Despite some issues related to wintry weather, the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs basketball teams have now completed the first half of their conference schedule. The GHS boys have finished their first seven league games with a 2-5 record, while the GHS girls are still positioned to challenge for a conference title with a 6-1 mark. The Lady Bulldogs are jostling with Mountain Home and Russellville for the conference lead, each with one league loss.
Both GHS teams begin the second half of their league slate on Friday at home against Russellville. They will play at Van Buren next Tuesday and host Harrison three days later on Friday. Most recently Greenwood head coaches Clay Reeves and B.J. Ross led their teams into battle against Alma, Greenbrier, and Harrison. The Lady Bulldogs went 3-0 while the GHS boys went 1-2.
Lady Bulldogs
The GHS ladies hosted longtime rival Alma on Tuesday, January 23rd, and rolled to an overwhelming 82-33 victory after building a 26-point lead at the break. Carly Sexton got things going for the home team with a three-pointer, the first of four straight for the Lady Bulldogs. Fellow seniors Anna Trusty and Brooklyn Woolsey followed suit as did junior Izzy Smith for a 12-0 GHS lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter.
But the hometown girls weren’t done. Trusty added a pair of free throws as did sophomore Kylah Pearcy, making it 16-0 before the Lady Airedales broke the GHS scoring streak with a three-pointer at the 4:30 mark. The margin after eight minutes was 23-9 in favor of the Lady Bulldogs, and things didn’t get any better for Alma, which trailed 40-16 at halftime.
The Greenwood starters returned to the floor in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but finished the game on the bench with assistant coach Ryan Lensing while the GHS reserves got some extra playing time with the mercy rule in force and the play clock running. Izzy Smith drove the lane and scored midway through the third period, putting Greenwood up by more than 30 points at 52-21. Alma trailed 71-26 after three quarters as reserves from both teams finished the contest.
Three girls reached double figures in scoring for Greenwood, led by Anna Trusty with 28 points, an incredible 14 steals, nine rebounds, and four assists, hitting all eight of her free throw attempts, one of the best overall performances of her illustrious prep career. Brooklyn Woolsey also had a great game with six three-pointers for 18 points with six steals and two rebounds. Carly Sexton added 11 points on three treys with three assists, three boards, and three steals.
Point guard Izzy Smith added eight points with five assists and three steals while Kylah Pearcy scored six points while grabbing three boards and making three steals. Sophomore Piper Pitts came off the bench in the second half and scored eight points with four rebounds and two assists.
Last Friday the Greenwood girls made the long trip to Central Arkansas to take on the Greenbrier Lady Panthers, another easy GHS victory, 79-23. Kylah Pearcy opened the scoring for the visitors with back-to-back steals and layups for an early 4-0 lead. She also got plenty of help from her teammates as Greenwood cruised to a 28-10 advantage after one period.
Brooklyn Woolsey opened the second quarter with a steal and layup and another steal and layup by Izzy Smith made it 43-12 at the 3:25 mark of the period. Greenwood led 55-15 at the half, invoking the mercy rule and keeping the starting five on the bench after the intermission. The Lady Bulldogs led 66-23 after three quarters before closing out the 56-point win.
Anna Trusty completed a spectacular week with 21 points to once again pace her teammates in scoring. Brooklyn Woolsey added 16 points while Izzy Smith netted 10 points. Kylah Pearcy scored nine points and Carly Sexton six points. Sophomore reserves Journey Clements and Ashlin Rose and junior Pate Jones all scored four points, while sophomore Eva Booth drained a three-pointer and junior Piper Pitts added two points. All stats are unofficial.
This past Tuesday the GHS girls traveled to Harrison for a makeup game postponed earlier due to inclement weather, and it was a very fruitful trip for Coach Reeves and his Lady Bulldogs who picked up their sixth conference win. A pair of early steals and layups by Kylah Pearcy and Brooklyn Woolsey put the visitors up 4-0. Pearcy then added a free throw and Anna Trusty scored inside for a 7-2 Greenwood lead. After Harrison cut the GHS margin to 9-7, the Lady Bulldogs went on a 19-5 scoring run to the end of the period for a 33-12 advantage.
