The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs (30-2) are headed back to the Spa City on Thursday to defend the Class 5A state basketball title they won last season. Their opponent this week will be the Lady Eagles of Vilonia (28-4), the same team Greenwood hosted and defeated back in December, 77-52. Thursday’s state championship game will be at Bank OZK Arena in the Hot Springs Convention Center starting at 6 p.m. The GHS girls have also won 25 consecutive games.
Both Greenwood and Vilonia were members of the 5A West until this season when Vilonia was replaced by Harrison. The Lady Eagles moved to the 5A Central, going 16-1 and earned a #1 seed, then reached the state finals by defeating Lakeside, Siloam Springs, and Marion. Greenwood dominated the 5A West, going undefeated in conference play (14-0), winning most of their games by 20 points or more. But the competition got tougher last week at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Still, the Lady Bulldogs survived a trio of talented challengers including Nettleton, Little Rock Parkview, and West Memphis to earn the right to defend their title. Head Coach Clay Reeves and his team are seeking to win their third state title in the last four years, dating back to the 2020 championship game that was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. As a result, Greenwood and Nettleton were both awarded state titles. Last season Greenwood defeated Jonesboro for the crown.
Greenwood 57, Nettleton 46
The GHS girls opened their playoff run last Wednesday afternoon against the Lady Raiders of Nettleton, a suburb of Jonesboro in Northeast Arkansas. The same two teams didn’t get to play in the 2020 title game due to Covid, a tough pill to swallow for everyone concerned. But no such impediment reared its head last week as the two perennial basketball powers took their positions at center court for the opening tip.
But the Lady Raiders were a little shaky in handling the basketball at the start, committing turnovers on their first two possessions. Greenwood junior Carley Sexton kissed a three-pointer off the glass for the game’s first points as the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-2 advantage. But a pair of treys by Nettleton quickly evened the score before senior Mady Cartwright and junior Anna Trusty combined for six points and a 14-8 GHS lead. Senior Adriana Rusin then scored before both teams traded three-pointers at the end of the period, making the score 19-11.
Once again, the two teams swapped three-pointers to start the second period as the Lady Raiders put together a 9-3 run to cut the GHS lead to 22-20, then later to 28-26 with about two minutes left in the half. But the Lady Bulldogs responded with a 9-0 scoring run to close out the quarter. Mady Cartwright and Carly Sexton scored field goals before Sexton beat the buzzer with a three-pointer, making it 35-26 at the break.
The Lady Bulldogs then took charge of the game in the third quarter, expanding their lead to 40-30 midway through the period. Ahead by eight points with about a minute left, a pair of Greenwood three-pointers suddenly expanded the margin to 14 points at the end of the quarter, 50-34. Nettleton had enough energy left to cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth stanza, but seven points was as close as the Lady Raiders got. They lost by eight points, 57-46.
Coach Reeves was not surprised by the tough competition. "Most of our kids are back from last year. They've been here before, so they know it's going to be a battle," he said. "The first game is always your hardest game when you get to the state tournament. Winning teams are here, and no one is going to give up. It's a fight to the end, so it went about like I expected. We just wanted to come out on top, and that's what we did."
Greenwood outshot Nettleton 38-15 in the first half thanks to 15 turnovers by the Lady Raiders. But the Lady Bulldogs failed to capitalize on that by shooting 40.5% from the floor while the Lady Raiders made 10-of-15 shots, including several three-pointers, to keep the game relatively close at the half. Greenwood’s Cartwright and Trusty were held to a combined 14 points on 7-of-20 shooting in the first half. But Carley Sexton gave the Lady Bulldogs a much-needed boost by draining a trio of three-pointers.
Trusty scored 12 of her team-high 20 points in the third quarter to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one blocked shot. Sexton finished with 13 points, six rebounds, two steals, and two assists and sophomore Izzy Smith came off the bench to score 12 points. Mady Cartwright added seven points with three assists.
Greenwood 62, LR Parkview 60
As it turned out, Greenwood’s biggest challenge last week was its quarterfinal showdown with the Lady Patriots of Little Rock Parkview, the #2 seed from the 5A Central. The Parkview girls were big and talented and roared back in the third quarter after trailing by 18 points at the half, 38-20. The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a big early lead, 15-2, before settling for an 18-7 score after one period.
After netting just seven points against Nettleton, Mady Cartwright was on fire against Parkview, finishing with 29 points, many of which she scored in Greenwood’s first quarter outburst. The Lady Bulldogs were largely successful in negating the inside presence of Parkview’s talented post player, Tara Robinson, who fouled out of the game midway through the final stanza. Parkview also made just four of 12 free throw attempts in the first half, and the teams went to their locker rooms at the break with Greenwood comfortably ahead, 38-20.
