by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Everything that the Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team had been playing for was funneling down to just eight minutes.

The discussion between the coaches and the players right before the fourth quarter was intense. “Let’s go!” “Leave it on the court!”

The Royals did just that. After battling with Lawrence North for three quarters, No. 1-ranked Southeastern broke the game open in the fourth period. A spectacular 13-0 run propelled the Royals to their first ever girls basketball state championship, as they took the Class 4A title 55-44 over the No. 10 Wildcats Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“We just realized, no matter what, it’s our last eight minutes together, and we just wanted to give it all we got,” said senior Amaya Hamilton. “We knew that we had to just hustle and give everything we got, so we just went out there and did that.”

Southeastern finished the season 27-1, easily a school record for most wins. Royals coach Chris Huppenthal called the victory an affirmation: “How good our kids are, how good the program is. It’s wonderful for them and the community.”

“This community just jumped on these girls backs and rode it the whole way,” said Huppenthal, as he praised the support his team got from a large fan base that was
dressed in blue.

Southeastern beat the Wildcats by 11 points earlier in the season, but nobody was expecting the re-match to be an easy game, and it wasn’t. While the Royals took a big
lead early in the second quarter, LN stormed back to go up by two at halftime, then held
the lead for most of the third period, which ended with the Wildcats up 35-34.

Lawrence North scored a basket to open the fourth quarter, increasing its lead to 37-34. How would HSE respond? With a roar. Literally.

Forty-nine seconds into the quarter, Tayah Irvin put a rebound into the basket while being fouled, then let out a scream, as did many HSE players and fans. Irvin sank the free throw to tie the game.

“That definitely gave us the boost of energy we needed to get back into the game and get our heads straight and know where we were,” said Irvin. “And that’s definitely when we started to calm down and realize we had it under control.”

All of a sudden, the run began. Senior Malea Jackson nailed a 3-pointer to get the Royals up 40-37. It was technically the game-winner, as Southeastern would never trail again.

But the Royals were just getting started. Sydney Parrish pushed the lead up to five with a jumper, then hit a 3-pointer and a layin. With under 3:30 to go, HSE now led 47-37.

The Wildcats made one last push, cutting the lead to 49-44 with 1:46 left after making back-to-back layins. But Lawrence North was in the bonus by then, and was forced to foul.

Jackie Maulucci, who had earlier made two foul shots, drained two more to get the lead up to 51-44. Parrish then hit 4 of 4 free throws in the game’s final 62 seconds.

As a team, the Royals were 15 of 16 from the free throw line, a percentage of .938, a new record for a 4A state finals game.

At first, it seemed as if the 3-pointer would be the deciding factor in the game.
Jayla Smith hit two 3s early in the first quarter to give the Wildcats a 6-2 lead.

Southeastern answered in a big way, going on a 16-2 run that lasted well into the
second quarter. Lydia Self made a free throw, then Molly Walton’s 3 tied the game.

After an LN basket, Parrish scored off a rebound while being fouled, and her resulting free throw put HSE on top 9-8.

Hamilton drained a 3 with seconds remaining to end the first quarter with the Royals up 12-8. The second quarter began with the Sydney Show: Parrish scored three straight baskets for six points, and an 18-8 Southeastern lead.

The Royals still led 20-12 when the Wildcats ended the first half by scoring 10 straight points for a 22-20 lead. Lawrence North hit back-to-back triples, one each from Katie Davidson and Smith. After the break, Southeastern and the Wildcats played a tight third quarter, where three points was the biggest lead.

Davidson’s layin got LN up 29-26, but the Royals answered with two free throws each from Jackson and Parrish. After Davidson scored again, Parrish found the basket to get the Royals up 32-31. Another Smith 3 and a free throw from Lauren Gunn put the Wildcats up 35-32, but Walton’s putback ended the quarter, getting the Royals within 35-34 and poised for their big fourth quarter.

Parrish played a superb game, and made it evident why she is a highly-recruited Division I player. She finished with a double-double of 30 points and 10 rebounds.

Parrish was easily the high scorer among both teams.

Meanwhile, the four seniors – Jackson, Hamilton, Irvin and Walton – each scored five points.

Hamilton collected eight rebounds and handed out four assists, as did Maulucci. Parrish also blocked two shots.

“They meant everything and more to me,” said Parrish of the senior class. “It crushes my heart that that’s the last time I’m going to ever play with them. But I wish them the best of luck in college and I’m so excited to see them play in college.”

There were plenty of historical notes to Southeastern’s win. It was the first girls basketball state title by a Hoosier Crossroads Conference team. Noblesville, of course, won state in 1987, but that was back when the Millers played in the Olympic Conference, and the HCC wasn’t even a figment of anyone’s imagination.

The Royals also picked up their 11th state championship with this win. While this was the first state title for Southeastern in girls basketball, it marked the seventh different sport in which the Royals have won state.