MOORESVILLE — The numbers say Saturday night’s performance by Center Grove wasn’t anything extraordinary. The Trojans came into their sectional title bout with Mooresville averaging 61 points per game, and matched that mark. They came in allowing 38 points per game, and allowed 41 to the Pioneers. In other words, this was business as usual for the team ranked No. 2 in the latest ICGSA 4A poll.

And when it comes with a sectional trophy, that suits them just fine.

Center Grove’s performance Saturday night was a microcosm of its season thus far — balanced offense, strong defense, and the ability to step up in key moments to stop runs. The same tenets that led to the Trojans’ first 24 wins this season also led to its 25th, and some hardware to boot.

Central Indiana scores, stats, schedule: Indiana high school girls basketball sectionals

Center Grove (25-1) came into this week as heavy favorites in Sectional 13, but crazy things happen come February. The Trojans did what they were supposed to do, winning three games in five days by an average of 23 points.

“We can’t overlook teams,” Center Grove junior Lilly Bischoff said. "We have to come out strong each and every game. That’s what we did this whole week. Our team has gotten used to everyone wanting to beat us.”

A trio of players had double-figure scoring nights for Center Grove, paced by Ava Grant with 17. Bischoff added 15, and Aubrie Booker scored 11. The Trojans had five players score more than five points, and shot better than 50% from the floor.

Mooresville’s Rachel Harshman did all she could to keep the Pioneers (20-5) close. The senior posted a double-double in the final game of her high school career, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Lyla Jacobs added nine points, but Mooresville struggled to string together stops and buckets to cut into the Center Grove lead.

Center Grove asserted itself from the opening tip, racing out to a 12-4 lead, as four different players hit field goals to start the game for the Trojans. While Mooresville relied on its inside game — the Pioneers attempted just one 3-pointer in the first half — Center Grove posed enough of an outside threat to create opportunities for easy looks inside. Rachel Wirts used the post to score six points in the first half, while Grant hit a pair of 3-pointers. Defensively, Center Grove forced seven turnovers in the first two quarters, preventing Mooresville from getting into an offensive rhythm. Center Grove was efficient early, shooting 14-of-22 (63.6%) in the first half.

“It’s hard for teams to guard us, and it makes it a little bit easier to coach offensively when you can get different things depending on what’s working,” Trojans coach Kevin Stuckmeyer said.

Center Grove hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 90 seconds of the third quarter — one from Grant and one from Aubree Annee — and on its next possession, Bischoff got an offensive rebound following a missed triple and found Wirts inside for a bucket to give Center Grove a 19-point lead.

Mooresville used an 8-0 run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to cut the deficit to nine. But steals on consecutive plays from Aubrie Booker led to five straight points for the Center Grove senior, stemming the tide.

Ava Shafer hit a 3-pointer for Mooresville with under 5 minutes to play to make Mooresville’s deficit single digits again. But Grant, who is shooting 47% from 3-point range on the season, stepped up again. Her fourth triple of the night gave Center Grove a 51-38 lead with less than three minutes to play.

“All of my teammates are so unselfish,” Grant said. "We’re all going to make the extra pass. We all trust each other. If one person’s getting double-teamed, it’s going to open up the lane and get another teammate an open shot. We don’t force it.”

By then, it was just a matter of watching the seconds on the clock tick down. Then, the celebration began.

Soon, the focus will turn to next weekend, when Center Grove will face Bedford North Lawrence (20-4) in the regional championship game. Last season, BNL ended Center Grove’s season in the semistate semifinal. This year’s Trojans team is a more veteran group, and they are hoping that pays dividends.

“The maturity of the seniors and Lilly Bischoff, the poise and the ability to understand that the adversity will hit and that you can get through it, you can’t get that without experience,” Stuckmeyer said. “It takes experience to get you there.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: Center Grove blasts Mooresville for sectional