After a bumpy start in conference play, the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs have reverted to form, winning four straight games to complete the first half of their league slate with a 5-2 record, 13-7 overall.
“We have rebounded,” said interim head coach Matt Bryant after winning at Alma last week. “The way the schedule is set up, we went through some tough teams at the beginning. All of these [conference] teams are really good, but I think we’re getting our confidence and starting to hit our stride.”
Bryant took the helm in mid-December when it was learned that for health reasons seven-time state champion head coach Clay Reeves was taking medical leave and would likely miss the rest of the season.
Bryant was Greenwood’s assistant boys’ coach, but has head coaching experience in Oklahoma, even winning a state championship there earlier this decade.
The GHS girls lost two of three games to start conference play, falling at home to Little Rock Christian and Vilonia, sandwiched around a road victory at Russellville. Since then the Lady Bulldogs have knocked off Siloam Springs, Beebe, Alma, and Greenbrier, half of those wins on the road and half at home.
After an open date this past Tuesday at the midpoint of conference play, the GHS girls return to action on Friday at Little Rock Christian, currently the top team in the 5A West standings. They will host Russellville next Tuesday, February 5th, and go to Vilonia on Friday the 8th.
The GHS girls are third in the conference standings and need an upset win at LR Christian (18-2, 6-1) or Vilonia (18-1, 7-0) if they want to maintain their hopes of competing for the league title.
Greenbrier
Last Friday’s home contest at H.B. Stewart Arena was over almost before it began. The Lady Bulldogs used aggressive pressure defense and solid shooting to build an insurmountable 18-2 lead after one period over the visiting Lady Panthers.
Greenwood led 41-16 at the half, 59-29 after three periods, and 65-29 early in the fourth, invoking the state’s sportsmanship or mercy rule. The final score was 69-34.
Sophomore guard Kinley Fisher led the scoring for Greenwood with 16 first half points, 18 for the game, including a few long-distance bombs. Greenwood hit eight three-pointers in the game.
Senior guard Kyiah Julian was next with 13 points, converting all eight of her free throws. Junior forward Harley Terry had eight points, sophomore guard Ally Sockey had seven, while juniors Jaelin Glass and Angela Price, both guards, had six points.
Alma
Greenwood also led from the start at Alma, gaining some separation with a seven-point run in the second quarter on their way to a 24-15 halftime lead. The Lady Bulldogs led 10-7 after eight minutes.
The visitors pulled away from a slim 15-13 lead, converting an Alma turnover into a fast-break layup by Angela Price, assisted by Kyiah Julian with 3:09 remaining in the half.
Kinley Fisher then netted a floater inside and drained a three-pointer to put Greenwood’s up 22-13 with 1:45 left before the break. The Lady Bulldogs led 42-23 after three periods and won 49-30.
“We came out and played aggressive,” said Bryant. “In the second quarter we went on a run and hit a few shots. That’s [just] the way we play. We get aggressive offensively and defensively and things end up going our way.”
Once again it was Kinley Fisher who did most of the damage offensively, finishing with 22 points. Angela Price added eight points, while sophomore Shea Goodwin and Jaeline Glass added five points each.
Beebe
At home against the Lady Badgers on January 18th the GHS girls started slowly on offense, scoring just eight points in the first period and 20 for the half, leading 20-15 at the break.
But a much stronger second half followed, jumpstarted by a trio of three-point baskets early in the third quarter by Glass, Julian, and Price, building a 29-17 lead. Greenwood led 35-22 after three periods.
Fisher opened the fourth stanza with a trey, then followed with a scoring drive in the paint, as the Lady Bulldogs rolled to the 55-27 conference victory.
Asked about his team’s slow offensive start, Coach Bryant said, “There were a couple of players that came off the bench and sparked us when we needed it. We responded at halftime and played a lot better.”
Fisher had 16 points to pace the GHS offense, followed by Sockey with nine points, Julian with eight, sophomore guard Haven Clements with six points, while Glass and senior forward Susannah Stein had five points each.
Siloam Springs
On January 15th the Lady Bulldogs travelled north to Benton County to face the Lady Panthers in 5A West conference play. Greenwood won every quarter and led throughout the contest.
The visitors jumped to a big early advantage, 20-6 after one period, and led comfortably 35-19 at the half. Neither team reached double digits in scoring in a sluggish third quarter.
Ahead 44-23 after three periods, the Lady Bulldogs stepped on the gas again over the final eight minutes, outscoring the home team 22-15 for the 66-38 win.
Kinley Fisher, junior guard Maggie Rozell, and Shea Goodwin led the scoring for Greenwood. Fisher had 16 points, including four three-pointers in the game, while Rozell came off the bench to net 13 points and Goodwin added 10.
Kyiah Julian added eight points and Susannah Stein had six points. The Lady Bulldogs also forced 25 turnovers and had 21 offensive assists.
Vilonia
The Lady Eagles are currently the state’s top-ranked team in girls’ basketball in Class 5A, partly due to a pair of conference wins over Little Rock Christian and Greenwood earlier this month.
On January 11th the Lady Bulldogs had a horrendous opening quarter against Vilonia, trailing 15-0 before scoring their first basket. But aggressive defense by Greenwood helped keep the visitors in check and the score respectable at the half, 26-14.
The GHS girls rallied offensively in the second half, winning both quarters, outscoring Vilonia 32-26, but it wasn’t enough to offset the poor start and avoid a costly conference loss, 52-46.
Kyiah Julian and Kinley Fisher led Greenwood with 12 points each. Haven Clements added eight points, while Susannah Stein and Jaelin Glass both scored seven points.
Russellville
Both teams were cold from the floor on January 8th as the Lady Bulldogs visited the Lady Cyclones. Neither side could find the basket in the opening period as Greenwood led 9-5 after eight minutes.
But the home team rallied in the second quarter to lead 20-16 at the half. The Lady Cyclones closed the half with an 8-4 run. All but four of Greenwood’s first-half points came from beyond the arc, though they hit only four of 15 three-point attempts.
But the Lady Bulldogs opened the third stanza with a 6-0 run to regain the lead, holding Russellville scoreless for the first 3½ minutes.
Greenwood led 31-22 when the buzzer sounded ending the period and increased their lead slightly in the fourth quarter for the 44-31 victory.