Stidham’s 3 gives HSE win at Paul Loggan Tournament

The REPORTER

Hamilton Southeastern’s Kayla Stidham only made one 3-pointer during the Royals game with Valparaiso Monday at the Paul Loggan Memorial Tournament at North Central.

But it came at the right time.

Stidham drained her 3-pointer with one second left in the contest and it lifted Class 4A No. 4 Southeastern to a 53-50 win over the Vikings. That basket helped the Royals get past a tough Valparaiso team which is ranked eighth in 4A and nearly stole the game from HSE in the final seconds.

The Royals were leading 50-46 with 30 seconds left when Valpo’s Lilli Barnes made a floater. After a timeout, the Vikings stole the ball and it wound up in the hands of Barnes, who made a layin to tie the game at 50-50.

Southeastern quickly got the ball to their side of the court, with Haylee Mezera catching it on the left side. Mezera passed to Abby Orme, who passed to Antonette Green, who sent the ball to Stidham on the right corner outside the arc. Stidham shot the ball and was right on target.

Valparaiso led 11-7 after the first quarter with Barnes, a Ball State recruit, scoring six points. Stidham, a Bowling Green State recruit, helped the Royals came back in the second period with seven points, that helped HSE lead 20-18 at halftime.

The scoring picked up for both teams in the third quarter, which finished with Southeastern ahead 40-37. Kennedy Holman, a Florida recruit, scored eight points but was injured during the quarter and would not return to the game. Stidham made all six of her free-throw attempts during the third, with Green and Orme both making a triple.

Stidham scored five points in the fourth, including her game-winning 3, giving her 20 points for the contest. Orme finished with 13 points, making three triples along the way. Holman scored 10 points.

The Royals are 12-2 and play Decatur Central at 6:45 p.m. tonight for their second game of the tournament.