<p>When Alan Weems was in his first year coaching girls basketball at Greenwood Christian, he had a couple of young kids serving as ball girls — fifth-grader Alexis Mead and fourth-grader Izzy Reed.</p>
<p>Little did he know at the time that those two would form the foundation of the most successful Cougar teams he’s had.</p>
<p>Now a senior and a junior, respectively, Mead and Reed recently became the second and third 1,000-point scorers in GCA girls history, hitting the milestone in consecutive games.</p>
<p>Mead got there in a Nov. 30 road win over Waldron; Reed followed three days later in a victory at Speedway.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]
<p>The two Cougar stars were one another’s biggest cheerleaders during the quest to hit the four-digit mark.</p>
<p>"Izzy was all over when Alexis was going to get there," Weems said. "She would actually get teary-eyed thinking about it. … And then when it became obvious that Izzy had a chance (against Speedway), Alexis was really pumped about that."</p>
<p>Reed and the rest of the Cougars might’ve been a little too pumped about trying to get Mead over the hump, forcing the issue a bit during the Waldron game after finding out beforehand that the mark was just nine points away.</p>
<p>Mead admitted to being a bit nervous before that contest, but the other GCA players might have been even worse.</p>
<p>"That kind of came to hurt us a little because we were trying to do it all," Reed said. "If we would have just stuck with what we know how to do, it probably would’ve come a little bit sooner.</p>
<p>"But she got it, so that’s okay."</p>
<p>Reed then went into Speedway needing 26 points to get to 1,000 — which seems like a lot until you consider that she’s been averaging around 25 the whole year. </p>
<p>She finished the game with 27.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Mead was leading the charge to get Reed there as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>"We were just so excited," Mead said. "We were like, ‘Here, Izzy, shoot it, shoot it, take it!’"</p>
<p>With another season still to go after this one, Reed has a chance to hit some even loftier benchmarks before her high school career is over. But as nice as the individual accolades are, she and Mead are seeking something a bit bigger.</p>
<p>"State championship banner — please, yes," Reed said. "As excited as we are about scoring 1,000, I think we both say our big goal is to get that state championship. It was exciting these past couple of games, but we’re still working hard toward that."</p>
<p>With four players — Reed, Mead, junior Savvanah Frye and sophomore Ellie Bigelow — averaging double figures in points, GCA has a chance to reach that goal. The Cougars have nearly everyone back after winning their first sectional championship last year, and Mead says the team has been focused on building upon that first taste of success.</p>
<p>So far, so good. GCA is currently ranked ninth in the ICGSA Class A poll and third among all Class A teams in the Sagarin ratings.</p>
<p>Winning obviously makes the season more fun, but Reed says she’s enjoyed every moment she’s spent on the court with Mead since their elementary school days.</p>
<p>"I don’t think people understand what an amazing teammate Alexis is," Reed said. "She’s seriously the greatest — if you think of the ideal teammate, it’s Alexis Mead. She is the first one encouraging you, and she just has the kindest heart. I think I speak for the whole team when I say we were all so excited for her when she hit (1,000 points)."</p>
<p>Weems is cherishing this last season with both of his original ball girls, who have blossomed well beyond any expectations he could have had for them when they were hanging around the gym seven years ago.</p>
<p>"Those two kids, we anticipated were going to have a big part in whatever success we were going to have," he said, "but my goodness, I wasn’t anticipating this much."</p>
