McCutcheon Beats Hamilton Southeastern 53-36 to Repeat as 4A Regional Champions

McCutcheon captured its second straight IHSAA Class 4A regional with a 53-36 victory over Hamilton Southeastern at Case Arena in Frankfort Saturday, paced by junior guard Keara Lipscomb-Allen’s game-high 20 points and Lillie Graves’ 14 points and 11 rebounds. The win improves McCutcheon to 22-5 while Hamilton Southeastern falls to 20-5.

The Mavericks opened the scoring when Lipscomb-Allen drove for a layup on the game’s first possession, and McCutcheon trailed only once all night, down 7-4 early in the first quarter. McCutcheon began in a zone defense but switched to man-to-man in the second half; senior Trinity Wilburn’s impact after the change was immediate. Wilburn finished with nine points, six steals and drew two charges, and her parrying of Hamilton Southeastern’s offenses kept Kennedy “KK” Holman from scoring on consecutive possessions. “We came here with one goal. We just played our game and just kept pushing and played as hard as we could,” Wilburn said after the game.

Offensively, Lipscomb-Allen combined scoring and court vision, adding three assists to her 20 points. “I just know how the game flows,” Lipscomb-Allen said. “That really helps me, and if I know people are covering me, somebody has to be open.” Graves posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and added three steals, embodying McCutcheon’s physical style down the stretch.

The night turned emotional for McCutcheon with 7:17 remaining in the fourth quarter when junior forward Ameria Gibson suffered a left knee injury and was helped off the floor by trainers. Gibson sat in a wheelchair during the postgame celebration; instead of racing to the trophy, Graves went straight to her longtime friend. “After the game, I didn't run out on the court. I ran straight to her. You feel bad when something like that happens especially when we had all the momentum. She's had a great season, and I was so proud of her,” Graves said, noting the pair have known each other since sixth grade.

Hamilton Southeastern struggled to find consistent scoring, shooting 3-of-30 from three-point range and 9-of-19 from the free-throw line. Senior Kayla Stidham scored 13 points and Holman was held to 11. The game account included the verbatim line: “Senior Kayla Stidham scored 13 points but no player outside of Hamilton Southeastern's roster added more than three points,” a phrasing that appears ambiguous but underscores the limited scoring support beyond Stidham and Holman.

McCutcheon’s regional title advances the Mavericks to semi-state play, where they will need two more wins to reach the Class 4A state championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Feb. 28. The Mavericks enter semi-state with recent decisive victories on their ledger, including 82-37 over Harrison, 56-54 at Lafayette Jefferson and 59-22 against West Lafayette, signaling an experienced roster that blends lockdown defense with opportunistic scoring as it chases deeper postseason runs. The immediate focus, however, will be on Gibson’s injury status and how McCutcheon sustains the defensive identity that carried them through Case Arena.