The Lady Goblins struggled throughout the first half against Greenwood’s relentless defense that caused multiple turnovers and led to numerous easy baskets for the visitors. The Lady Bulldogs led 56-24 at the half, 67-34 after three periods, and cleared their bench in the fourth quarter in route to a decisive 78-42 victory.
Anna Trusty and Kylah Pearcy led the way for their GHS teammates with 20 points each, most of those points coming in the first half. Two other Lady Bulldogs also reached double digits offensively. Izzy Smith added 13 points and Brooklyn Woolsey netted 10 points. Journey Clements came off the bench to score five points.
Bulldogs
The GHS boys grabbed the early lead against the Alma Airedales with senior Peyton Presson doing the honors with a pair of baskets in the paint plus a free throw for a 5-2 Greenwood advantage. But the Airedales, who are battling for first place in the conference, came back to lead 17-9 after one period and 35-20 at the half. The Bulldogs were never able to mount a serious challenge in the second half as the visitors rolled to a 71-46 victory.
Presson led his GHS teammates in scoring with 13 points, the only Bulldog in double figures. Seniors L.J. Robbins and Braden Bollman added eight and seven points, respectively, while junior Jayden Garnes netted six points. Brenden Chick added four points as did fellow senior Landon Nelms.
Last Friday the Bulldogs traveled to Greenbrier, hoping to notch their second conference victory of the season against the struggling Panthers, who have now lost six of their seven league contests. Jayden Garnes got the ball rolling for the visitors with a three-pointer to open the scoring and Braden Bollman closed the scoring in the first quarter with another trey. Greenwood led 16-11 after eight minutes.
L.J. Robins hit a three-pointer to put the Bulldogs up by 10 points, 26-16, at the 4:30 mark of the second period, but the home team cut the margin to 30-23 at halftime. The two squads battled to a near draw in the third quarter with Greenwood inching further ahead by nine points, 43-34, after 24 minutes. But the Panthers went on a 7-0 run to trim the GHS lead to 43-41 with 5:30 left to play, but they never tied the score or took the lead, allowing the Bulldogs to weather the storm for the 54-47 win.
Braden Bollman scored 17 points to lead the scoring for Greenwood, adding five rebounds and a pair of assists. L.J. Robins netted 13 points with four assists and two rebounds. Peyton Presson contributed eight points, six boards, and two assists. Brenden Chick, Jayden Garnes, and Landon Nelms had four points each. Chick added seven rebounds while Garnes had six assists.
Next, the Bulldogs made the long trip to Boone County this past Tuesday for their makeup game with the Harrison Goblins, and things didn’t go well for the visitors. The home team could hardly miss a shot in the first half, drilling 12 three-pointers over the first 16 minutes. The Goblins led 17-0 before the Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard when L.J. Robins banked one off the glass for Greenwood’s first two points. Brenden Chick scored inside for the Bulldogs’ final basket of the opening period.
Trailing 26-8 after eight minutes, the onslaught only got worse in the second quarter. When Coach Ross called timeout at the 2:37 mark, Harrison had built a 41-13 advantage. By the end of the first half the Goblins had a commanding lead at 53-19. A 5-0 run made it 58-19 before Robins scored Greenwood’s first basket of the second half. Harrison led 67-33 after three periods and both teams emptied their bench in the four quarter as Harrison rolled to its fourth consecutive conference victory, 68-37.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to 2-5 in league play and 3-12 overall. But the GHS boys never quit fighting despite the lopsided score, a credit to their coaching and team character. L.J. Robins led the team in scoring with 13 points. He also had three assists. Brenden Chick added 11 points and had five rebounds. Peyton Presson scored seven points in the game.