Center Grove’s Ava Grant shoots the ball during Thursday’s game against visiting Franklin Central.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
Center Grove’s tradition of playing closely contested season openers against Franklin Central took a breather of sorts on Thursday.
Though the Trojans’ 58-42 home victory included its share of tense moments, particularly in the third quarter, they were able to do the things necessary to win for a fifth time in the last seven meetings against the Flashes.
“Franklin Central is always good. They’re always super tough, and we have to go in honoring every single player,” said CG’s 6-foot-3 senior center Rachel Wirts, who achieved double-double status with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I feel like they kind of match our intensity, which is why I feel like it’s always a good game.”
Only this time around, Center Grove never trailed, jumping to a 21-11 lead after one period, pushing the advantage to 14 points by halftime, and then withstanding a furious Franklin Central rally in the third.
Senior guard Audrey Annee led all scorers with 16 for Center Grove, followed by Wirts’ 13 and junior guards Lilly Bischoff and Ava Grant with 10 and nine points, respectively. Bischoff corralled seven boards, while Annee was 4 of 11 from 3-point range.
“It’s a different team every year. We have some senior leadership, and with Lilly in there we have four core people who have played a lot of basketball for us,” Trojans coach Kevin Stuckmeyer said. “But you still have to fit your pieces together.
“I thought we set the tone early. We did a good job of just taking care of our job in the individual battles of the game early. I just thought everybody played their role and did their job, whatever it was, really well.”
Annee and Wirts scored eight points apiece to lead the Trojans to their 32-18 halftime advantage.
Center Grove jumped out to a 5-0 lead only 51 seconds in, as Wirts scored with her left hand underneath, and Grant buried a 3-pointer from the right baseline following an FC turnover.
Franklin Central continued to hang around late in the opening quarter, trailing 17-11. The Trojans responded with a 6-0 run on two Wirts free throws, Bischoff scoring down low and another interior hoop, this one from sophomore backup forward Hannah Gin.
It appeared as though the rout was on after an Annee triple made it a 39-20 game at 4:15 of the third stanza. The Flashes had other ideas, going on a 13-0 scoring blitz capped by junior Lily Graves scoring off a steal to make it a 39-33 game at the 1:42 mark.
Center Grove answered with an 8-2 run started by consecutive baskets from Grant. Bischoff and Wirts then each scored in close to again provide the Trojans some much-needed breathing room. The Flashes trimmed it to eight points with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter, but CG tallied nine of the game’s final 10 points.
“In our pregame talk, we talked a lot about being connected and playing together,” Wirts said. “I think that was the biggest thing. I don’t think there was one person who just played out of their minds. I just thought we used each other’s assets very well.”
Center Grove hosts Class 4A No. 5 Fishers on Saturday night and welcomes Warren Central next Tuesday.
