(ABOVE LEFT) Hamilton Southeastern’s Antonette Green (left) guards Westfield’s Ellie Wheeler during the Royals-Shamrocks Sectional 8 game Tuesday at Carmel. (ABOVE RIGHT) Fishers’ Natalie Thomas led the Tigers with nine points during their sectional game with Zionsville.
By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Sectional 8 began Tuesday at Carmel’s Eric Clark Activity Center, with first-round games taking place on Bill Shepherd Court.
Fishers took on Zionsville in the opening game, with the Eagles beating the Tigers 50-37. Defending sectional champion Hamilton Southeastern faced Westfield in the second contest and won 60-46.
Both teams advanced to the Friday semifinals with their victories. Zionsville takes on the host Greyhounds at 6 p.m., while the Royals play Noblesville at 7:45 p.m.
Disruptive Eagles
The Eagles led 13-7 after the first quarter and increased that lead to 32-15 by halftime. Zionsville shot the ball well, with nine points each from Emma Tinder and McKenzie Chapman, while Emma Zack scored eight.
“They definitely came out ready to play,” said Fishers coach Lauren Votaw. “They hit shots early and they really disrupted what we wanted to try to do offensively.”
The Eagles kept going in the third period, which finished with Zionsville ahead 44-23. The Tigers kept fighting until the end, making an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter.
Delaney Wilson started the run with an and-1, then Lillian Burns made a basket off a steal, and followed that with a 3-pointer. That cut the Eagles’ lead to 46-34, but they would hold on for the win.
“I was really proud of our kids,” said Votaw. “I challenged the kids at halftime to leave this court with pride. I really feel like they did that.”
Natalie Thomas scored nine points to lead Fishers, with Burns scoring six points. The Tigers finished their season 11-11.
Third-quarter takeover
Southeastern outscored Westfield in all four quarters, but three of them were close.
The Royals led 11-9 after one period and 27-23 at halftime. Kennedy Holman had nine points in the first half, while Abby Orme scored eight, including a pair of 3s.
The Shamrocks were also balanced. MaKayla Hatcher, Ellie Wheeler and Audra Parker all totaled six points.
Southeastern took over the game in the third quarter, outscoring Westfield 22-13 for a 49-36 advantage. Holman poured in 12 points, with four baskets and a 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line. Orme added five points, including her third triple of the game.
Holman added six more points in the fourth, finishing with a game-high 27 points, going 10-of-12 from the line along the way. Orme added 15 points.
“The defensive intensity picked up for us,” said HSE coach Brian Satterfield. “We were able to cause a little bit of havoc. The first half, we were starting to get a little separation, but then we would let them come back.” In the third quarter, the Royals got their lead “up to double digits and continued from there,” he said.
Parker scored 13 points for the Shamrocks, with freshman Lillian Clark scoring nine. Westfield finished its season 17-8, the Rocks’ highest total of wins since they went 18-5 in the 2021-22 season.
Westfield coach Kelsey Steele said this was the first senior class “that I’ve spent all four years with them,” and the coaches and teammates thanked the seniors for their contributions.
“They’ve matured a lot in their leadership,” said Steele. “You can see they’ve matured a lot as basketball players.”
