The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs are 2-2 so far this season, and three of their four games have been against Class 7A opponents, including both Fort Smith high schools and Bentonville, along with Class 5A Morrilton most recently.
The 2016-17 GHS girls are talented but very young, with two freshmen and eight sophomores among the 16 players on the roster. There are also three seniors and three juniors returning from last season's 13-16 squad. There will certainly be a learning curve this season, but there is also great potential for improvement as the season progresses.
Super successful Head Coach Clay Reeves knows that, and saw it in last year's team. "We progressed throughout the year," he said. "We continued to improve and got better and better, and we were playing our best basketball at the end of the year, which is what we want to do."
Overall, Reeves has won seven state titles, including the last four at Greenwood, and believes this current crop of players and those coming up from junior high over the next few years will help return the Lady Bulldogs to the Promised Land once again.
"The kids we've got coming back have given us great leadership and played a lot," said the coach. "We expect a lot from our upperclassmen. Then we've got 10 newcomers who are sophomores and freshmen. We had a great spring and summer and saw tons of improvement. We're getting better every day, but I still see so much potential for improvement."
Early Games
The Lady Bulldogs opened their regular season at home in H.B. Stewart Arena against the Bentonville Lady Tigers, winning 57-54. Guard Kyiah Julian scored 37 points for Greenwood, a career high for the sophomore. She hit eight three-pointers in the contest.
But game two of the season at Fort Smith Northside was a completely different story for Julian and her teammates. The talented and tradition-rich Lady Bears used their pressing defensive style to humble the Lady Bulldogs 67-26 on November 17th.
Greenwood was held to single digit scoring in three of the four quarters and no GHS player scored in double figures. "Turnovers were the issue," said Coach Reeves, but added that playing teams that press early in the season usually pays dividends by year's end.
Southside
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving the Lady Bulldogs were back home to take on the Lady Mavericks of Fort Smith Southside. A quick start and a strong first half performance put Greenwood up 16-4 after eight minutes and 33-17 at the intermission. Several Fort Smith turnovers helped to fuel the home team's first half success.
The visitors played better in the second half as both teams score 11 and five points, respectively, in the third and fourth quarters. The Lady Bulldogs got balanced scoring with three players reaching double figures.
Freshman Harley Terry had 12 points, senior Sara Reeves added 11 points, and Julian scored 10 points. Sophomore Kenzie Smith and junior Kaila Cartwright both had six points each.
"We've got a well-balanced team," said Coach Reeves after the win. "Our guards can shoot and our post [players] can score. We're just trying to get them all on the same page on the same nights. If we keep playing well as a team, we'll just get better and better."
Morrilton
Last Tuesday (Nov. 29) the Lady Bulldogs hit the road again, traveling to Class 5A Morrilton, another team with a winning tradition in girls basketball. But a poor start put Greenwood under the gun early, trailing 11-4 after one period, and led to a two-point loss.
The Lady 'Dogs turned things around in the second stanza, outscoring the home team 16-14, but still trailed Morrilton at the half, 25-20. Greenwood also won the final two periods, closing the gap. The visitors trailed 36-32 after three quarters and won the fourth period 13-11, making the final score 47-45.
GHS sophomore forward Susannah Stein had a good game, leading the team with 14 points. Kenzie Smith and Kyiah Julian both had seven points each and Harley Terry scored six points.
"We weren't as ready to play as we usually are. For some reason it took us a while to get going," said Coach Reeves. "Once we got going we started playing better. We got the game tied up and close right there at the end, we just came up a couple of points short. But it showed us some things with our team that we've got to work on to finish at the end of games.
"This month we have 11 games left, which is great for us," said Reeves, referring to the remaining non-conference schedule, including three tournaments. "We've practiced since last spring, all summer and all fall, and this time of year we need to be playing games to get our team chemistry going.
"So I'm really looking forward to those games, and I know our players are," said the coach. "I think that will help us a ton. That's how we've got to get better, by playing against other teams."
Upcoming
The Lady Bulldogs will next play in the Tournament of Champions at Fort Smith starting on Thursday and concluding on Saturday of this week. They will also play at Van Buren on December 14th and will co-host the H.B. Stewart Classic on December 15-17.
In addition to playing both Rogers' high schools, the Lady 'Dogs will also play in a tournament at Mountain Home right after Christmas. They will open conference play on January 3rd at Alma.