Local Sports

Men’s hoops gets into win column

For three and a half quarters on Saturday morning, the Center Grove girls basketball team did just about everything it needed to do in order to upset Class 4A No. 5 Franklin and win the Johnson County tournament title.

For the past couple of years, Center Grove’s matchups with Ben Davis have generally followed a familiar pattern — close for a half before the Trojans pull away over the final 24 minutes.

Softball

Purdue senior guard Cassidy Hardin scored 14 points and had three assists to help the Boilermakers women’s basketball team defeat Western Michigan, 70-62. The former Center Grove player contributed six points, four assists and two rebounds to the team’s 76-64 victory at Illinois State.

If the old adage about defense winning championships holds true, both Center Grove and Franklin appear well positioned to win a Johnson County girls basketball tournament title this weekend.

Girls swimming and diving

SCOUTING TONIGHT’S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SEMISTATE

Take away a pair of midcourt heaves intended to beat the buzzer, and Whiteland guard Drew Higdon attempted all of two 3-pointers last season.

Center Grove played against 42 different schools in 32 seasons of football before fate first placed a Ben Davis team in the Trojans’ immediate path.