Camryn Runner sees more of her second-oldest sister Bayleigh in herself when she studies film than Ashton, but there are undeniable similarities between the Hamilton Heights junior and her oldest sister, too. Like when Runner dove into the bleachers chasing after a loose ball earlier this season. There wasn't much point to her all-out attempt, she admits, and the first thing her dad asked afterwards was: "Were you trying to be like Ashton?"

"I think both of them influenced me and I can see both of them in my game — whether I want to or not," Camryn said ahead of Saturday's regional vs. Norwell (4 p.m. at Bellmont).

A 2017 Hamilton Heights graduate, Ashton was an all-around athlete, according to the youngest Runner, the type of player who boosted her teammates and wasn't afraid to take charge in critical moments. Bayleigh, a 2020 grad, was a point guard, the general on the court. She could make "phenomenal passes," Camryn said, but was equally capable as a shooter.

Put those two together and you have Camryn Runner, a 5-9 athletic guard who can stretch the floor and averages 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Huskies (19-5). She learned to lead from Ashton, and inherited Bayleigh's basketball IQ and offensive prowess.

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Runner scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Huskies to their third consecutive sectional championship last weekend, and on Saturday, she and her teammates will try to secure the school's first regional victory since 2018 — Bayleigh's sophomore season — and first semistate appearance since 2013.

"If there's one common thread amongst all of them, it's the competitiveness," said coach Keegan Cherry, who took over as head coach Ashton's senior season. "They understand how to win, they love to compete and it's always team-first. They're on board with whatever it takes for the team to win."

Runner's success has come within a new, more prominent role for Hamilton Heights. Though always the team's go-to scorer, last season she was able to play off seniors Mia Shields and Mykayla Moran, both of whom averaged around 10 points per game.

The Huskies still have talented pieces around Runner — specifically: Ella Hickok and Kaylee Rhoton, both averaging 7-10 points per game — but the team's lack of size and depth has shifted even more of the workload onto their junior standout, who accounts for 44% of their scoring.

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Put simply: Everything runs through No. 10. And opposing defenses know it.

"She's performing in a limited-possession game where everybody knows they have to stop Camryn," Cherry said of Runner, who is shooting 46% from the field and 37% from 3. "It's so hard to get her opportunities and when she gets them, she has to be so efficient. And she has been. … It's remarkable what she's been able to do."

Cherry does what he can to maximize Runner's opportunities. Plays designed for her carry secondary options for if/when the defense collapses on her, and the Huskies maintain a methodical offensive pace to limit possessions and conserve energy. But it ultimately comes down to Runner finding a way to produce — and she prepared herself accordingly, expanding her game to include her left hand and adding a mid-range game over the offseason.

"I have to give credit to my dad," said Runner. "He was the one who told me, 'Camryn, they're going to key on you and your right hand. You need to add some diversity.' He worked with me a lot, coached me a lot through the years."

Runner has also focused on finding space for herself around the arc and hastening the release on her shot. With respect to improving the latter, she pulls out the shooting gun, sets it to one second between each pass, and checks her accuracy following each session. "Hopefully your release gets faster over time because balls are getting chucked at your face," she laughed.

"You have to practice the same drill over and over until you get a rhythm down."

The statistics and growth of Runner's game are certainly impressive, and there are nights when she's virtually unstoppable, like when she hit four triples and dropped 22 points on Jay County in November, or when she scored 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting vs. Tipton in January. But her leadership, especially when shots aren't falling, has been of equal importance.

Saturday's sectional championship against Yorktown was a grinder. Neither team shot the ball particularly well (30%), with Runner finishing 8-for-22 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3 (converted 12-of-14 free throws). It was a struggle, junior Hadleigh Cherry said of the Huskies' 41-40 overtime victory, but Runner remained upbeat, constantly encouraging her teammates, cracking jokes and keeping them loose entering the final two minutes. "It's always a good time playing basketball with her."

"Camryn's just an awesome person, an awesome athlete," Hadleigh said. "She's going to do big things in the future, I know she can. One (college) team's going to be really lucky to have her."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girls basketball: Camryn Runner leads way for Hamilton Heights