SSN: Girls Basketball Season Preview

Adam Hipsky

The Hamilton Southeastern Girls Basketball Program looks to improve on a 14-8 2021-2022 campaign in Coach Brian Satterfield’s second year at the helm. For the past 20 years, Satterfield has been the boys’ basketball coach at HSE. During that time, he has had great success, posting a 322-151 record, three sectional championships, and nine Hoosier Crossroads Conference championships.

“Transition has been good.  It helps I have been around my daughter and the youth girls’ program for the past 6 years.”

For most, you would assume that kind of transition would be extremely challenging however, Satterfield had a different opinion.

“There are a few things I wish would have been done differently looking back at year one, but It is basically the same.  Your goal as a coach is to help create a great culture and develop team chemistry while challenging your players to reach their potential,” said Satterfield.

It is helpful for Sattertfield in his second season returning his three leading scorers, seniors Olivia Brown and Riley Makalusky as well as the Sophomore Maya Makalusky. These three averaged nearly 40 of their 58 points last season.

Brown and Riley Makalusky have already wrapped up their college recruiting process having already committed to their respective schools. Brown will head to the MAC and play for Akron while Makalusky will remain in her hometown and play for Butler next Winter.

“It feels so amazing to have already committed before this season has started. Recruitment can be overwhelming and stressful but once I found the school that fit it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I’m so excited to have found a college coach that I have built an amazing relationship with and I can’t wait to play for him at Butler,” said Senior Riley Makalusky.

However, these two believe they have unfinished they want to take care of before they hang up the Royals threads.

“The ultimate goal for this season is to win state but before that we definitely want to win Mudsock and have the best team chemistry that we’ve had in a long time,” said Brown.

The Lady Royals season will have plenty of challenges including one of the toughest sectionals across the entire state.  Olivia Brown still has her eyes on hoisting that sectional championship trophy, something the Lady Royals program hasn’t done since their sectional championship run in 2019.

“Another goal would be for us to win our sectional. This will be challenging especially since we have one of the hardest sectionals in the state, and hopefully after that we can make it all the way to the state championship,” stated Makalusky.

Coach Satterfield and the Lady Royals know the upcoming months will have its challenges but as a whole, the program is excited to get their season underway as they will kick off their regular season slate on the road at Columbus North on Tuesday, November 1st.