When the Greenwood Christian girls basketball team won its first sectional title last season, it seemed to head coach Alan Weems that it took an eternity.
The Cougars didn’t have to wait that long for the second title.
Continuing a trend of good shooting, outstanding defense and smart play, Class A No. 8 GCA thumped Indianapolis Lutheran 82-44 on Saturday night to win its second consecutive sectional championship.
Greenwood Christian (21-5) now heads to the Southwestern Regional next Saturday, where they will face perennial Class A power Jac-Cen-Del (21-4), which won its 12th consecutive sectional championship at Waldron.
“It took so long to get the first and it’s so hard to repeat that when you do it, it’s very special,” Weems said. “This is a good basketball team and they play the game the right way, they pass the ball, they move the ball so well.
“It’s just a great team to coach.”
For the first time in the sectional, the Cougars found themselves behind. After GCA opened with a free throw by Ellie Bigelow, Lutheran hit its first shot for a 2-1 lead.
The good news was there still plenty of time for Greenwood Christian to make amends and they did exactly that, outscoring the Saints the rest of the way and taking a 29-6 lead out of the first quarter.
Greenwood Christian held all three of its sectional opponents to seven points or less in the opening frame.
Lutheran found its scoring touch in the second quarter, but the Cougars also continued theirs and effectively secured the title against a team that it beat less than a month ago by 44 points.
“The key is whether or not your players can maintain a focus when they know what they have faced before,” Weems said. “Lutheran has improved a lot since the first time we played them.”
Focus was maintained during a 24-point third quarter, a quarter which saw junior Izzy Reed get her 1,000th career rebound at the 1:39 mark.
Reed also hit two 3-point shots on her way to a game-high 24 points.
“It’s definitely a huge accomplishment, but I couldn’t have done this without my teammates,” Reed said. “We had our eyes set on the prize.”
Three of Reed’s teammates were also in double figures, including Savvanah Frye with 18. Bigelow added 13 and senior Alexis Mead closed out her final home appearance with 12 points, all from beyond the arc.
“This (title) means a lot more this year and it meant a lot last year, but with this being my last game here it had a lot more meaning,” Mead said. “We’re going to get our focus now of getting past regionals.”
The Cougars shot 54 percent from the floor, including a remarkable 53 percent from the 3-point line.
Besides its second title, GCA set a school record with its 21st win, its 10th by 30 or more points.
The Cougars will try to add more Saturday.
