SHELBYVILLE
This regional championship might not have been a perfect 10, but it was pretty darn close, according to Greenwood Christian girls basketball coach Alan Weems.
It was more like a 9.9, but he was no less happy.
GCA took the lead early and never trailed in its regional title tilt against host Southwestern on Saturday night, securing a 49-42 win to successfully defend its Class A regional title.
The Cougars will now face Loogootee (19-4) in a rematch of last year’s Jasper Semistate. The Lions dominated that game, 57-40, en route to winning the 2020 Class A state championship.
It was the seventh straight win for Greenwood Christian (16-6), which ended a six-game win streak by Southwestern (18-8).
“Every year is different and the teams you meet are different, but this one feels just as good as it did last year,” said Weems, before comparing his team’s two regional titles with numbers. “We knew this (game) was going to be a little bit tougher offensively. We were hoping to run more, but let me tell you, two and a half hours difference in rest, I thought our kids gutted it out very well.”
Especially the Cougars’ seniors, Izzy Reed, Savvanah Frye and Brooklyn Stubblefield.
Entering the weekend, Reed was only 37 points from tying the all-time overall county scoring mark of 2,059 held by Kyle Stidom, who played for the GCA boys a decade ago.
Reed didn’t quite get there, as she tallied 21 in the semifinals against Bloomfield and 13 in the in the championship, leaving her three points from tying the record.
But she didn’t care, especially since she now has another game in which to get there.
“It’s awesome!” Reed said. “I wanted the regional and I want semistate more than the record. “We’re going to celebrate, but our eyes are looking towards next weekend and we’re not done yet.”
Reed still had a record-breaking weekend as she broke the all-time state rebounding record of 1,308 set by Ta’Shia Phillips in 2007. Reed broke that mark almost immediately in the afternoon semifinal, with only 13 ticks off the clock. Reed grabbed 21 rebounds in that game, a 54-43 win over Bloomfield, and eight more against the Spartans for a total of 29 on the day and 1,337 for her career.
After a physical semifinal win, the championship game was anything but for the Cougars.
Almost immediately, GCA came out shooting, as junior Elizabeth Bigelow swished a 3 on the first shot of the game. Southwestern countered with a 3 of its own, but after that, Greenwood Christian controlled the game.
After taking a three-point lead in the first quarter, the Cougars were able to increase it in the second, doubling up on the Spartans 12-6. GCA had a 13-point lead, its largest of the game, late in the third quarter and despite a couple of 3-point shots in the fourth from junior Lily Kerber, the Spartans could get no closer than six.
“Give Southwestern credit, they had a good game plan,” Weems said. “Every time Izzy takes the floor, they are always going to be working to stop her. The key is whether or not our players can do a good job of stepping up. I think Brooklyn did that, along with Savvanah.
“They did a great job of relying on each other.”
Stubblefield scored 12 points against the Spartans, including hitting four important free throws in the final two minutes. Frye had nine points—all from 3-point shots.
While both Reed and Frye have experienced winning three sectionals and now a pair of regionals, this was a dream come true for the senior Stubblefield, a transfer from Greenwood.
“Probably since my freshman year,” Stubblefield said. “I never thought I’d have an opportunity to get into a regional game. I’m so glad to get to play with this wonderful group of girls. They want nothing but to win and we work hard for it and we’re going to play semistate with a chip on our shoulder.”
Except for an early two-point deficit, the Cougars were never really challenged in their semifinal matchup. They put the game away with free throws and a big breakaway layup by Bigelow with 2:35 left.
That basket put GCA up by eight, and except for a 3-point basket by senior Kylee Shelton, the Cardinals were shut out the rest of the way.
In addition to Reed’s scoring, Stubblefield and Frye also chipped in with 10 points each against Bloomfield (12-9), which was led by Shelton with 23 points.
