by

Jim Belser

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team overcame a slow start against Fishers Saturday night to blitz past the visitors 65-41 at home in the annual Mudsock game between the two schools, extending its record to 14-1.

“When everyone contributes, this team is tough to deal with,” Hamilton Southeastern coach Chris Huppenthal said.

Led by Sydney Parrish’s 27 points and big second quarter, the Class 4A No. 2 Royals overwhelmed Fishers on both offense and defense. Seven HSE players scored in the game as the Royals shot 50 percent from the field. Southeastern outscored Fishers 24-9 in the second quarter and led by as many as 27 in the game.

Several Royal players had key moments in the game. Amaya Hamilton, who finished
with 14 for HSE, dropped in a pair of threes in the third quarter to keep the momentum
going for her team. Malea Jackson gave the Royals their first led 9-8 with a jumper in
the first quarter before ending the quarter with a three pointer.

It was a difficult night for Fishers (8-5) on both ends of the court. Audra Emmerson
led the Tigers with 12 points on the night and Katie Burton and Tamia Perryman both
finished with nine points apiece.

“They have a lot of girls who can put it on the floor and drive to the basket and kick
it out for threes, so we were focusing defensively on that. I thought overall we did
a good job of stopping that,” Huppenthal said.

A basketball game wasn’t the only thing on the minds of the Hamilton Southeastern
players, coaching staff, and parents on the night as it was reported that a Royals
player’s grandfather had passed away from a heart attack at the school some time before
the game had started.

Calling his toughest night in 23 years as a coach, HSE’s Huppenthal credited his team and the leadership of Parrish for fighting through the tough circumstances after contemplating canceling the contest.

“I couldn’t be prouder of them,” he said. “They all knew something was going on.
Sydney looked me in the eye and said I got this. When she says she is going to do
something, you can put your faith in her.”

idway through the first quarter the contest swung toward Hamilton
Southeastern. After falling behind 8-4 in the first quarter with Fisher’s Audra Emmerson
knocking down a three pointer, the home team went on an 8-0 run and never looked
back.

Malea Jackson drilled a three pointer at the top of the key with 30 seconds left in the
first quarter to enable the Royals to end the quarter up 12-8.

The Royals accelerated the pace and the lead in the second quarter. Sydney Parrish
took control on offense for HSE, hitting three pointers and scoring on drives to finish
the quarter with 15 of her 20 first half points.

Parrish completed an ‘and one’ after being knocked off balance on a scoring drive
in the second quarter to give her squad a 21-12 lead. A few possessions later Parrish
maneuvered under the basket and delivered an offensive rebound put back following a
Royal missed free throw.

HSE plays New Albany in two weeks at home, while Fishers hosts Delta on Wednesday.