5 Takeaways: Hamilton Southeastern vs Fishers
Saturday night I had the chance to take in arguably the biggest matchup in the state between Fishers (23-1) vs Hamilton Southeastern (22-3). Fishers won the first matchup 54-52 on a shot as time expired. HSE got off to an…
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Continue ReadingSaturday night I had the chance to take in arguably the biggest matchup in the state between Fishers (23-1) vs Hamilton Southeastern (22-3). Fishers won the first matchup 54-52 on a shot as time expired. HSE got off to an amazing start leading 14-5 after one quarter led by Sydney Parrish‘s excellent play. HSE continued to roll throughout the second quarter, as they took a 21-7 lead. Fishers started to gain some momentum as Katie Burton nailed a big three to cut the HSE lead to 21-10. HSE took a 23-14 lead into the half.
Fishers came out of the half firing as Haley Smith converted an and one, followed by a huge Kaitlynn Feagan three to get them within one point of HSE. Katie Burton hit two big foul shots following to give Fishers their first lead 33-31. It looked as if this one was going to go down to wire as both teams traded shots for several possessions. Then Tamia Perryman changed the game. She went on to hit four threes in five Fishers possessions. Perryman finished the fourth quarter with 14 points. Fishers would go on to win 50-42.
Fishers Will Not Stop
Fishers was at one point down 21-7 with what looked like a possible blowout. They clawed back and got themselves into the game as the first half ended. Early in the first half it felt like Fishers had no momentum and energy. I thought as the game started to progress and the nerves wore off that they finally settled in and got back to what they do best. As the second half got going they started to use their toughness to gain an edge over HSE. Eventually Fishers got shots to start falling and it was over.
Sydney Parrish Did All She Could
Parrish came out of the gate firing putting up 4 points and 5 rebounds early. She then quickly picked up her first foul defensively and was soon called for an offensive foul giving her two. She ended up sitting for most of the second quarter. Parrish dominated the paint in the third quarter scoring several times off of offensive rebound putbacks. As Fishers started to gain momentum Parrish kept fighting to keep HSE in it putting up 19 second half points. She would go on to finish with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Jackie Maulucci‘s Injury Was a Huge Blow to HSE
This was my third chance to see HSE this season and the impact Maulucci makes on the floor can’t be said enough. Maulucci went to the bench midway through the game with an injury. Right away you could see a huge drop-off in the HSE offense with no high volume scoring option as Sydney Parrish sat with foul trouble. It’s hard to say what the outcome could’ve been had Maulucci been at 100%.
Tamia Perryman Was Unreal in the Fourth Quarter
Perryman struggled early in the game from the field. She was having a hard time finding her groove but she continued to dominate the glass. As the first half came to an end Perryman had a crucial drive in which she was fouled. She made both free throws and put Fishers within single digits to end the half. Both teams played almost neck and neck in the fourth quarter until Perryman hit a huge three from the top of the key. She then went on to hit three more threes in the next four possessions. Perryman then had a great run to the rim as she got behind the HSE press and scored on a near full court pass to ice the game. Fishers knocked down their free throws and went home with the win. I’ve watched a lot of basketball in the last few years and Perryman’s fourth quarter performance has to be one of the most clutch I’ve ever seen.
On to the Next Round
Fishers will take on number one Northwestern next Saturday morning in the Marion Regional. In order to compete against Northwestern Fishers is going to need to improve upon several things from this one. Next week they cannot afford to struggle offensively early and lose the momentum. They will also need to improve on the amount of offensive rebounds given up. Northwestern has major size down low and it’s going to take a collective effort to keep them off the glass. If Fishers can score at a high level they have a real shot next weekend.