The Eastern Hancock girls basketball team won its second straight game Saturday to sweep its first back-to-back weekend this season.
The Class 2A Royals followed up their 75-30 victory against Irvington Prep Academy on Friday night with a 53-31 win on the road at Union County the next day.
Saturday’s win helped improve the team’s record to a 4-2 after opening the season 2-2.
Eastern Hancock jumped out to a 14-11 lead after the first quarter against Union County before the margin swelled to 34-16 by halftime. A 20-point second quarter put the Royals in complete control as they outscored their opponent 19-15 in the second half.
Haley Best led the Royals with 15 points, shooting 63 percent from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Liberty Dunham finished with 14 points on 7 of 13 shooting and added four rebounds. Emiley Carlton filled up the stat sheet with a strong all-around performance. The senior had 12 points, a team-high seven rebounds, an assist and shot 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Jenna Smith chipped in four points and five rebounds for the Royals, who nearly shot 40 percent from the floor in the game.
The Royals host potential Sectional 42 foe Shenandoah (1-6) today at 7:30 p.m.
Dragons scorch Crusaders
The New Palestine girls basketball team jumped ahead early and never looked back Saturday, defeating the Class 2A Scecina Memorial Crusaders 75-19.
The one-sided affair snapped the 4A Dragons’ three-game losing streak and gave coach Brian Kehrt’s squad its second road victory in three attempts. They are now 2-3 on the year.
Three Dragons finished in double figures with senior Raegan McMurray scoring a team-high 21 points. Leah Seib had 15 points and Cassidy Matheson added 10. Katie Herron had nine points.
New Palestine returns to the court on Saturday at Perry Meridian at 1:30 p.m.
Marauders fall to Trojans
The Mt. Vernon girls basketball team struggled to find their shot Saturday, falling behind quickly to East Central en route to a 41-24 loss at home.
East Central charged out to a 9-2 lead and built a 21-10 advantage by halftime to cruise to victory. The Marauders shot 19 percent from the field and sent East Central to the foul line 28 times.
The Trojans utilized their size in the post to outscore the Marauders 20-14 in the second half and control the glass.
Sophie Williams led the Marauders with eight points and six rebounds. Hanna Johnson added eight points.
Mt. Vernon will look to bounce back Saturday when it hosts Hamilton Heights at 1:30 p.m.
Wrestling
Cougars take 2nd in opener
The Greenfield-Central wrestling team opened the 2016-17 season with a runner-up finish at the Elwood Elite 8 Invitational on Saturday.
The Cougars finished 4-1 on the day. They started the meet with a 61-16 win over McCutcheon and defeated Guerin Catholic 72-11. They moved to 3-0 with a 78-6 win against Blackford and were in position to vie for the championship after beating Elwood 55-18.
Shenandoah (5-0) won the event, however, knocking off the Cougars 46-27.
McCutcheon (3-2) was third and the host Elwood Panthers (2-3) were fourth. Decatur Central was fifth, Alexandria was sixth followed by Guerin Catholic and Blackford in seventh and eighth, respectively.
Individual championships went to Greenfield-Central’s Gavin Rose at 113 pounds, Carter Noehre at 120 and Lee Dullaghan at 195.
The Cougars host Pendleton Heights on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.
