<p>Center Grove rode a red-hot start to victory in the first round of the Johnson County girls basketball tournament. That same formula served the Trojans well again during Thursday’s semifinal game against Greenwood Christian.</p><p>Freshman Aubrie Booker scored all 12 of her points during a first-quarter outburst as Center Grove led wire to wire in a comfortable 53-43 victory over the Class A No. 3 Cougars.</p><p>“We always want to set the tone,” Center Grove coach Kevin Stuckmeyer said, “and we haven’t done it real well to start the year, but we have the last two games. The girls are starting to figure that out and become more focused to start games.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>Ella Hobson finished with 16 points and Mary Wilson 15 for the Trojans (3-3), who will travel to Whiteland for Saturday night’s championship game. The Warriors, who received a first-round bye, advanced into the final when Franklin had to withdraw from the tourney due to a quarantine.</p><p>Booker made her mark right away with a 3-pointer on Center Grove’s opening possession, and after Hobson knocked one down, Booker hit another to stake the home team to a quick 9-0 lead. GCA (4-1) didn’t get closer than seven the rest of the night. Jumpers from Emily Karr and Booker in the final minute built the Trojan advantage to 22-7 by the end of the first quarter.</p><p>“We really wanted to get the lead first so we could get in their heads,” Booker said. “Just get up so we can set a tone.”</p><p>The Cougars got back to within single digits on a couple of occassions after halftime, but in each case Center Grove had an answer. Izzy Reed and Savvanah Frye keyed a 6-0 run at the start of the third quarter that made it 29-20, but baskets by Wilson and Hobson slowed the momentum. Another six-point burst by GCA late in the period cut it to 38-29, but the Trojans’ Audrey Annee banked in a buzzer-beating 3.</p><p>Wilson, who collected all of her 15 points after halftime, scored the first seven of the fourth to effectively put it out of reach at 48-29.</p><p>“They’re really a good basketball team,” Greenwood Christian coach Alan Weems said. “And we knew that; we knew that their record was deceiving. … They did a great job on us, early on especially, and it took us a little while to get our legs underneath us, and I’m not sure why.”</p><p>Reed wound up with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars, with all but two of those points coming in the second half. Stubblefield hit four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.</p><p>Center Grove turns its attention to Saturday, when it will try to win its fifth consecutive county championship.</p><p>“You feel for Franklin to not at least have the opportunity,” Stuckmeyer said. “(But) Whiteland and us both have the opportunity now, and with the times, we’re just going to be thankful for the opportunity.</p><p>“It’s a blessing for all of us to just be able to play each other.”</p>
