<p>For three quarters, it looked as though the Greenwood Christian girls basketball team was about to get the signature win it sought against a larger county rival.</p>
<p>Indian Creek had other ideas.</p>
<p>Hannah Grider made eight free throws in the final 1:23, helping the Braves cap a furious fourth-quarter comeback on the way to a 62-55 home win in the opening round of the Johnson County tournament on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>"We found a way," Indian Creek coach Brian Ferris said.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>Grider broke a 53-53 deadlock by hitting one of two from the line, then came up with a steal at the other end and two more foul shots to give the Braves (2-1) a three-point lead. Forced to foul and unable to come up with anything at the offensive end, the Cougars got no closer down the stretch.</p>
<p>Indian Creek jumped out to an early 8-2 lead thanks to some GCA turnovers as well as a dominating performance on the offensive glass. The Cougars, though, crawled back, finishing the quarter with an 18-14 lead behind 12 points from Izzy Reed and 3-pointers from Alexis Mead and Ellie Bigelow.</p>
<p>The Cougars (1-2) stretched that advantage to 27-18 midway through the second quarter before Indian Creek answered with a 6-0 run, capped by back-to-back Ali Harris buckets. GCA threatened to start pulling away with consecutive hoops by Mead and Bigelow before Harris stemmed the tide with a 3 to make it 31-28 just before halftime. The visitors went into the break with a 33-29 edge.</p>
<p>The third quarter began with the Braves cutting the deficit to two on three consecutive trips, only to have the Cougars answer each time. An 8-2 spurt midway through the period put GCA back up by eight, 45-37, but as was the case every other time the Cougars threatened to put the game away, Indian Creek found its way back.</p>
<p>Mead opened the final quarter with a basket to give Greenwood Christian a 51-44 advantage, but the Braves scored the next nine points to regain the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. A Luci Woodrum 3 was followed by a pair of layups from Kurstin Thompson, the second of which put Indian Creek up 53-51 with 3:53 remaining.</p>
<p>Those were the last points until Reed tied it back up at the foul line with 2:03 to go.</p>
<p>The Braves’ comeback spoiled a gritty performance from Reed, who finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and six steals. Mead had 10 points and Bigelow nine for GCA, which left some points on the board by missing 12 of 24 free throws, including its first six of the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Cougars coach Alan Weems said his team was disappointed after letting a chance to advance slip away.</p>
<p>"They were not intent on coming here and making a good showing," he said. "They were intent on coming in and winning. That’s the attitude that these kids have, and it’ll happen — we’re going to get that signature win at some point in time. We’ve got too good of players to not do that."</p>
<p>Harris led Indian Creek with 20 points and 12 boards, while Grider and Emily Todor chipped in 10 points apiece and Thompson added eight.</p>
