It was the busiest week of the season to date for the Hounds, with three tough matchups throughout the week. Let’s take a look at this week in Carmel Girls Basketball:

November 30th at Lawrence North (79-50 Win)

Offense Offense Offense. Scoring Scoring Scoring. Once again, the Hounds went on the road to play a tough game against a talented team. A blitz of 1st Quarter points gave the Hounds a quick 16-point lead after 8 minutes of play. Senior Emily Roper once again showed off her skills in transition as she racked up bucket after bucket from all over the floor. In the latter part of the 1st half, Senior star and Michigan commit Kate Clarke finally made an appearance in a game this season as she continues to battle a back injury. Although she was clearly on a minutes restriction, she put in some solid work and ended the night with 3 points on 2 shots. Meanwhile, Freshman guard Mackenzie Woods showed no mercy to the Wildcats’ defense in the second half as she put up 13 points on 67% from the field. Also getting some valuable minutes was Hannah Lach, who put up a few good shots to end the night with 8. Throughout the second half, the Wildcats just had no way to stop the Hounds’ steal-and-run style offense and after 32 minutes of play, the Hounds scored a season high 79 as opposed to the WIldcats’ 50.

Carmel Scoring: Thomas-20, Roper-20, Woods-13

Lawrence North Scoring: Thomas-12, Hurt-10

December 2nd vs West Lafayette (48-25 Win)

The Hounds’ first of two 3A matchups on the season resulted in a sloppy 23-point victory against the Red Devils of West Lafayette, led by one of the top scorers in the state, Adrienne Tolen. Firstly, it was a highly unusual starting lineup for the Hounds, as Taryn Fisher and Jamie Elliott were inserted into the lineup in exchange for Mackenzie Woods and Hannah Lach respectively. The Hounds got off to a slow start in the 1st quarter of play, but a 3 from Jamie Elliott extended their lead at the break to 8. It was a saga of sloppy play from both sides throughout the second quarter, as three of the Hounds’ usual starters, Kate Clarke, Woods, and Lach, did not see any minutes for most of the night. However, the Red Devils seemed to have some major troubles scoring on the interior with Emily Roper and Mackenzie Thomas patrolling the paint. Red Devils’ stud Annie Karlaftis, typically a guard who scores with ease, finished the night with just 7. During the entirety of the 2nd half, a combination of ball handling issues from the Red Devils along with an 18-point 3rd quarter gave Carmel a 20 point lead that they extended to 25 as the buzzer sounded on a solid 48-25 non-conference victory. 

Carmel Scoring: Thomas-16, Roper-7, Elliott-7

West Lafayette Scoring: Tolen-8, Karlaftis-7, Martin-7

December 3rd vs Warren Central (55-44 Win)

It was a great night to celebrate the Hounds’ three seniors (Kate Clarke, Emily Roper, and Laura Valiente) and they showed their leadership better than ever. For the first time this season, Kate Clarke was included in the starting 5. Surprisingly enough, she was not on a clear minutes restriction as she stayed on the floor for the majority of the 1st quarter of play. However, for both the Hounds and the Warriors, it was an unusually slow 1st quarter offensively. Despite that defensive battle, the Hounds went into halftime with an 8 point advantage. Despite strong 2nd half performances from the Warriors’ Sanaa Thomas and Asiah Baxter, they couldn’t quite top the Hounds’ offensive attack led by double digit performances from Thomas, Roper, and for the first time since February, Kate Clarke. In the end, it was a solid 54-44 win for the Greyhounds on Senior night.

Carmel Scoring: Thomas-19, Roper-13, Clarke-13

Warren Central Scoring: Baxter-15, Ellington-10

This Week’s Takeaways:

All 3 games were certainly promising for the Hounds’ offense, but the one thing they need to look out for is their turnovers. These past 3 games have been filled with far too many giveaways straight to the opponent. If they really want to be competitive against teams like Westfield and North Central, that cannot afford to commit turnovers at this rate. It will also be interesting to see at what time Kate Clarke will become a routine starter. If I were to guess, it would be around Christmas time, as Freshman Mackenzie Woods, who has essentially taken Clarke’s space in the starting lineup, has been a very solid offensive contributor as of late. 

Defensively, this was a very solid week for the Hounds. They dramatically increased their usage of that staple 3-2 zone, and it is working to a T. That front 3 of Valiente, Woods, and Lach/Clarke causes great confusion for inexperienced offenses, and makes it so difficult for any offense to send the ball inside to the paint.

The Week Ahead: 

Tuesday, December 7th vs Westfield (7-2)

Saturday, December 11th vs Fort Wayne Snider (5-2)

–  Gabe Perrin, Co-Sports Director