Greenwood girls’ basketball coach Zach Simpson told Jacqueline Jackson she needed a scorer’s mentality in the fourth quarter.

Jackson dug deep, her drive was contagious and the Lady Gators spoiled an emotional night at Warren Central.

Jackson had 12 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter and a 13-0 run by the Lady Gators helped them rally to beat Warren Central 54-47 on Dragons’ Senior Night on Friday.

Greenwood (11-14 overall, 2-6 District 14) trailed by double digits for the majority of three quarters before rallying in the fourth. The win kept Warren Central (3-24, 0-8) winless in the district with the 5-seed title in the upcoming district tournament. The Lady Dragons will have a rematch with the fourth-seeded Lady Gators in the tournament Feb. 19.

“I just didn’t want to lose the game and I didn’t want my team to lose this game,” Jackson said. “I know that we needed the win and I told my team we needed to come out with more energy.”

Greenwood trailed by seven to start the fourth quarter. Jackson scored the first eight points in the frame, then Haley Gordon’s layup finally pushed the Lady Gators into the lead with 3:46 to go. Greenwood kept it rolling with five straight from Riley Hartis on a 3-pointer and a layup to make it 49-43 during its 13-0 run.

Warren Central couldn’t do anything to stall Greenwood’s run by shooting 3-for-15 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

“They flat out outplayed us for three quarters,” GHS coach Zach Simpson said. “We showed a lot of character and resiliency to come back down 12, especially in this district and a tough environment like Central.”

Friday night was a success on most fronts for Warren Central, with the return of familiar faces to the sideline.

Head coach Joe Hood made his first return after a leave of absence since announcing in early January he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Warren Central also honored senior Zakoria Hill by putting her back in the starting lineup and allowing her to score the first points for the Lady Dragons. Hill, Warren Central’s leading scorer last season, suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the year and dressed for the final time Friday. In a scripted opening, Greenwood won the tip and Jaqueline Jackson scored the game’s first bucket, then Warren Central worked the ball to Hill under the basket for an easy layup.

Filled with tears, Hill subbed out of the game immediately to a standing ovation, applause from officials and the Greenwood bench and hugs on the Warren Central sideline.

“If she had played a full six years here, there’s no telling what kind of history she would leave,” Hood said. “She’s been supportive and helped me with what I’ve got going on honestly. She’s dealt three ACL injuries and she’s taught me not to make excuses. Her best basketball is ahead of her at Georgetown. If she stays healthy for a couple of years in her college career, she’s going to be dangerous.”

Hood, Warren Central’s athletic director, has missed school since announcing his diagnosis and said he’ll go through one more treatment next week and wait 10 days for another PET scan. SeSe Helm and other Warren Central assistants will continue leading the team as Hood will help coach the team on a day-to-day status.

“It felt great,” Hood said on returning to the bench. “I’m a competitor and with what I’m fighting now, I just love being around the girls and I got a different outlook on a bunch of different things.”

The night got off to a hot start for the Lady Dragons.

A fast start pushed Warren Central out to a 10-point lead after one quarter and a 30-21 advantage at halftime. A Riley Hartis triple cut the Greenwood deficit to seven points entering the fourth quarter and the Lady Gators took off from there.

Saniyah Shelton led Warren Central with 15 points and senior Tiffany Taylor had 10.

GHS 10 11 11 22 – 54

WCHS 20 10 9 8 – 47

GW – Jackson 21, Hartis 14, Miller 10, Gordon 5, Wheeler 4

WC – Shelton 15, Taylor 10, Lewis 9, Leach 3, Ray 2, Whitfield 2, Johnson 2, Shanklin 2, Hill 2

Boys

Warren Central 65, Greenwood 56

Warren Central wore down the Gators in the second half to secure a tie for the top District 14 seed with a 65-56 victory over Greenwood Friday night.

Warren Central (23-3 overall, 7-1 District 14) and Bowling Green split in the regular season, meaning a coin flip Saturday will determine the No. 1 district seed.

Skeylar Potter and Jordan Cousin each scored 23 points for the Dragons, who host Mercer County on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Wes Strader Schoolboy Classic. Greenwood (14-13, 2-6) had its three-game win streak snapped in the loss.

Potter gave the Dragons a short scare in the first quarter when he went down after a driving layup to make it a 9-3 Warren Central lead. The gym went quiet as a trainer attended to Potter on the floor, but the Wright State signee limped off and checked back into the game with 1:24 left in the quarter.

Luke Littrell’s 3-pointer made it 13-all going into the second quarter.

A 9-0 run by the Dragons made the lead 22-16 before the Gators inched back to tie it with the long ball. Three of Greenwood’s last four made field goals were triples that included two from Noah Nash. A three-point play by Potter kept the game tied at 31 at halftime.

Potter had 17 points for Warren Central at the break.

Greenwood struggled to knock shots in the second half with just five field goals, but shot 13-for-13 from the free-throw line. A 3-pointer from Ben Carroll was the only shot Greenwood could get in the fourth quarter as Warren Central pulled away.

The Gators put three in double digits with Littrell leading the way with 14 points, Carroll 13 and 11 points from Jack Roberts. The Gators host Monroe County on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

GHS 13 18 14 11 – 56

WCHS 13 18 16 18 – 65

GW – Littrell 14, Carroll 13, Roberts 11, Stansbury 7, Nash 6, Wilson 3, Floyd 2

WC – Skyelar 23, Cousin 23, Mee 12, Barbee 4, Esmic 2, Bibb 1{&end}