CHARLOTTESVILLE — Whose turn will it be today?
Eastern Hancock girls basketball head coach Shari Doud said she hopes it’s all of them when her eighth-ranked Royals take on top-rated North Knox (27-1) in a semifinal game of the Shelbyville Semi-State today at William Garrett Gymnasium.
Throughout the most successful season in program history, the Royals have had a number of different players have big games and some have had career-high contests when it’s mattered most.
Up and down the starting lineup and off the bench, Eastern Hancock has had key contributions in a 23-3 season that has led the team to the first sectional championship in six years and first-ever regional crown.
“That’s what makes this team special. They support each other no matter who’s stepped up to have a big game,” said Doud, who went on to go up and down her lineup naming players that have rose to the special occasion.
Senior Emma Bolding had a career-high 20-point performance on Senior Night. Junior 6-foot-1 center Ruby White dominated the second half in a sectional victory against No. 11 Triton Central.
Last Saturday in the Regional 21 championship, junior guard Sammie Bolding had a career-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers.
In that 51-47 win over University in the regional final, junior Makenzie O’Neal had nine rebounds. She had a career-best 18-point performance in a sectional semi-final win over Irvington Prep.
And, don’t forget Grace Stapleton, the senior guard is among the school’s all-time leading scorers, the all-time 3-point leader and leads the team in scoring (15.3 per game) and assists (5.2 per game) this season.
She’s had seven 20-plus scoring games this season and has twice had seven 3-pointers in a game. She scored 20 points in the sectional championship game win over Scecina.
“When one’s down they all support the next person,” Doud said.
Stapleton and White were both in foul trouble against University. The Bolding sisters and O’Neal, and others, played their parts to keep the Royals in the lead when Stapleton and White were on the bench.
“We’ve all played with each other since growing up,” O’Neal said. “Not only playing with each other, but we’re all friends. We all know if someone is not having a good game or someone is not able to do this, we want to step up and be there for each other.
“Grace was in foul trouble (Saturday) and I came in for her and she said, ‘Play good for me.’ ‘Pick me up’ is what we like to say. … We all want to win.”
Stapleton didn’t play her normal minutes last week, but just like she’s done much of the season for others when they were having off-nights, they ‘picked her up.’
“It’s always comforting to know, if something does happen, I know my teammates have my back,” Stapleton said. “You can look at our stats and averages and everything, and these are the people, but really anyone can go off on any night. Emma had 20 (on Senior Night). Makenzie can do whatever, you can’t really just stop one of us.”
Six different players have scored double figures at least one time in the postseason, including Sydney Springman, who had 12 off the bench against Irvington Prep. Brooklyn Willis, usually the first player off the bench, and sophomores Ellie Meyer and Camryn Andrus have also had big moments during the regular season and postseason.
“I think it makes us tough (to defend),” Stapleton added. “Having the depth that we do is kind of nice.”
“I think what’s good about our team is our five starters all have capabilities of scoring and have big games,” Emma Bolding added. “On Saturday, University stopped Grace, but that left Sammie to fill the role. I think, with that, Grace will be hungry (today).”
The Royals know they have a strong challenge today playing the top-ranked team in Class 2A. North Knox has won 11 in a row since a 31-30 loss on Dec. 30 to Brownstown Central in a holiday tournament. The Royals are on a good stretch, too. They have won 14 straight since back-to-back one-point losses to Class 3A Northwestern (47-46, Dec. 3) and Class 2A North Decatur (49-48, Dec. 6) on the road.
North Knox has a balanced-scoring attack. Alex McKinley leads the Warriors in scoring at 11.2 points per game. Brynna Collins averages 9.3 points.
They have a number of weapons, as well. Six players average between 5.7 points and 11.2 points per game.
The Warriors have hit 160 3-pointers and have six players with at least 13 3-pointers on the season. The Royals have hit 158 with the majority coming from Stapleton (82) and Sammie Bolding (45).
The semi-state tournament features three teams ranked in the Top 10 in the state in defensive average. No. 2 Forest Park (23-3), playing in the 10 a.m. game against Greencastle (23-4), gives up just 29.81 points per contest. North Knox is No. 6 at 30.00 and the Royals are No. 10 at 31.92.
“We are really zoned in,” Doud added on the team’s preparation for today’s tournament. “The atmosphere is even more intense than it was mid-season, in a really good way. As far as getting them motivated to play, there’s not a thing I have to do, they’re ready.”
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IHSAA Class 2A Girls Basketball Tournament
Logansport (North) Semi-State
G1: No. 4 Andrean (25-3) vs. Lapel (20-7) 10 a.m.
G2: No. 3 Central Noble (25-2) vs. No. 5 Lafayette Central Catholic (20-6) 12 pm
Championship: G1 winner vs. G2 winner, 8 pm
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Shelbyville (South) Semi-State
G1: No. 2 Forest Park (23-3) vs. Greencastle (23-4) 10 a.m.
G2: No. 1 North Knox (27-1) vs. No. 8 Eastern Hancock (23-3) 12 p.m.
Championship: G1 winner vs. G2 winner, 8 pm
Admission: $12; $20 both sessions. Children age 5 and younger admitted free.
Rankings are from ICGSA (Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association) poll
