Zionsville is 1-9 against Hamilton Southeastern since January of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Zionsville Eagles will challenge the Hamilton Southeastern Royals at 6:00 p.m.
Last Friday, Zionsville lost to Brownsburg on the road by a 65-50 margin. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 71st, while the Bulldogs are ranked fourth).
Despite the defeat, Zionsville saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Emma Tinder went 7 for 9 from beyond the arc on her way to 25 points. Another player making a difference was Caroline Sampson, who posted five points and 11 boards.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Hamilton Southeastern had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They enjoyed a cozy 46-30 victory over the Tigers. The Royals' win was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
Zionsville better keep an eye on Maya Makalusky. She was instrumental in Hamilton Southeastern's win, going 7 of 17 en route to 20 points in addition to five rebounds and five steals. That makes it five consecutive games in which Makalusky has scored at least a third of Hamilton Southeastern's points. Kennedy Holman was another key player, putting up 11 points.
Zionsville's loss dropped their record down to 10-12. As for Hamilton Southeastern, their victory bumped their record up to 23-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Zionsville has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Hamilton Southeastern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Zionsville took a serious blow against Hamilton Southeastern when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 67-33. Can Zionsville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
