by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

If there’s anything a veteran-heavy basketball team knows how to do, it’s
how to stay calm when things get a little tough.

Hamilton Southeastern’s girls team has plenty of veterans, with four seniors who
have been playing since freshmen. They don’t panic in close situations, which is what the Royals were in after the first quarter with Westfield Friday night.

After playing to a 12-12 first quarter tie with the Shamrocks, Southeastern got going
in the second quarter, and that momentum carried the Class 4A No. 1 Royals to a 56-30 Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory.

Southeastern is now 6-0 in HCC play and 18-1 overall.

“I’m enjoying this team, how they work together,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “Everything they’ve done together. For our seniors, it’s been a four-year process. For everybody else that’s come on, they’ve worked their way into the process, and I’m happy for everything that they’ve been able to accomplish up to this point. But they also, and we also know, that there’s a lot more out there that we want to accomplish.”

“Hupp definitely calls us the veteran team, since we’ve all really been playing
since our freshman year,” said Tayah Irvin, one of those veteran seniors. “And I think
that helps, because then we all know what we’re going to expect from teams. We’ve all learned how to come together when we have to face adversity and everything, so it definitely helps.”

The Royals were getting challenged by a young-leaning Westfield team, which
includes freshman Alyssa Crockett. The 6-foot-1 guard scored five points in the first
quarter, including a 3-pointer, while 6-foot sophomore Gigi Eldredge also adding five points.

Southeastern, meanwhile, got four points from Irvin, and 3s from senior Malea
Jackson and junior Jackie Maulucci also helped out. The Royals then took over in the second quarter, outscoring the ‘Rocks 16-2 for a 28-14 halftime lead.

Senior Amaya Hamilton poured in seven points, including a 3, while junior Sydney
Parrish added four points. Parrish, HSE’s leading scorer, was held without a point in
the first period, but she would get going in the second half.

“What was nice for us early on was we were able to build a lead at halftime and she
really, scoring-wise, wasn’t a big part of that,” said Huppenthal. “And I think that
shows that we have a lot of different components that can score for us.”

Meanwhile, Southeastern’s defense only allowed Westfield one basket, a two-pointer from senior Jade Shipley.

“As a kid, I’ve always wanted to play defense to stand out to coaches and  everything,” said Irvin. “So it’s definitely become a part of me as an athlete, so I feel like my defensive ability is what gives energy to the team, and makes us able to be as successful, because my energy on defense feeds to Syd’s energy on offense, and Malea’s energy on offense. Just energy throughout the whole team.”

The Royals comfortably cruised through the second half, outscoring Westfield in both quarters. In the third period, Jackson hit another 3-pointer, while Hamilton and Parrish scored on back-to-back layins late to put HSE ahead 39-20.

Jackson threw in her third 3 of the game to begin the fourth quarter. Parrish also got hot in the fourth, scoring 11 points to finish with a game-high 21.

“Syd’s going to get going at some point,” said Huppenthal. “It’s just a matter of time. Her first half, scoring-wise, wasn’t one of her best first halves, but second half, she got going and just played like Syd.”

Jackson and Hamilton both scored 11 points, while Maulucci made two 3-pointers.
Parrish also grabbed seven rebounds, with sophomore Lydia Self collecting six and
Hamilton getting five. Self also handed out six assists.

“That’s a really, really good ball club,” said Westfield coach Ginny Smith. “They’re
really, really well-coached. They get after you. They’re not afraid to make an extra pass on offense. They’re not afraid to get on the floor for a loose ball. And those kind of things show in a game like that.”

Eldredge led Westfield with eight points and six rebounds, while Crockett scored six
points.
“I think Gigi, though she didn’t score a lot in there, she demanded the basketball,”
said Smith. “She had to be guarded, and that opened things up a little bit for our guards. I’m proud of Gigi’s effort and what she did. Alyssa, she continued to fight and she continued to batte out there. And I think all in all, I don’t know what her stat line looks like, but I know what I watched, and that kid played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort today. I’m more proud of that than I am of stat lines. I think our young kids, they gave us everything they had.”

The Royals will host Lawrence North on Tuesday. Westfield is now 3-3 in the conference and 15-5 overall, and will play its conference finale next Friday against
Brownsburg at The Rock.