CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Eastern Hancock girls basketball team wasn’t overlooking anyone on Tuesday night, but as far as postseason introductions go, the Royals were at ease in the moment.
The Class 2A Royals opened the night with a 35-0 run, had 10 players score at least one point and had 12 different players log varsity minutes en route to a lopsided 81-14 victory over Irvington Prep Academy during the Sectional 42 quarterfinals.
Jocelyn Duncan scored a game-high 19 points with two steals and two assists, while the Royals won their postseason opening contest for a fifth consecutive year.
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“I like to play early. I like to play on Tuesday, and we got that,” Eastern Hancock head coach Shari Doud said. “First games are typically the toughest games in the tournament. It’s the icebreaker game, so this is a nice one to kind of get adjusted to the atmosphere and feel the feels of sectional time, and then get ready for Friday the next couple of days.”
Doud’s Royals infused confidence early, building a 46-4 halftime lead despite the starters sitting more than half of the game.
At halftime, Doud was just as relaxed as her players, spending some quality time with her great nephew, Reece Palmer, who is 7 months old, while on the sideline.
It was microcosm event that defined the night.
“For some reason, not matter what kind of day it is or what you’re in the middle of, a baby is always heart-lifting,” Doud remarked on cradling Reece for a few minutes. “It always brings a smile to your face.”
Like their coach, the Royals (14-9) lived in the present and put to rest their 2-3 final stretch to finish out the regular-season and started refreshed at 0-0, not 13-9.
“I’m glad we had this game as the first game in the sectional to kind of get our jitters out and give some JV players some time,” EH senor Aly Spaulding said.
Though the victory unfolded rather easily, the Royals put in their work, establishing their offensive rhythm and honing their defensive pressure in spurts.
Grace Stapleton had four steals, Spaulding finished with three steals and 10 points.
Chloe O’Neal recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Delaney Collins added 10 points off the bench.
Skyla Smith finished with nine points and five rebounds, and Alivia Coffin had seven rebounds as a reserve. Emma Bolding posted seven points and five rebounds when allotted time on the floor.
“I was able to give a lot of kids a lot of minutes, and some kids saw the floor at the varsity level for the first time tonight,” Doud said. “When you put your bench in, it’s nice to see them play with a sense of urgency. That’s what they gave us, and we didn’t lose anything all the way down the bench.”
The extra time for the backups and time off for the starters will come in handy with Indianapolis Howe (9-9) ahead on Friday night in the evening’s second sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m.
In the other semifinal looms the tournament’s primary threat in unbeaten No. 1 Triton Central (22-0). The Tigers face Indianapolis Scecina (3-18) and are projected to see the Royals in the finals on Saturday.
“It was definitely a hardship today because we know Triton Central is in the future, so it’s so difficult not to look past the teams. Triton Central is a huge opponent that we need to prepare for, but we also had to look at tonight,” Spaulding said. “We have to respect our opponent and play the same game that we would play on Friday and Saturday.”
The Royals and the Tigers played at Triton Central on Nov. 16 with Eastern Hancock losing 83-52. Spaulding and the Royals hope to reverse the outcome in the rematch.
Eastern Hancock has lost four straight meetings with Triton Central since the Royals shocked them in the sectional finals in 2016-17 under former head coach Andy Meneely.
“We definitely need to be all working together. We all have to be 100 percent, keeping our eyes on each play, not looking past or that they are No. 1 in 2A,” Spaulding said. “The boys teams recently went against the No. 1 team in 2A in Shenandoah, and they were within nine, so anything can happen. We just have to all be here and want to win.”
