FISHERS
In order to be competitive on the road against one of the state’s elite teams, bringing one’s A game is a must.
Franklin’s performance on Wednesday night extended much deeper into the alphabet.
Hamilton Southeastern looked every bit the second-ranked squad in Class 4A by dominating Franklin, 65-44, as 6-foot-4 junior guard Maya Makalusky, who has already made a verbal commitment to Indiana, erupted for 29 points to go along with six rebounds.
It was the Grizzly Cubs’ first loss after a 2-0 start.
Already shorthanded without 5-11 senior forward Brooklyn York due to illness, Franklin finished the game making 16 of 45 field goal attempts (36%) and turning the ball over 18 times.
“Obviously, we didn’t shoot the ball well, and that caused us to get into a hole early,” Cubs coach Mike Armstrong said. “And they are obviously a very quality team, and it becomes very difficult to work your way back into the game because they’re not going to make a lot of mistakes.
“We came on the road and played a good team early in the season to see where we are, and what we have to work on. We saw those things tonight, and then hopefully at some point we’re going to be better off from this experience.”
Franklin had no answer for Makalusy or 6-foot sophomore wing Kayla Stidham, who buried three 3-pointers on her way to 15 points to go along with seven rebounds. Another soph, guard Kennedy Holman, added 10 for the Royals, who look to be downright frightening the next two seasons as well.
Despite its woes, Franklin did receive 11 points apiece from senior guard Lauren Klem and wing Erica Beuning; another senior, 6-1 Scarlett Kimbrell, had nine points and led all rebounders with 12.
Hamilton Southeastern won the battle of the boards overall, 25-20. The Grizzly Cubs made only 6 of 27 attempts from behind the 3-point stripe.
Franklin never led in the game. The Royals jumped out to a 13-5 lead late in the opening quarter, withstood a 7-3 Grizzly Cub run, and were off to the races.
The Royals led 29-15 at the half, opened up a comfortable 54-31 advantage through three and twice led by as many as 26 points — 52-26 late in the third period, and 59-33 after a Makalusky triple with 5:49 remaining in the fourth.
Franklin looks to get back on track at home Friday night against 3A No. 10 Greensburg.
“(Greensburg) has a good solid group, and I think again, it’s going to be a game where we’re tested in what we can and can’t do,” Armstrong said. “If you through our history against teams in this conference (Hoosier Crossroads), playing against Brownsburg and Westfield and Hamilton Southeastern, these teams are pretty good.
“For us, we need to do better against these kind of teams.”
