by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

FISHERS – Eight months after finishing the most successful season in its history, the Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball team was back on the court Thursday.

The Royals, defending Class 4A state champions and the pre-season No. 1-ranked team, got a good test in its first game of the season, taking on 4A No. 9 Ben Davis. It was a hard-fought game, but Southeastern hung on to win 49-44 in front of its home crowd.

While the Royals have three key players returning from last season, this year’s team is younger than in years past. Southeastern graduated a strong senior class – three of whom are playing either Division I or Division II college basketball – so newer players are stepping in, and doing so against a difficult schedule.

“We are starting a couple kids that haven’t started,” said HSE coach Chris Huppenthal. “We are playing some kids that do not have a lot of varsity basketball experience. We’re going to have to work through that. You wish kids would come into your program with a lot of experience and ready for what’s about to happen. But the only way they can get that is from playing and if they haven’t played at this level before, there’s going to be some tough situations.”

But the Royals have enough experience to help them get out of those situations, starting with Sydney Parrish. The 6-foot-2 senior is back after scoring 30 points in last year’s state championship game and committing to the University of Oregon. Parrish picked up where she left off on Thursday, pouring 33 points to lead all scorers.

“It feels a lot different because I know I am one of the oldest on the team and have to be more of a leader than just a player on the team,” said Parrish. “It’s a fun role to have. It’s a challenging role, and I’m willing to take it on this year.”

Parrish gave Southeastern its first run of the game, scoring three straight layins in the first quarter that turned a 7-7 tie into a 13-7 Royals lead. Senior Jackie Maulucci and junior Lydia Self, both of whom played significant minutes last season, each hit a 3-pointer during the first period.

The Giants cut the lead to 13-11 by the end of the quarter, but an and-1 from Parrish and another triple from Maulucci took the lead back up to 19-11. Southeastern held Ben Davis scoreless for the first four minutes of the second period, and Maulucci’s five points in the final couple minutes sent the Royals into halftime up 26-19.

Parrish opened the second half with a 3-pointer, giving HSE its largest lead at 29-19. She made another three-point play to push the Royals ahead 34-25. But the Giants went on their own 9-0 run to tie the game at 34-34. Parrish added another four points, and that kept Southeastern ahead 38-36 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Ben Davis senior Khera Goss made an early and-1 to give the Giants a 39-38 lead, their first lead since the game’s opening minutes. But Parrish stormed back to score five quick points, a basket off a steal and another three-point play.

“To Sydney’s credit, she did what she had to do, stepped up and took control of the game, really from start to finish,” said Huppenthal.

That put Southeastern up 43-39, and the Royals never trailed again. Southeastern finished the game by going 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

“Credit to our kids, they buckled down, had some great defensive possessions and took care of it, hit some free throws down the stretch, and that’s what championship teams do,” said Huppenthal.

“It was really nice to get a tough game out of the way,” said Parrish. “I think all of our games this year, we have a really good schedule and a really good conference, so they’re all going to be challenging. To start off with Ben Davis, I think really helps us.”

After Parrish’s 33, Maulucci added 13 points and Self score three. Parrish also led in rebounding with nine, while senior Bailee Poore pulled seven rebounds.

“Bailee’s one of our best rebounders,” said Huppenthal. “She’s 5-foot-4. People are going to think we’re crazy when we do some things with her, but Bailee’s a tough kid. She’s a really good rebounder.”

Southeastern will play its next game at home, taking on Center Grove Saturday morning.