After 29 non-conference and tournament games since mid-November, the Greenwood girls and boys basketball teams finally opened league play at Alma this past Tuesday. They are competing for the first time in the 6A/5A West, a blended conference featuring four 5A schools and three from 6A.
All league games count toward seeding for the league tournament at the end of the regular season, but only wins and losses against the other two 6A schools will determine if the Greenwood teams qualify for the 6A post-season. Siloam Springs and Russellville are the other 6A league members.
Lady Bulldogs
The GHS girls found themselves in a hole early against Alma, trailing 14-2 after a series of four consecutive three-pointers by the Lady Airedales, breaking a 2-2 tie. But the Lady Bulldogs closed out the first quarter with an 8-3 scoring advantage to trim the Alma lead to 17-10.
The Greenwood offensive surge continued into the second stanza, and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kenzie Smith tied the score at 18-all with 4:45 left in the opening half. The treys continued right up to halftime.
Kaitlyn Summitt tied the score at 21-all at the 1:10 mark, and also hit the last trey of the half to put Greenwood up 27-23 at the break. Five of the six second quarter GHS baskets were three-pointers.
But things went south for Greenwood in the second half, despite building a 10-point advantage in the third quarter. A three-point bomb by Kyiah Julian put the Lady 'Dogs ahead 33-23 midway through the stanza, but Alma closed the gap to 38-32 by the end of the period.
The Lady Airedales continued their charge in the fourth quarter, tying the score at 40-all with a three-pointer at the 5:18 mark. Another long-range bomb put the home team ahead 45-43 with two minutes remaining, and a free throw made it 46-43.
The Lady Bulldogs kept it close and had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line inside of 20 seconds, but missed the second half of the one-and-one opportunity. A pair of free throws put the Alma girls up by three points with five seconds left and they held on for the 52-49 win.
Kyiah Julian led Greenwood in scoring with 11 points. Sophomore Karlie Fisher added eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, and Sara Reeves also had eight points. Kaitlyn Summitt chipped in with two treys for six points, while Kenzie Smith also scored six points and Susannah Stein added four.
After addressing his players for a long time in the locker room, GHS Head Coach Clay Reeves talked about the loss. "We were playing just like we needed it to go," he said. "We just made a few mistakes there in the middle of the fourth quarter.
"Up to that point things were going good for us," he continued. "We were rebounding, playing pretty good defense, making shots, and making good decisions. But [Alma's defense] caused us to have to think a little bit more, and we made some bad decisions. But we put ourselves in a position to have a chance to win the game, we just didn't finish it. But hopefully we'll learn and grow up and continue to get better."
Bulldogs
The GHS boys, in the throes of an eight-game losing streak, looked the part in the opening half of Tuesday's conference opener at Alma. The Airedales had a decided height advantage and were deadly from the floor, hardly missing the basket over the first two quarters while taking advantage of a porous GHS defense.
Trailing 14-5 after a pair of Alma three-pointers, the GHS bench called for a timeout to regroup with 2:24 left in the opening quarter. But Alma closed strong with a 9-1 run for a commanding 23-6 lead after eight minutes.
Greenwood's Devin Gilbert hit a trey to open play in the second period, but the Bulldogs went to the visitors' locker room at the half trailing by 22 points, 38-16.
It was a different story in the second half, however, as the Bulldogs returned to the floor with an energy and intensity missing in the first half. Turning up the defensive pressure led to several Alma turnovers and missed shots, and the 'Dogs were also more aggressive offensively, attacking the basket inside.
Junior guard Ronin Stewart had an exceptional quarter, scoring all eight of his points in the paint or at the free throw line. By the end of the third stanza the Alma lead had been trimmed to 15 points at 47-32 with eight minutes left to play.
The Greenwood rally continued well into the final quarter, cutting the margin first to 12 points, then to 10, and finally to just eight points on a pair of Devin Gilbert free throws at the 1:52 mark. But that would be as close as the exhausted Bulldogs would come.
With Greenwood pressing the ball, Alma made a couple of easy baskets and preserved its win at the free throw line. Alec Armstrong scored the game's final field goal just before the buzzer sounded, giving the Airedales a 62-48 victory.
Armstrong led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13 points, followed by Devin Gilbert with 12. Ronin Stewart had eight points and Zane Harmon scored seven points.
Afterward, Head Coach Greg Nichols said of Alma's play in the first half, "They hit their threes and shot really well. We talked about it yesterday in practice and in our walk-through today, we cannot leave them open for [easy] shots, and we did that in the first half, and they made them.
"In the second half we did better," he added. "We did things the way we were supposed to. We executed our defense, and by doing that we got easy shots ourselves.
"I don't know what it's going to take to get it through their heads, that we can do this throughout the whole game. But when you have to struggle from 20 points down, you start getting worn out. But once we figure out that we can [play well] for the whole game, I think we're going to be alright."
Schedule
Both GHS teams go back out on the road this Friday night, traveling to Class 5A Clarksville, a school with a rich tradition of winning basketball. Junior varsity play starts at 4 p.m. with the varsity girls and boys to follow. The Lady Bulldogs should tip-off around 6 p.m.
Next Tuesday Greenwood will open its home conference schedule, welcoming the Class 5A Farmington Cardinals to H.B. Stewart Arena. Games will follow the same timeline as at Clarksville.
Next Friday the 'Dogs and Lady 'Dogs will host the Harrison Goblins, another 5A school, with the junior varsity girls playing at 4:45 preceding the two varsity contests.