CHARLOTTESVILLE — This Eastern Hancock Royals girls basketball team really is at the top of their class in more ways than one.
Ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A Associated Press poll, the Royals won convincingly over Class 1A No. 9 Tri (20-3) 65-38 Thursday in the final home and regular-season game.
Eastern Hancock (21-1) finished the season 12-0 at home with a school-record regular-season win total of 21.
Thursday’s game was the final one on the home court for five seniors, Sammie Bolding, Makenzie O’Neal, Sydney Springman, Ruby White and Brooklyn Willis, who are also at the top of their class academically.
All five — and senior manager Tatem Adams —are part of the schools’ All-A Honor Roll.
They’re great in the classroom and great on the court.
“This team is so talented physically and academically,” Eastern Hancock head coach Shari Doud said. “As a coach, I don’t know if I’ve ever had those two things coupled in a group of kids. They’re very smart and their basketball IQ goes along with it. They’re driven. Everything they do those five kids are just driven. When they do something they want to be the best at it.”
They were the best in Thursday’s battle between two state-ranked 20-win teams. Eastern Hancock came in 11-0 at home and Tri was 11-0 on the road. Both clubs’ only losses were to Class 4A schools. Eastern Hancock had lost to Class 4A No. 8 Lawrence North. Tri had lost to Greenfield-Central and Fort Wayne Wayne.
Tri scored the game’s first four points, but it was all Eastern Hancock for the remainder of the night.
Bolding got the Royals on the board with the first of her three 3-pointers. Freshman Kenzie Koch scored off a steal to make it 5-4 just two minutes into the opening period. The Royals led the rest of the way.
“We push each other on the court and in the classroom,” White said of the senior class. “That’s how we started our friend group, in the classroom in kindergarten. It just happened that we all love basketball.”
They showed that love Thursday.
All five got in the scoring column. White was the team’s co-leading scorer along with Koch. Both had 18 points. Bolding was in double figures with 13. Willis had four and Springman and O’Neal had two each.
Bolding and Willis were co-leaders in assists with five apiece. White, Bolding and Willis each had three steals. Frosh Koch led rebounders with nine. White had eight and O’Neal grabbed six.
Tri scored a couple of buckets late in the first half to close the Eastern lead to nine, 30-21 at the half, but the Royals quickly extended the advantage in the third quarter.
Koch hit a 3-pointer, Bolding scored on a second-chance bucket, and O’Neal added her lone field goal on a strong drive to the hoop for a 37-23 lead. Another Bolding trey followed by a bucket from White got the lead to 17, 42-25.
The Royals held the Titans to just four fourth-quarter points. Nine of 10 Royals that played got in the scoring column.
The seniors gave their curtain call with 1:56 remaining in the contest. As the quintet went to the center circle for a group hug and a ‘thank you’ to the fans, Doud turned to the crowd behind the bench encouraging them to stand up and give this special class of seniors a special send-off.
“That’s an exclamation mark on the end of the regular season,” Doud said of her team. “These kids are just a special group. When the ball tips they go do their thing. We get them ready in practice, keep them in shape, and when it comes time for the clock to start, they do their thing.”
“The energy was amazing,” White added. “We were all so excited being the last game. We have a heavy senior group that contributes so much to this team. It was very memorable and having so much support from our community, it just means the most that you can ask for.”
Eastern Hancock moves on to postseason play next Friday, Feb. 2, against Triton Central in the Scecina Sectional.
Eastern Hancock 65, Tri 38
Tri;6;15;13;4;—;38
Eastern Hancock;11;19;20;15;—;65
Tri (20-3): Kenley Cornelius 1 2-4 5, Kennadi Knepley 3 2-3 9, Jillian Chew 2 4-6 8, Rylee Boyd 4 3-5 12, Nakaya Cridge 0 0-0 0, Olivia Parham 0 0-0 0, Lyla Williams 1 0-0 2, Soraya Cridge 1 0-2 2, Jayda Cornes 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 11-20 38.
Eastern Hancock (21-1): Makenzie O’Neal 1 0-0 2, Brooklyn Willis 2 0-0 4, Ruby White 7 4-8 18, Sammie Bolding 5 0-0 13, Sydney Springman 0 2-2 2, Kenzie Koch 6 4-6 18, Ellie Meyer 2 1-2 5, Camryn Andrus 1 0-0 2, Bella Sotelo 0 1-2 1, Lainee Parker 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 12-20 65.
3-point goals: Tri 3 (Cornelius, Knepley, Boyd). Eastern Hancock 5 (Bolding 3, Koch 2).
