Staff report
The Eastern Hancock girls basketball team checked off two boxes on Friday night — a 65-11 win over rival Knightstown, and head coach Shari Doud’s 100th career win at Eastern Hancock.
“When coaches reach a milestone, it’s not about an individual accomplishment, it’s about what a team has done for a coach. I’ve always had players at Eastern Hancock who buy into what we want them to do, so coaches wins are all about ‘we’. I was told by a mentor that you never address the public using the term ‘I’,” Doud said. “My 100 wins at Eastern Hancock have all been about ‘we’ and the players. If you don’t have the players doing their part, there aren’t any wins for the coach, so they all get as much credit because they’re the ones in the trenches doing the work.”
Helping her reach that milestone was a dominating all-around performance by the Royals.
They led 21-1 after the first quarter, and carried that into a 36-7 halftime lead, before limiting the Panthers to just four second-half points.
Nine of the 11 Knightstown points came on free throws, with the Royals holding the Panthers to just one field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Nine Royals’ added to the scoreboard.
Grace Stapleton led all scorers with 20 points.
She was followed by Sammie Bolding (11), Emma Bolding (9), Makenzie O’Neal (7), Camryn Andrus (6), Sydney Springman (5), Ruby White (4), Brooklyn (2), and Lainee Parker (1).
Doud will look for career win No. 300 when the Royals host Monroe Central on Tuesday.
Boys basketball
Marauders move to 2-0 in HHC
Mt. Vernon had a 55-point first half, including 30 second-quarter points, on its way to a rout of host Shelbyville, 74-42 Friday.
Three players scored in double figures and seven players had six points or more.
Freshman Julien Smith led the way with 16 points, including five 3-pointers. Adam Hackett had 12 points and R’mani Wells added 10.
The Marauders hit 13 3-pointers.
Mt. Vernon is 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. Next up for the Marauders is another HHC game. They’ll play host to New Castle on Thursday, Dec. 22.
Cougars get road win
Greenfield-Central improved to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference with a 54-45 victory at Yorktown Friday.
Tyler Kerkhof led the Cougars with 16 points, including 8 of 9 at the free-throw line. Dylan Moles scored 13 points. Braden Robertson scored 10 points.
Greenfield-Central jumped out early, outscoring Yorktown 22-11 in the first quarter.
The Cougars host Lawrenceburg tonight.
