The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs improved their season mark to 7-2 overall last weekend by finishing third in the annual Tournament of Champions at Fort Smith Northside, sponsored by Taco Bell. The GHS girls defeated Muldrow, OK, and the host Lady Grizzlies, sandwiched around a loss to Bishop Miege Catholic School of Roeland Park, Kansas.
Up next, Head Coach Clay Reeves and his players will host Class 6A Jacksonville on Friday at H.B. Stewart Arena, then travel to Morrilton (AR) to face a team from Oxford (MS) after Christmas on December 27th.
The Lady Bulldogs end non-conference play with road games at Farmington (Jan. 3) and Fort Smith Northside (Jan. 4). Their 5A West conference schedule begins on Friday, January 10th at Little Rock Christian, last year’s 5A state champion. Other league opponents include Russellville, Vilonia, Siloam Springs, Beebe, Alma, and Greenbrier.
Muldrow, OK
The Muldrow Lady Bulldogs featured one of the nation’s top players in talented 6’1” senior forward Taylen Collins, an early signee of the Oklahoma State Cowgirls. But the Greenwood girls were up to the task, keeping Collins in check and posting a convincing 69-42 win over their nearby neighbors from the Sooner State.
Though Collins did her part, finishing with 13 points and 12 boards, Greenwood scored first and led throughout the opening round of the Tournament of Champions last Thursday. The GHS girls netted the game’s first seven points and led by 17 at halftime in Northside’s Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse.
Greenwood’s Kinley Fisher helped to neutralize Collins and her Muldrow teammates. The junior guard led all scorers with 22 points, going 7-of-13 from the floor, including four 3-pointers, and made all four of her free-throws.
“She’s one of the best players in the country, and we knew that coming in,” said Coach Reeves of Collins. “I think our players competed hard and did a great job [keeping] up with her. It was two really good teams playing each other, and I thought we played really, really [well].”
It was an early trey by Fisher that started the scoring. Moments later she drove baseline for another basket, putting Greenwood up 7-0 less than three minutes into the game.
Fisher also canned another three-pointer at the beginning of the second period, then made a steal and a layup, extending Greenwood’s lead to 16 points at 27-11.
The GHS girls led 20-9 after one period, 42-25 at the half, and 58-33 after three periods before coasting to the 27-point victory, 69-42.
For Greenwood, Fisher led with 22 points, followed by freshman Mady Cartwright with 12 points, junior Shea Goodwin with eight points, while senior Jaelin Glass and junior Ally Sockey each scored seven points.
Senior post player Harley Terry and sophomore Abby Summitt had four points each, while junior Olivia Walker had three points and junior Haven Clements two points.
Bishop Miege
Game two pitted the Lady Bulldogs against Bishop Miege, a private Catholic school from Roeland, Kansas, riding a 26-game winning streak which they extended to 27 games against Greenwood, winning in a blowout, 92-56.
The Kansas girls were red-hot from long distance and buried the GHS girls beneath a barrage of three-pointers, eight in each half, scoring almost half of their points from beyond the arc.
The treys rained down early and often in the game, allowing Bishop Miege to jump out to a 28-13 lead after one quarter, and 49-29 at the break.
Greenwood won the third period, 18-15, but the long-range bombs returned in the fourth quarter. Kansas ran away in the final eight minutes, winning the final stanza, 28-9, for the 36-point victory.
Kinley Fisher led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points, followed by Jaelin Glass with 10 points. Ally Sockey added seven points, while Mady Cartwright scored six points, all from the free throw line.
Northside
The Northside Lady Grizzlies are the defending Class 6A state champions, but the Lady Bulldogs got a stellar performance off the bench from junior guard Ally Sockey to knock off their tournament hosts last Saturday, winning 71-60.
Sockey didn’t start the game, but scored 26 points in the Greenwood victory, helping her teammates capture the third-place trophy in the consolation bracket. The Lady Bears (5-3) get another shot at Greenwood (7-2) on January 4th in a non-conference rematch, also to be played at Northside’s Kaundart-Grizzly Fieldhouse.
The GHS girls scored the game’s first five points and led 16-13 after one period and 34-29 at the half. A Northside rally early in the third quarter put the Lady Bears up briefly (35-34), but back-to-back three-pointers by Jaelin Glass and Shea Goodwin put Greenwood on top to stay. The Lady Bulldogs led 44-41 after three periods.
Besides Sockey’s 26 points, Kinley Fisher added 18 points, followed by Glass with 10. Shea Goodwin contributed nine points, while Mady Cartwright had six points.
“Our kids competed hard,” said Coach Reeves after the game. “I know us and Northside both had very tough games yesterday, but both [teams] bounced back and played hard tonight. I’m happy for our team to come back and compete after last night’s game [against Bishop Miege].”
Against Northside, Kinley Fisher scored seven early points and finished with 18, but Sockey came off the bench and took control of the GHS offense from there.
“Kinley usually starts off really [well],” said Reeves. “She seems to have a good scoring night for us every [game], which is good for us. But we always have other people step up and score. I think that’s one of our team strengths. We have so many people that can score and share the ball really well.”
A trio of junior guards – Goodwin, Fisher, and Sockey – opened the fourth quarter with baskets, helping Greenwood extend its lead to double digits at 54-43.
Sockey’s three-pointer at the 4:28 mark then pushed Greenwood’s advantage to 14 points. Moments later Jaelin Glass made it 62-47 with another trey from the left wing. The Lady Bulldogs outscored Northside 9-3 over the final four minutes.
One night after hammering Greenwood by 36 points, Bishop Miege got a taste of its own medicine in the finals, losing 72-45 to tournament champion Classen High School of Oklahoma City.