HSE looks to Maya Makalusky to take over. And that's what she did in OT vs. Fishers

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FISHERS — Maya Makalusky. Wow. There's really not much else to say at this point. The Hamilton Southeastern junior put together another clutch performance Saturday night, sinking a pair of clutch free throws before orchestrating an overtime takeover to lift the No. 2 Royals to a 70-67 victory on the road over No. 16 Fishers.

It was another jaw-dropping performance by the IU commit, who cleared 1,000 career points late in overtime, and in doing so, lifted HSE to its first win over the Tigers since Feb. 1, 2019.

"This means the world," said Makalusky, who finished with a team-high 28 points. "We've worked so hard for this (and) we knew what it took. There's a lot of emotion involved in this. This is our family. This really means a lot to us."

Fishers has been the cause of much consternation for the Royals over the past four years, winning seven straight in the series, with three of those victories in elimination games.

Saturday's installment seemed destined for a similarly painful finish with Tigers senior Talia Harris prepared to etch her name into rivalry lore with a career-best 29-point performance that saw her score 16 of 18 points over a stretch between the third and fourth quarters.

But with Makalusky enduring a second-half lull — she hit four free throws midway through the third quarter then was held scoreless until late in regulation — sophomore Kayla Stidham emerged to carry the Royals, scoring six straight points to keep pace with Harris in the fourth, before drilling a 3-pointer that made it a four-point game with 1:49 remaining.

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The margin sat at two with about 15 seconds remaining. HSE waited to foul and instead played it straight up. Kayla Brinley got in front of Harris along the sideline and forced her to spin back into Antonette Green, who poked the ball free to Makalusky. Stidham missed the layup on the other end, but Makalusky fought for the offensive rebound and drew a foul when she went up for the put-back attempt.

Makalusky hit both free throws to end her scoring drought and tie the score at 60 with nine seconds remaining.

"She did a good job of getting out there and trying to slow down what they wanted to do, and rebounding — she had some key rebounds for us," HSE coach Brian Satterfield said. "But also just being a leader. Being out there, getting them (positioned) out there, then some of the things she was saying during the timeout when they walk out here, trying to get everybody on the same page, doing all those things that great leaders do."

Overtime served as a demonstration of Makalusky's evolution as a player. After opening the extra session with a quick layup, the 6-4 guard went to work inside, fearlessly attacking the basket and getting to the line, where she converted six of eight opportunities to lift HSE to its 11th victory of the season.

Makalusky sank a pair of free throws to score points 1,000 and 1,001, and give the Royals a three-point lead with 13.2 seconds left in OT.

"We all look for her to take over, but I could definitely tell she was locked in (for overtime)," Stidham beamed. "She does so much for this team and she brings us composure. Maya's amazing."

Fishers coach Lauren Votaw said Makalusky is "a lot stronger" physically, showing better consistency across the board and proving to be "a lot harder to knock off course." The Tigers knew that going in, Votaw continued, and Makalusky's improved physicality was on display. She opened the game with a 3-point barrage — three in the first quarter, most of which were contested by Nevaeh Dickman or Morgan Roberts — then quickly shifted focus to attacking the basket, fighting through traffic for shots and rebounds.

"I've been really impressed with her growth from last year to this year," Votaw said. "I thought our kids did a decent job on her, but she's just a phenomenal basketball player."

Though recent history added juice both to the game and Makalusky's performance, her milestone achievement was made even sweeter by who was in attendance: Her entire family, including older sister Riley (now a freshman at Butler), and Hamilton Southeastern legend Sydney Parrish, now a senior at IU.

"It means the world (to have them here)," Maya said. "These are people I've always looked up to, people I aspire to be like. My sister's my biggest supporter. It really means the world that I can do this with all my family here."

As for the significance of the win, Maya replied: "Our team's supposed to be here and tonight we proved it."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball: Maya Makalusky, Hamilton Southeastern beat Fishers