The Lady Bulldogs (15-7, 4-6) continued to work hard last Friday at home against top-ranked Little Rock Hall, taking the Lady Warriors (22-2, 10-0) to the wire before losing 54-52 at the buzzer. The game was close throughout, though Hall held a slight lead most of the way. The visitors led 8-7 after one period and 26-24 at the half.
Greenwood trimmed the margin to a single point after three quarters, 42-41, and took a brief lead early in the fourth at 44-42. But Hall answered with six consecutive points to retake the lead at 48-44. Sammy Richards scored Greenwood's last four points, all at the free throw line, the last two of which tied the game at 52-all with 1:38 remaining to play.
The Lady Warriors scored the final bucket of the game with just seven seconds left. Greenwood's Lundon Williams then advanced the ball the length of the floor, penetrating the lane on the dribble, but her shot in traffic at the buzzer missed the mark, allowing Hall to escape with the two-point win.
Megan Hartness led all Greenwood scorers with 19 points, and was the only Lady Bulldog in double figures. Richards had nine points and Williams eight, while Allie Barnes and Haleigh Henson each had six points. Coach Reeves was disappointed with the loss, but was quite pleased with the effort. "I think we felt like we can play with them," he said. "This team is really, really close. We just have a few things we need to straighten out, not making mistakes. But we are getting stronger and tougher and playing with more intensity."
The Bulldogs fought tooth and nail in the first half to stay close to Little Rock Hall, but the game got away from them in the second half of a 69-40 loss. The Warriors (16-6, 10-0) featured future Arkansas Razorback Bobby Portis (6-9) and a couple more big players inside that provided matchup problems for the Bulldogs (12-11, 5-5).
Hall led 13-5 after one period and 31-20 at the half. But an 11-0 scoring run to begin the third quarter essentially put the game away for the Warriors, who led 53-30 after three periods, and by as much as 30 points midway through the fourth quarter. Portis injured his ankle in the second half, re-entered the game briefly, but was finally benched for most of the fourth quarter.
For Greenwood, Ethan Clark had 14 points, and was the only Bulldog in double figures. Evan Lensing and Nathan Cantrell had six points each, all on three-pointers, while Ryan Davis added five points and Colton McEvoy four points.
After the game, Coach Martin seemed to take the loss in stride. “They just wore us down inside,” said the coach. “They started the third quarter with an 11-0 run, and that was the big point in the game. We battled in the first half, but it got away from us pretty quick in the second half. But we’re not going to hang our heads. We’re just looking forward to Tuesday night [at Northside] and trying to steal one on the road.