Eastern Hancock advances to sectional final: 'If we come out hot, they're not stopping us.'
Sometimes, Eastern Hancock girls basketball coach Shari Doud just likes to sit back and watch what her team can do.
After all, the five seniors playing heavy minutes on the Royals' roster don't need much coaching.
"They just go out there and play so hard, and just get things done themselves," Doud said.
No. 3 Eastern Hancock (22-1) advanced to the Class 2A Sectional 42 championship with a win over Triton Central on Friday night at Scecina. Sure enough, those seniors knew how to adapt when the Tigers shut down one of their crucial players.
Central Indiana scores, stats, schedule: Indiana high school girls basketball sectionals:
Ruby White, Eastern Hancock's 6-1 senior forward, can shoot over just about anybody, averaging 11 points per game. But Triton Central successfully kept the ball out of her hands, as she only picked up six points.
With White limited, Eastern Hancock's senior perimeter players stepped up.
"The more leadership you have on the floor, the better," Doud said. "They stepped up, Sammie Bolding and Brooklyn Willis were both draining 3s. I think we had seven 3s at halftime, and those two collected them. That was huge for us, because we were struggling to get the ball inside to Ruby, and they did a nice job of making sure she didn't get too many touches, but our perimeter game was there."
Willis set the tone for the Royals with three 3-pointers in the first quarter, spacing out the floor. Her 11-point first quarter gave Eastern Hancock a 17-7 lead.
"I think it just got everyone so hyped and excited, and the momentum just built quickly, which I said we needed," Willis said. "I said, 'If we come out hot, they're not stopping us.'"
Bolding, who had eight points in the first quarter, took over for the rest of the game, finishing with 25 total points, including eight off of free-throws.
Bolding's scoring helped fend off a late surge from the Tigers, who got within six points in the fourth quarter. But the senior-laden Royals kept their poise in the crowded, Eastern Hancock fan-heavy gym, pushing their lead back out to double-digits.
Scecina (7-16) advanced with a 52-12 win over Irvington Prep in Friday's other semifinal, setting up a rematch of last year's sectional final (which Eastern Hancock won 68-32 on its way to a regional title).
"We certainly have our hands full, they're really good," Scecina coach Jacob DeWilde said. "There's a lot of talent on that team. .... The plan is ready to go, just got to see how well we can execute it."
While Triton Central, who finished with a 17-7 record on the season, was Eastern Hancock's most formidable opponent of the sectional run, the Royals aren't counting anybody out just yet.
"I don't want to look over (Scecina), but it gives a lot of momentum going into hopefully next week," Willis said.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball sectional: Eastern Hancock tops Triton Central
