BEDFORD — Rachel Wirts set the screen, Ava Grant made the pass and Audrey Annee took the shot, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc.

"They executed it really well and Audrey knocked it in," Center Grove coach Kevin Stuckmeyer said. "The girls came out of that halftime, blocked out the noise and executed."

The Trojans exuded confidence at halftime of Saturday's Class 4A regional championship game at Bedford North Lawrence and following a nerve-wracked first half, the visitors settled in.

Annee's triple — followed by a Grant 3 that pushed the lead to 12 and forced a BNL timeout — kickstarted the Trojans and set them on course for a dominating 48-27 win over the host Stars.

It's the second consecutive regional championship for CG (26-1), which will learn its semistate opponent and destination Sunday afternoon. It's the program's first win at Bedford.

Bedford North Lawrence finishes the season 20-5.

"We went into halftime feeling like we were in a pretty good spot," Wirts said. "I had full confidence in (myself and) my teammates that we would hit shots. … We were able to take a step back and chill for a second. We weathered the regional feel, the nerves had kind of worn off — now it was just up to our skill. We know what we can do, so let's go get it."

Branded by BNL coach Jeff Allen as one of the best teams they've faced all season, Center Grove's performance encapsulated a lot of what makes this team so dangerous.

The defense was suffocating, limiting the Stars to a season-low 27 points on an unofficial 9-of-39 shooting.

The Trojans' performance began with their defense of Alabama commit Chloe Spreen. The Miss Basketball candidate was limited to just nine points on 4-of-17 shooting (0-for-6 from 3) and attempted just two free throws.

Stuckmeyer called it a team effort. "Nothing way out of the ordinary of what we do against anybody," he said, praising his team's gap defense and their work early in the possession that prevented Spreen from getting into the lane, be it on a drive or a post up.

Also of note: Madisyn Bailey, who netted a career-high 24 points in the sectional final vs. Jennings County, was limited to 12 points on three field goals (6-for-6 at the line).

"We knew Chloe and Madisyn shooting 3s wasn't going to beat us, so we focused on keeping them out of the lane," said Annee, a West Point commit.

CG's other two strengths work hand-in-hand: Its balanced scoring and immediate response whenever BNL began showing signs of life.

Annee and Grant's 3-pointers to start the third were cornerstones of a 16-0 Center Grove run between the second and third quarters, with Bischoff, Booker and Wirts polishing it off to push the margin to 18 by the time BNL scored its first bucket of the half at the 4:19 mark.

"It's all about putting the ball in the basket and when you score, it energizes everything. … (And) we just couldn't make shots," Allen said. "If you had told me they scored 48 points at the end of the game, I would have liked our chances. But we just have to score. We didn't score and we got tentative running our offense. Some of it's Kevin and some of it's just us. … (Center Grove) is an outstanding team."

Bedford North Lawrence seemingly found some traction after Bailey converted their first field goal attempt of the third quarter, out-scoring CG 9-2 over a brief stretch, but hopes of a rally were stamped out by Annee and Bischoff.

Bischoff led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and a 6-for-6 mark at the line. Wirts added 12 points, Grant tallied 10 and Annee finished with six.

The Trojans finished 17-for-34 from the field (3-for-14 from 3) and 11-of-12 at the line.

Center Grove has won back-to-back true road games, winning at Mooresville in the sectional championship and at Bedford North Lawrence in Saturday's regional.

"It's so much fun. I love this team," Annee beamed. "We've had so much fun together. We're all best friends. There's no one else I'd rather win with."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: Center Grove beats BNL for regional title