The Hamilton Southeastern Royals will head out on the road to take on the Lawrence North Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Hamilton Southeastern's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last nine games.
Hamilton Southeastern scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They greeted the New Year with with a 82-63 victory over Carroll. Given Hamilton Southeastern's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked fourth, while Carroll is ranked 156th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hamilton Southeastern can attribute much of their success to Maya Makalusky, who scored 26 points along with six rebounds and three steals, and Kennedy Holman, who scored 23 points along with eight rebounds and seven steals. Makalusky is absolutely dominating the point category: she's posted at least 15 every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Kayla Stidham, who scored ten points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, after a string of five wins, Lawrence North's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell just short of Lawrence Central by a score of 54-51. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss Lawrence North has suffered since December 7, 2023.
Despite the loss, Lawrence North saw an underclassman step up: Keadriah Butler scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. Butler also posted two blocks for the first time this season. Jamaya Thomas was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Hamilton Southeastern pushed their record up to 16-1 with that victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.7 points per game. As for Lawrence North, their defeat dropped their record down to 14-4.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Hamilton Southeastern and Lawrence North are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Hamilton Southeastern hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 67.4 points per game. However, it's not like Lawrence North struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 62.4 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Hamilton Southeastern strolled past Lawrence North in their previous meeting back in January of 2023 by a score of 77-62. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Lawrence North's Monica Williams, who scored 31 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Now that she won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be that much easier for Hamilton Southeastern to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
