(LEFT) Hamilton Southeastern’s Antonette Green scored 12 points for the Royals during their Friday, Feb. 6 Class 4A Sectional 8 semifinal game with Noblesville at Carmel. Southeastern won 45-32. (RIGHT) Noblesville’s Maia Blower takes the ball up the court during the Millers’ Sectional 8 semifinal game with Hamilton Southeastern. (Richie Hall)
By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
CARMEL – Two years ago, the Noblesville Millers utilized defense to pull off their upset win against heavily-favored Hamilton Southeastern in the sectional championship.
In their first postseason meeting since 2024, the Class 4A No. 7 Royals turned the tables against the Millers (9-12) to win 45-32 during the Sectional 8 semifinals on Friday, Feb. 6.
HSE (19-4) trailed after the first quarter, 10-8, and watched its seven-point lead shrink to four in the third quarter, but pressure defense and a career game by senior Antonette Green advanced the Royals into the sectional final.
Green’s game-high 12 points, along with senior Kayla Stidham’s 11 points, were crucial for HSE, as senior Kennedy Holman struggled offensively with just two points.
Holman, an Indiana Miss Basketball candidate, averaged more than 18 points per game this season and posted 24 points with 14 rebounds against Noblesville in the regular season.
“We’ve just had different people step up when we needed to, and that’s what we’ve done all year long,” HSE coach Brian Satterfield said. “What’s been special about this group is how they compete and play together and really pick each other up when they have to.”
The turnaround began with a 3-pointer by Stidham to open the second quarter, marking the fifth and final lead change of the game, 11-10.
A Green 3-pointer continued the momentum swing, as HSE strung together a 9-0 run to lead 17-10, just two minutes into the second quarter.
“Those other kids, they made plays, and that’s why they’ve been really successful,” Noblesville coach Donna Buckley said. “The other night, they had two other kids that did a lot of scoring for them, and then tonight, it was Green’s turn, and she was phenomenal.”
The Millers lost to HSE, 50-34, during their regular-season contest on Dec. 3, as Hoosier Crossroads Conference rivals.
This time, they focused on challenging Holman, and the strategy worked, but the Florida commit and the Royals countered.
“The first time we fouled Holman, so we tried to change some things that we did the last time, sent people back and really tried to make sure she didn’t get any runouts. She shot 14 free throws last time. She had two free throws tonight,” Buckley said.
Holman’s two points came off a pair of foul shots in the first quarter, but while her scoring stopped, her production elsewhere thrived. Holman recorded a team-high nine rebounds with five assists and three steals.
Noblesville senior C.C. Quigley had a team-high 11 points and six rebounds. Her sixth point in the third quarter sliced HSE’s lead to 22-18, but then Green took over.
A 3-pointer by sophomore Haylee Mezera off a Holman assist opened HSE’s decisive 12-2 run, and Green finished it with nine consecutive points, including back-to-back 3-pointers and a pair of steals that netted three points (1-for-2 free throws).
HSE led 34-20 after Green’s outburst, and the margin grew to 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Piper Brinley had nine points, while junior Abigail Orme had eight. Noblesville sophomore Maia Blower finished with eight.
“If you showed me some of the stats, I would have felt really good about where we were. We did some really good things. Unfortunately, we didn’t shoot it well at times,” Buckley said. “Then, they had a nice little run with Ant. She made a heck of a run personally to make that game a little different.”
Green’s 12 points matched a season high. She added three steals and assists.
“Our defense is our team chemistry. Even though we have some youngsters this year, they’ve really stepped up, especially in times like this,” Green said. “We play really well collectively as a whole.”
HSE’s defense limited Noblesville to 12 total points in the second and third quarters combined, while the Royals poured in 37 points after an eight-point first frame.
“We had possessions where after one or two passes we fired up a three. We hit one or two early, and I think we fell in love with that,” Satterfield said. “That’s when we need to just be patient, keep trying to do what we need to do, play defensive and get more quality shots.”
