IHSAA 4A State Championship
Indianapolis, In- Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Saturday night in the IHSAA 4A Girls’ Basketball State Championship game, Hamilton Southeastern took on Lawrence North. Both teams started off very tentative not knowing the possible outcome of the game. The two teams both executed great defense. The Royals scored 6 points from second chance shots, which helped them to secure a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Starting the second quarter HSE went on a 6-0 run which was led by Sydney Parrish and lead HSE to a 10 point lead. LN defense snapped into action with a little under 5 minutes left to go in the second quarter. They were able to hold HSE to only 2 points for the rest of the quarter. LN went on a 10-0 run during this time. Jayla Smith hit a 3 pointer which put LN in the lead at the half with the score of 22-20.
I was able to interview a few of the fellow crowd members during half time on the HSE side and many of them felt worried and were not convinced that the girls would be able to pull through to bring home the State title.
In the third quarter it was a back and forth seesaw battle with 4 lead changes. LN held the lead for over 5 minutes during this period. LN held a 1 point lead of 35-34 at the end of the quarter.
Going into the fourth quarter the crowd on both sides became alive and jumped with excitement. The bands were hyped, and it was anyone’s game.
HSE defense kicked into another gear, and their offense went on fire. They went on a 13-0 run, with Sydney Parrish leading the charge with 11 points during this quarter. HSE never looked back from here, the party was on for the Royal Nation. The Final score was HSE 55 and LN 44. Sydney Parrish led the way with a double double scoring 30 points and 10 rebounds.
The HSE crowd went wild as they cheered on the girls winning their first State Championship title and finishing the season off with a 28-1 record. The 9,083 in attendance went home from a very exciting Girls State Championship Game. Too bad someone had to lose. Congratulations to the Hamilton Southeastern Royals the State Champions.
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