GCA girls dominate sectional opener

<p>Tuesday night brought plenty of girls basketball drama around the area and across the state.</p><p>Just not at the Greenwood Christian Sectional.</p><p>The host Cougars eliminated any and all suspense right away in their opening-round Class A game against Central Christian, forcing 22 first-quarter turnovers and scoring the game’s first 53 points on the way to a 92-10 laugher.</p><p>GCA (14-10) will face Christel House in a semifinal game on Friday night.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>&quot;Our kids are very focused right now and very intense,&quot; GCA coach Alan Weems said. &quot;They know that for the first time in school history, they have a real chance to win a sectional.&quot;</p><p>Alexis Mead, who scored 20 of her game-high 29 points in the opening period, knocked down a 3 to give the Cougars a quick lead that expanded rapidly as Central Christian was overwhelmed by GCA’s full-court pressure. The Chargers committed 10 turnovers in the first two and a half minutes and only crossed midcourt on a handful of occasions in the quarter.</p><p>Greenwood Christian took off the press after back-to-back steals and layups by Izzy Reed made it a 21-0 game, but even after it came off, Central Christian still only attempted one field goal in the first eight minutes.</p><p>The lead grew to 53-0 before the Chargers’ Ali Lance broke the shutout with 2:44 remaining in the half. GCA led 63-2 at the break and then scored the first 13 points of the third quarter before coasting the rest of the way.</p><p>The lack of a challenge from the Chargers didn’t seem to dull the Cougars’ focus one bit.</p><p>&quot;No matter who our opponent is, we’re coming out here to win,&quot; Reed said. &quot;We’re playing the same game no matter what the name on the jersey says. We’re playing each game to get better. We want that sectional title, so we’re working toward that and just getting better every single game that we play.&quot;</p><p>Reed finished the night with a triple-double for the Cougars, posting 18 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and six steals. Savvanah Frye added 15 points, six boards, six assists and six steals, and Katie Potter chipped in 12 points.</p><p>No matter who else ends up in the way this week, GCA will remain focused on picking up what would be the first sectional crown in program history.</p><p>&quot;It would be a dream come true,&quot; Mead said. &quot;Just playing basketball in middle school here, we’d talk about the chance in high school to win a sectional. So hopefully that comes true.&quot;</p>