Lady Bulldogs stay unbeaten in conferenceplay after wins over Morrilton and Harrison
As January turned into February, the Greenwood High School Lady Bulldogs continued to play well, with 5A West Conference victories over Morrilton and Harrison. The GHS girls are now 8-0 in league play pending the results of this past Tuesday’s game at Alma. Including that contest, six conference dates remain on the schedule, with half of them at home and half on the road. Overall, the Lady ‘Dogs are 17-4 and continue to be ranked as the state’s top team in Class 5A, despite playing and winning their last three games without senior forward Endsley Evans, who continues to nurse a tender ankle.
The Greenwood girls dominated both opponents with their defense, though the style of each game was markedly different. At Morrilton (January 27th) the Lady Bulldogs stifled the home team’s offense, allowing the Lady Devil Dogs to reach double digit scoring in only one quarter, with 11 points in the second period. The Lady Bulldogs scored 17 and 18 points respectively in the first two quarters for a 35-17 halftime lead.
A 17-7 advantage in the third period put the game away for Greenwood. Leading 52-24 after 24 minutes, GHS head coach Clay Reeves subbed freely in the fourth quarter, though neither team did much scoring as the game ended 58-26. Nine different players scored for Greenwood, but only two reached double figures. Sophomore point guard Lundon Williams led the team with 14 points, while senior forward Haley Donald added 11 points. Junior post player Sammy Richards had nine points, junior guard Presleigh Atkins chipped in with eight points, and junior forward Allie Barnes contributed seven points.
Allie Barnes and Lundon Williams scored early for the Lady Bulldogs last Friday night against Harrison at Greenwood’s H. B. Stewart Arena. The Lady Goblins hardly knew what hit them as the GHS pressure defense generated multiple turnovers resulting in a plethora of easy baskets. Williams scored an incredible 21 points in the first 10:34 of the game, most of them coming on wide-open lay-ups after a Greenwood steal off the press. The Lady Bulldogs led 33-12 after eight minutes.
Things didn’t improve much for the Harrison girls in the second quarter. During one impressive stretch, Lundon Williams stole the basketball and scored on a lay-up, then hit a three-pointer, followed by another steal and two more lay-ups, accounting for nine consecutive points. Haley Donald, freshman Megan Hartness, and senior Allie Wilson all added points later in the period as Greenwood led 52-21 at the half.
Coach Reeves kept the defensive pressure on to start the second half, but soon relaxed it and began to substitute players freely. Greenwood led 74-33 after three periods, and coasted to an easy 88-42 victory, with every GHS player getting some minutes on the floor. Ten different Lady Bulldogs scored, with three reaching double figures. Lundon Williams led the way with 26 points, followed by Megan Hartness with 16 and Presleigh Atkins with 10 points. Allie Wilson added nine points and Allie Barnes scored seven points. Five other players scored five points or less apiece. Coach Reeves was pleased that everyone had a chance to play against the Lady Goblins. “It’s really good for everybody to get in [the game],” he said. “Everybody deserved it, because they all practice hard.”
“We played really well tonight,” said Reeves. “We shot the ball really, really well, which makes everything good. Our kids came out with a lot of energy and quickness. [We] rebounded well and ran the ball well.” As for his team’s remarkably effective defensive pressure, Reeves said, “We work on that every day. We fight through that every day. That’s one thing you have to work on, and our kids do it. It’s a hard job, but they work hard on it every day.”
As for his team’s enviable position atop the conference standings with an unbeaten record, the coach was quick to hedge his bets. “We just take it [one game] at a time. We practice hard for the game that’s coming up. We’ll work on Alma starting Sunday. We focus on one team at a time and prepare for one [game] at a time.” As for the status of Endsley Evans, the coach said that her treatments continue, but there is no timetable for her return. “She’s still hurt,” he said. “I hope it’s getting better, but we have to keep going. When she’s ready, she’ll be back to help us. She’s just doing a lot of rehab right now.”
Results from Tuesday’s road game at Alma were not yet available at this writing. The Lady Bulldogs easily won the first game at home against the Airedalettes. This coming Friday the GHS girls will host the Vilonia Lady Eagles with tip-off set for around 6 p.m. It will also be homecoming night for Greenwood. Next week they will play at Siloam Springs on Tuesday, February 14th before returning home to face the Greenbrier Lady Panthers on Friday the 17th.