After a game against Columbus North was pushed back to January, the Hounds had a 10 day break until they faced off against two tough teams in Lawrence Central and Penn. 

December 28th @ Lawrence Central (61-55 Win)

Entering a game after spending a good amount of time off is hard for any team, but the Hounds never seemed phased by the Bears’ defensive attack, as they came out swinging with an 18-point 1st quarter. However, the Bears, powered by talented Senior Tori Smiley, stayed with the Hounds throughout the 2nd quarter, as they only trailed by 2 at the break. But in a post-Christmas miracle, it was Junior Hannah Lach that caught fire in the 2nd Half, finding her groove from beyond the arc, draining 6/9 shots from 3 throughout the night, even after leaving the North Central game with an injury. The Hounds dominated the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Bears 18-8, and after that, cruised to a comfortable 61-55 victory over a talented Lawrence Central roster.

Carmel Scoring: Lach-22, Thomas-15

Lawrence Central Scoring: Smiley-18, Jacobs-14, Lampley-11

December 30th vs Penn (59-46 Win)

Coming into this game after being unranked for over 3 weeks, the Hounds were certainly an underdog against the 19th-ranked Kingsmen of Penn. Penn, coming into the game at 10-5 on the season, was surely shocked as the Hounds produced one of their many excellent 1st Quarter performances as Senior Laura Valiente delivered some excellent offensive firepower within the first few minutes of the game. With UIndy commit Jada Patton not in the starting lineup, the Kingsmen failed to produce as they usually do, and found themselves down by 13 after just 8 minutes. While the Hounds did slow down slightly in the 2nd Quarter, they kept that gap at the same level, matching bucket for bucket with Penn, who were propelled by a few much needed points from Patton. After 1 Half of play, Carmel remained up 13, and continued to play a surprisingly clean game of basketball. The 2nd half was essentially the exact same, as both teams went back and forth scoring, and although the Kingsmen took their deficit down to single digits at one point in the 3rd Quarter, they just could not seem to string a few defensive stops together to get themselves back into the game. Meanwhile, Hannah Lach, Emily Roper, and Valiente teamed up for a trio of double-digit outings as the Hounds reestablished themselves as a formidable opponent going into the final month of this thrilling season.

Carmel Scoring: Lach-15, Roper-10, Valiente-10

Penn Scoring: Patton-15, Bobo/Adkins/Troy/Economou-6
This Week’s Takeaways:

Offensively, I have no complaints with this team. In both games this week, multiple players continually impressed on the offensive end, whether that be Hannah Lach, who has been red-hot from the perimeter or the always reliable Mackenzie Thomas in the paint, Carmel has been absolutely on point offensively, and this is the perfect time for that to happen, given that sectional pairings are set to be announced in just 3 week’s time. However, the Hounds’ offense has to be adaptable, because the perimeter shooting simply will not work night in and night out. The good thing for the Hounds in that case is the fact that their bench is deep and diverse. On the bench, you have solid shooters like Jamie Elliott and Sophie Shepherd along with strong attackers in the paint like Maya Berglund. Without a doubt, this team is offensively ready for the postseason.

Defensively, the Hounds have been solid, but are once again being struck by the classic zone perimeter weakness. While the 3-2 zone is working in many aspects, the wide open shots created by that style of play can hinder any defensive scheme. For the Hounds, it is all about playing with enough energy and using your length as one of the taller teams in the state to get to those shots quicker. Once they start doing that, this is certainly a team that can make it out of Sectional 8.

The Week Ahead:

–  Friday, January 7th @ Center Grove (10-6)

– Saturday, January 8th vs Fort Wayne South Side (2-9)

– Gabe Perrin, Co-Sports Director