Tonight the rivalry on Highway 24 ranges into the brand new Spartan Arena as Homestead hosts Huntington North. It’s a rivalry in some shape or form, even though Homestead has won 17 of their last 26 meetings. In fact, the last time Huntington North defeated Homestead in girls basketball, you have to go back to Feb. 13, 2010, when HN won a sectional game 62-54. But you have to go back to Nov. 24, 2006, when HN last won a game at Homestead for girls basketball.
Huntington North is coming off a 55-32 loss to a hot Carroll team where Kayla Gibbs had 27 points that game. Homestead, as you would expect, has dominated most of their competition, but suffered their first loss of the season against a talented Noblesville squad 59-47. Both teams always challenge themselves and it shows as they take their games to another level tonight.
Headlines Going into this game
1. There’s a lot to be Thankful For
Huntington North has had a good run of success led by Matt Hinds and his 50 wins as the Vikings’ coach. Prior to Taylor Double’s premature exist of the Carroll game (which was reportedly an illness that night), Double was having a great start to her senior season. The future Marian Lady Knight scored a career high 26 points against Carmel two weeks ago. Despite only playing 3 games so far, it does feel like Huntington North can play with anyone, when they play team basketball and they’re defending well enough to keep the big girls out of the paint.
In case you live under a rock, Homestead is Homestead. The new era of Homestead athletics saw the finishing touches of Spartan Arena, the beautiful spectacle that will now host tremendous talent coming through this SACS school district. Myah Epps already looks like a veteran 6 games into the season and is poised to be one of the best point guards in the COUNTRY! ESPN, you better start finding her basketball stats fast because her stock is about to rise!
You see what I did here? Yes, the stock always rises when Molly Stock has a big game. She doesn’t always show the big numbers, but she’s your typical stud Homestead guard. Not the biggest name in the universe, but she’s a sniper from distance and teams have to respect her game, which opens up the offense for girls like Myah Epps, Gabby Helsom, Ali Stephens, Emma Reust, Evie Bottoms, etc. They’re not the biggest team right now, but there’s no shortage of athleticism.
That’s why there’s a lot to be thankful.
2. It’s a Battle of Two philosophical styles of basketball
Matt Hinds’ disciplined offense and their physical zone trap vs the fast tempo offense that is the Homestead Spartans. If Carroll taught Huntington North anything, it’s the fact, when you play the SAC sauce, you got to take the heat. Homestead is going to press, and press HARD tonight. They always play that way, and their athleticism and wingspan suffocates opposing teams.
I saw the film on their game against Carmel, and once their defense started to intensify, they ran Carmel out of their own building. It was just effortless Basketball from Homestead. Myah Epps is not only an amazing offensive playmaker, she’s also a terrific defender, and she’s a freshman!
Ali Stephens is Ali Stephens! That’s why Omaha said “Hey, we want that winning mentality on our program!” Stephens does it all for them. She can ball-handle, she can run an offense, she can post up, she penetrates, makes FT’s, she can score inside at will, she can make 3’s, and she can flat out defend. She’s no Ayanna Patterson, but she doesn’t have to be when she has an all-star lineup of guards to complement her game.
For Huntington North, it is clear from their last game that the Vikings need to bounce back from the Carroll loss and disrupt the lanes tonight. Matt Hinds said after the Carroll game that we cannot allow them to get to the paint at their will and dominate inside. Basically, he’s saying we don’t have the athletes to do that, so we have to come prepared to disrupt that flow and force to distribute offense in much less manageable fashion. Huntington North has to keep this within the 40s tonight, because they know they can’t compete with Homestead’s athletes and wingspan if it becomes a sprint.
3. Setting themselves up for Big Conference Competition
No matter how you slice it tonight, this is a good measuring stick game to see where they stand going into the final week before they start playing the meat of their conference schedule. As a matter of fact, Huntington North only has to host Norwell a week from Friday, which might be next week’s NE8 game of the week. No big deal!
Homestead has already played two conference games, but they still have a date with Carroll a week from Friday. Based on what I’ve seen from Carroll, it’s looking like a cat fight in this amazing rivalry a week from now.
So I guess I look at this as less of a must win situation, but more on just getting better every game. Yes, you want to win this game, but they know the bigger goals lie further along in their seasons. I think Huntington North definitely wants the young girls to learn from these big games to get them mentally ready and know what it takes to win at the highest level.
Players to watch
Huntington North
Marissa Trout Sophomore Forward
Regardless if you’re preparing for trouble and making it double (Taylor Double), I’m curious to see how the rest of that Vikings’ roster responds to the challenge of playing the mighty Spartans on the road no less. Huntington has had a nice flow of contribution from a lot of players, but Marissa might be the most improved from this program as she’s averaging around 8 points a game and gives the Vikings some wingspan and toughness to make big plays. Players like her allow everyone else to thrive in their roles, especially for the always selfless Taylor Double when she’s healthy.
Also watch for Grace Fields tonight as this scrappy kid that brings versatility at the wing slot for Huntington North. We don’t talk nearly enough about Fields because of the way she plays on this type of offense. She competes hard. She’s always diving for loose balls, looking for the next big play for her teammates, and contributes however she can. I think Matt Hinds wants to see is more of that selfless mentality because games like tonight, you’re not going to have an advantage athletically in these big games.
In their sectional, Homestead South Side and Columbia City are in their sectional. How do you respond when you’re not shooting the ball the best, officials are calling the game tightly, and you got Justice Billingsley or Ali Stephens pounding the ball inside? What happens if you’re in foul trouble but you have to stay in the game because you need to make that big defensive stop? This is situational ball that Huntington North has to learn how to play through so that once they get into meaningful basketball in December, January, and February, they’ll be mentally ready for any type of adversity that can come at them.
Practicing it is one thing, but until you actually experience this in a real game, you can’t be prepared for the playoffs. This is why HN has to beef up their schedule every year.
Homestead
Myah Epps Freshman Point Guard
Is this going to surprise you? Absolutely not. She’s a phenomenal player that has Pepp to her stepp. She’s averaging 15 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and 4 steals a game. She’s essentially a taller version of some of the things Addison Baxter does the best at. Epps is obviously a great shooter, but I just love the way she thinks the game so quickly. She’s not hesitant for a second on her decision making. The part that makes her so dangerous is once she’s got the ball in her hands, she’s off to the races. That gives opponents no time to think about their next move. Epps thinks 3-4 plays in advance on what’s going to do on a given play.
Unless you’re a big time stud that thinks quick, you can kiss your ankles good night when you have to defend Myah Epps. But she’s even better at seeing the floor and making everyone else better.
Wait until this freshman class gets a few years under their belt….😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫
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