Davis and Southport, and both programs’ varsity teams went 2-0 on the day.
In their first game, the Tigers cruised past Southport 66-39. Fishers led 19-8 after the first quarter, then 30-24 at halftime.
“I thought the kids played really well,” said Tigers coach Lauren Vail. “We came out against Southport and played really well early and then had a little bit of a lull in the second quarter.”
But any hope of a Cardinals comeback was squelched when the Tigers scored 22 points in the third period. Vail said that her team came out “and really played the way that I know we’re capable of doing” after halftime.
Kenedi London led Fishers with 20 points, followed by Toni Grace with 18 and Ali Gerka with 11.
In their second game of the day, the Tigers took care of Ben Davis 54-41. Fishers led 13-7 after the first period, then ran away with the second quarter, leading 37-17 at halftime.
It was Grace’s turn to score 20 points in this game, which she did, including a 9-of-12 effort from the free throw line. Tamia Perryman added 10 points.
Vail said her team “came out and really rebounded the basketball well early, which helped us to get out and run in transition. Ben Davis put a lot of pressure on us in the second half. We were able to hold on and secure that win, so that was nice.”
Southeastern played Ben Davis first, and used a big third quarter to get a 60-57 victory in its first game of the season. The Giants led 27-24 at halftime, but the Class 4A No. 4 Royals powered through the third quarter, scoring 21 points to take a 45-38 lead. Southeastern then held off the expected BD comeback in the fourth period.
Sydney Parrish opened her sophomore season with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, in addition to four steals. Amaya Hamilton had 10 points and seven boards. Molly Walton yanked eight rebounds and handed out four assists.
The Royals sailed past Southport 65-30 to run their record to 2-0 for the day, and their season. A big second quarter turned a 16-8 lead after one period into a 35-12 advantage at halftime.
Parrish scored 16 points, while Tayah Irvin added 12. Walton pulled 13 rebounds, followed by Parrish with eight, Irvin with six and Erikka Ededuwa had five. Walton also made five steals.
“I thought defensively we were pretty solid throughout the whole game,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “It’s a good way to start the season, playing a fast team like Ben Davis, and then coming back against Southport. We saw some good things, some things that we’re going to look at on film and then try and get better through the week and get ready to play next weekend.”
