COLUMBUS
Columbus North jumped out to a 15-13 lead after one quarter Thursday night, and when they score stayed that way through the first four minutes of the second quarter, Center Grove picked up the intensity a little.
The visiting Trojans finished the first half on a 14-3 run to take control and went on to post their 11th consecutive victory, a 51-34 triumph.
“We had a little bit more of an urgency in the second quarter,” Center Grove coach Kevin Stuckmeyer said. “I thought early we were okay, but we just didn’t seem to have that extra spark and urgency that you need to play against a quality team like Columbus North. They’re really well coached, they do a really good job of running their offense and they’re really skilled at most every position, so we kind of gave them space and let them feel comfortable. I thought we got in the passing lanes a little bit more and got them on their heels just enough in that second quarter to kind of spark our offense.”
Audrey Annee provided that initial spark for the Trojans (15-4), converting a three-point play to give them their first lead, then a 3-pointer. Annee closed the half with another 3-pointer to give Center Grove a 27-18 lead at the break.
“She can shoot it pretty well,” Stuckmeyer said. “She missed a couple early, but hit a couple there, and credit our girls with finding her when she was open. They did a good job of being playmakers for her, and she paid it off for them and kind of got it going for us offensively.”
The Bull Dogs (10-7) got back-to-back 3-pointers from Lauren Barker to open the third quarter to cut the lead to three. But the Trojans answered with a 12-3 run to open the margin to 39-27 early in the fourth, then put the game away at the free throw line by hitting 7 of 8 from the stripe in the fourth quarter.
“It was kind of the same thing in the second half,” Stuckmeyer said. “We started out slow, they were a little comfortable, then we were able to kind of shift that just enough. We made them earn everything, and that’s all you can ask for — to force a team to earn what they get — and we did a better job of that and finished possessions with defensive rebounds.”
Barker led North with a game-high 17 points.
“At some point in time, you have to hit some shots, and we didn’t shoot it as well as we wanted to tonight,” North coach Brett White said. “They make that difficult on you. They’re very good at defending the basketball. They’re very good at getting in the passing lanes and cutting down on some of your drives, and we kind of struggled with that tonight. It’s just something that we need to work on. We’ll build on this because I thought our effort was really good. I thought we competed really well, and we just got beat by a really good basketball team tonight.”
Annee finished with 14 points to lead Center Grove. Lilly Bischoff scored 10 points, and Rachel Wirts added eight points and five rebounds.
“I thought we came out with the energy that we needed,” White said. “I felt like we defended the way we needed to. We had a couple shots in the first half that kind of rattled in and out, and then they kind of got going shooting the basketball, and when you’re behind against them, it’s difficult to come back because they execute so well, and they shoot the ball so well.”