Lady Bulldogs 74 - Siloam Springs 52 Bulldogs 35 - Siloam Springs 36
Lady Bulldogs 69 - Vilonia 66 Bulldogs 55 - Vilonia 52
Lady 'Dogs remain unbeaten in 5A West; GHS boys winless at home, unbeaten on the road
The Greenwood High School Lady Bulldogs continue to barge their way through the early part of the 5A West Conference basketball schedule, notching two more league wins over Vilonia and Siloam Springs in recent days. On the other hand, the GHS boys have struggled at home in conference play, losing twice, while winning both games on the road. The home losses are a trend that third-year head coach Brian Martin would like to end soon.
Greenwood at Vilonia
Both teams traveled to central Arkansas last Friday (January 13th). The Lady Bulldogs ran out to a double-digit lead in the first half, but had to hold on tight for a narrow 69-68 win. Greenwood led 22-17 after one period and 40-29 at the intermission. But the Lady Eagles rallied in the second half, outscoring Greenwood 15-12 and 24-17 over the final two periods, cutting the final deficit to just a single point.
Sophomore point guard Lundon Williams led the Lady 'Dogs in scoring with 17 points, 12 of which she earned at the free throw line. Senior forward Endsley Evans chipped in with 14 points as the only other Greenwood player in double figures. Head coach Clay Reeves was obviously pleased with the road victory. "I was really proud of our kids," he said. "It went from a 15-point lead to a 1-point lead, but we scored on every possession we needed to down the stretch. We took care of the ball and hit our free throws. It showed me a lot about our kids."
In the boys contest, the visiting Bulldogs had a good first quarter, outscoring the Eagles 11-6 through the first eight minutes, and maintained their 5-point margin at the intermission, 27-22. The third period was Greenwood's best offensive quarter with 19 points, five more than Vilonia's 14, and trailed 46-36 heading into the final stanza, despite having Drew Morgan and Colton McEvoy on the bench in foul trouble. Greenwood actually had a double-digit (18 points) lead midway through the third quarter, but the Eagles rallied with a 20-0 scoring run that lasted well into the fourth period, but it wasn't enough as the 'Dogs left town with a 55-52 road victory.
Two Bulldogs scored in double figures, and several others contributed in a balanced scoring attack. Senior guard Ryan Lensing led the way with 13 points, and fellow guard, junior Drew Caple, added 10 points. Junior Drew Morgan, senior Adam Lucas, and junior Colton McEvoy all scored six points each. Junior guard Wyatt Bedell added five points and junior forward Cole McAlister contributed four points in the winning effort. "It was the same story," said Coach Martin. "Defense wasn't the problem. We're just not finishing. It was disappointing. We've got to be a mature team and be more tough at the rim.
Siloam Springs at Greenwood
This past Tuesday (January 17th), Siloam Springs made the short trip down Highway 59 to the River Valley and Greenwood. The two teams share a common destiny - moving up in classification next season. So on their last trip to Greenwood as a member of the 5A West, the Panthers and Lady Panthers split the conference doubleheader, losing the girls contest by a big margin, 74-52, and winning the boys game in a low-scoring affair, 36-35.
A strong first half put the Lady Bulldogs in a good position to win their fourth consecutive conference game. Greenwood scored 17 points in the first period and exploded for 23 in the second, while holding the Lady Panthers to just eight points through the first eight minutes and 10 points in the second quarter. Greenwood led 40-18 at the intermission, and coasted through the second half, scoring 17 points in both the third and fourth quarters. With the victory, the GHS girls improved their overall season record to 13-4 and 4-0 in league play.
Junior Allie Wilson came off the bench in the final minutes of the first quarter to spark the Lady Bulldogs with a trio of three-pointers. Altogether, Wilson scored 11 points in the final 1:19 of the period. Another junior, Presleigh Atkins, sparked the scoring for Greenwood in the second quarter with her own trio of long-distance bombs. Endsley Evans led the team in scoring with 16 points, followed by Wilson with 15 and Atkins with 14. Lundon Williams chipped in with nine points, while freshman guard Megan Hartness added eight points.
Following the game, Coach Reeves spoke with the media. "Offensively, we started playing really well," he said. "We have some great scorers, and every night we have different people step up [offensively]. The three-pointers that Allie [Wilson] and Presleigh [Atkins] hit were very timely. Different players for us hit a lot of shots on different nights, and that's good for us," said the coach. "They are very unselfish and give the ball up."
In the boys game, poor shooting, turnovers, and good defense kept both teams off the scoreboard early. Ryan Lensing finally netted the game's first bucket at the 5:21 mark to put Greenwood up 2-0. Siloam Springs went up by four points twice in the first period, but trailed 11-10 at the end of the period on the strength of a nice drive and scoop shot by Drew Morgan just before the quarter ended. Adam Lucas nailed a three-pointer just inside the 5:00 mark of the second period to put the 'Dogs up 14-12. He hit another one at the 2:55 mark to put the home team up 17-14, and the Bulldogs would go on to lead the Panthers at the half, 20-16.
During the break, the 2011 GHS girls volleyball team was honored and received their state championship rings from Athletic Director Jerry Cecil, getting a nice round of applause and a standing ovation from many fans attending the event. The Lady Bulldogs crafted a perfect 12-0 record in league play last fall and finished 22-10 on the season en route to the state title under head coach Jennifer Golden.
When play resumed, Siloam Springs came out hot and connected on a pair of three-pointers to go up 22-20. But Greenwood responded with buckets by Cole McAlister, Drew Morgan, Colton McEvoy, and another by McAlister to lead 28-27 after three periods. Unfortunately, it would be the last lead for the Bulldogs. The Panthers scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to take a 32-28 lead. The Bulldogs got another trey from Adam Lucas to narrow the margin to 32-31, and with just over a minute remaining in the contest, Colton McEvoy scored inside to make it a 36-35 game. The Bulldogs had the basketball with 10 seconds left and got three decent shots and two offensive rebounds, but no points. Even with 2.2 seconds left, the 'Dogs still had the ball and called a timeout. Ryan Lensing managed to get off a long jumper at the buzzer, but the ball ricocheted off the glass to end the game.
Adam Lucas had 12 points for Greenwood to lead the scoring and was the only GHS player in double digits. Cole McAlister had seven points, while Drew Morgan and Ryan Lensing both added six points in the heartbreaking loss. Coach Martin was extremely pleased with his team's defensive effort, but once again was dismayed by his team's inability to put the ball in the basket on the offensive end of the court.
"We got exactly what we wanted on the defensive end," said Martin, "but that was not the issue. We did not finish shots at the basket tonight. That's been our kryptonite, so to speak. We've got to improve there. If we do that, we win [this] game." The coach was also upset with his team's lack of free throw opportunities. Greenwood shot only two free throws against the Panthers. "That ain't gonna cut it," said the coach. "For whatever reason, we're not getting to the line. We've got to get tougher, because you're not going to win close ballgames going one-for-two from the line." The Bulldogs are now 12-6 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
The Bulldogs and Lady 'Dogs hit the road once again this Friday (January 20th) at Greenbrier in central Arkansas, before returning to H. B. Stewart Arena on Tuesday to face Huntsville. Greenwood will close out the first half of the conference schedule on Friday the 27th at Morrilton, before making a final seven-game tour through the second half of the league schedule.