One Greenwood Christian Academy girls basketball player passed up occasional open looks last season in order to get the basketball to older teammates.
Alexis Mead can’t afford such acts of generosity this time around.
If the Cougars are to finish with a winning record for the sixth time in seven seasons, Mead, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, must team with sophomores Izzy Reed and Savvanah Frye to form a formidable nucleus at the offensive end.
For Mead, this means attempting more than the 9.5 field goal attempts per game that she put up in 2017-18.
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“If we’re going to get 55 to 60 shots a game as a team, Alexis is going to have to get 15 of that,” seventh-year GCA coach Alam Weems said. “The only thing I ask of her is to not force things. Take the best shot that comes to you.”
Last season’s squad included four seniors that accounted for 48 percent of the points the Cougars scored. Greenwood Christian enjoyed a landmark season with a 19-7 record and runner-up finish to Indianapolis Tindley in the Class A sectional at GCA.
Prior to the Tindley contest, the Cougars had an 11-game win streak.
The goal now is for GCA to pick up its first sectional championship in girls basketball. Cougar teams have been part of the postseason since the 2006-07 season.
“What I wanted to improve most this season was to just grow with the new group of girls coming in because our main goal is to win sectional this year,” said Mead, who averaged 10.8 points a game as a sophomore and enters this season with 508 career points.
“And I don’t shoot enough. We had a lot of good seniors last year, so I wanted to make sure they got their shots, too. It’s not easy, but I’ve been working on different ways to drive to the basket and different ways to cut and come off screens to get open.”
Mead is Greenwood Christian’s No. 2 returning scorer behind Reed, a 5-9 forward. Mead’s all-around skills also enabled her to average 2.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 steals last winter.
She worked on her overall game in the summer playing for Midwest Finest, an AAU team.
“Over the summer, Alexis did start to create her own shot. She’s got to be ready to shoot it when open and has almost unlimited range,” Weems said. “But where Alexis is most underrated is as a passer.
"She can get the ball to a lot of places we’ve never had anybody else be able to do.”
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Coach: Alan Weems
Last season: 19-7, second in PAAC South; lost to Indianapolis Tindley in sectional championship game
Top returnees: Morgan Haynes, Alexis Mead, juniors; Katie Potter, Izzy Reed, sophomores
Key newcomers: Cameron Northern, junior; Savvanah Frye, sophomore; Ellie Bigelow, freshman
What to expect: The Cougars have enjoyed a winning season in five of Weems’ six years. Greenwood Christian hopes to keep piling up victories, led by the return of Reed and Mead. The addition of former Greenwood player Frye gives the team a solid nucleus around which to build.
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Which gym is your favorite — or least favorite — to play in, and why?
“My favorite gym is probably Center Grove. It’s big and more open. You feel like you’re the center of everything. I don’t think I have a least favorite. I love gyms, even if it’s smaller.”
Which team not on your schedule would you most want to play?
"Probably Trinity Lutheran because we played them during summer ball and they won their sectional last year. We’re kind of a young team, so it would be the chance of knowing whether or not we could play with them.”
Which player that we might not know about is likely to have a breakout season?
"Ellie Bigelow, who is a freshman point guard for us this year. She really goes after it, is intense, and I think she’s going to have a good year. You can tell when she’s not practicing because the whole atmosphere just changes.”
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