Center Grove 55, Franklin Central 50

GREENWOOD, Ind. — Center Grove closed strong in the fourth quarter for a come from behind 55 – 50 Indiana high school girls sectional championship over Franklin Central.

The Lady Trojans (25 – 0) trailed 33 – 27 at the half and 41 – 37 after three quarters before leaning on a balanced scoring effort and timely defense down the stretch. Center Grove outscored the Lady Flashes 18–9 in the final period for the win.  Center Grove held Franklin Central to limited second-chance opportunities in the final minutes, forcing turnovers and capitalizing from the stripe to seal the win.

The Trojans were efficient from behind arc converting on 53% led by MacKenzie Pierce’s four 3’s.  Pierce finished with 12 points.  Gracyn Gillard led Center Grove with 19 points, consistently attacking the lane and converting at the free-throw line. Lillia Tapak played a huge role in the fourth quarter converting on 6 of 7 free throws.

Franklin Central kept pace for most of the night behind Ashlee Baker, who poured in a team-high 18 points including drilling 5 of 6 3-pointers. Aniya Doughty chipped in 11.