But the second half, and specifically the third quarter, was a different story. The Parkview girls opened with a 12-2 scoring run to trim their deficit to 40-30 midway through the period. Two minutes later that margin was down to 44-40 and the quarter ended with the Lady Bulldogs clinging to a 48-45 advantage.
But the Lady Pats weren’t done. They continued their rally into the final stanza, taking the lead for the first time since 2-0 in the opening quarter. The led 52-50 at the 6:11 mark and 56-52 with 4:26 remaining. Anna Trusty then netted a pair of field goals and Mady Cartwright sank two free throws to tie the score at 58-all with 3:00 left to play. But Parkview still led 60-59 with 1:25 showing on the game clock.
Two more Cartwright charity shots (1:14) put Greenwood on top by one, 61-60, after which the Lady Pats missed a free throw opportunity (:46). After a timeout, the Lady Bulldogs were able to milk the shot clock and run off some time before being fouled, though both free throws bounced off the rim with 10 seconds left. Another timeout followed before Parkview’s final legitimate possession with a chance to win the game on a final shot.
Fortunately for the Lady Bulldogs, a wild, off-balance shot followed from just inside the free throw line and a jump ball ensued with the possession arrow pointed in Greenwood’s favor with two ticks left on the clock. When the ball was inbounded, Mady Cartwright was quickly fouled with one second remaining. She then hit her first attempt, missed the second, but it didn’t matter because Parkview never had a chance to grab the rebound and get off a decent shot.
Mady Cartwright scored 29 points to lead her teammates offensively, while Anna Trusty finished with 10 points after picking up her fourth foul late in the third quarter. Three other GHS players had five points each, including freshman Kylah Pearcy, sophomore Izzy Smith, and Carley Sexton, who also had six rebounds. Adriana Rusin wasn’t a factor offensively, but grabbed several critical rebounds in the final minutes, preserving possession for the Lady Bulldogs.
Greenwood 68, West Memphis 57
Last Saturday’s semi-finals match against the Lady Blue Devils was a tale of two halves. Greenwood did enough through the first three quarters to overcome a 27-point surge by West Memphis in the fourth period to earn a return trip to the state finals. After giving up an 18-point halftime lead in the quarterfinals against Parkview, Coach Reeves knew West Memphis (28-4) would keep battling despite being down by 22 points, 52-30 after the third quarter.
“Winners don’t quit, and there was no quit last night or tonight by either team,” said the GHS head coach, referring to both Parkview and West Memphis and how his own players responded to the challenge. “I told our kids it’s not going away no matter what the score is. They are coming at you, and you have to keep going at them.”
In the semi-finals, the two teams were tied at 14-all after one period, but the Lady Bulldogs began to pull ahead in the second quarter, ending the half on top by double figures, 35-22. That margin got even bigger in the second half when Greenwood opened the third period with a 10-0 scoring run to pull ahead, 45-22, near the four minute mark. The defending champs led 52-30 heading into the fourth quarter. West Memphis outscored Greenwood 27-16 over the last eight minutes, but it was too little too late, while making the final score a bit more respectable at 68-57.
The Lady Bulldogs did suffer a scare about 20 seconds into the third quarter when Mady Cartwright left the game after slipping and falling near the bleachers opposite the GHS bench. But despite her absence, Greenwood scored 10 consecutive points to seize control of the game. Thankfully, Cartwright returned to action with 4:53 left in the period.
“We knew we had a really big target on ourselves from conference to winning [state] last year,” said the GHS senior after the game. “We know we have to bring our A-game every night.” Indeed, Cartwright and Anna Trusty brought their A-games, combining for 50 points, 27 by Trusty, plus 12 rebounds, and 23 for Cartwright. Carley Sexton, the unsung hero of last year’s quarterfinal victory over West Memphis, added nine points for the Lady Bulldogs plus 10 rebounds. Izzy Smith also hit a pair of three-pointers for six points.
Championship game
Thursday’s title contest will tip-off at 6 p.m. in Hot Springs at the Convention Center, the home of the state finals for the past several years, and Bank OZK Arena is a very familiar venue for the Lady Bulldogs. The GHS varsity girls basketball program has six state titles in its history, all under current Head Coach Clay Reeves. Reeves also won three state crowns while coaching at Greenland before coming to Greenwood 20 years ago. Another win would be his tenth state title.
The Lady Bulldogs are 6-2 overall in state championship games, including a loss in the 1998 finals, and 6-1 under Coach Reeves since 2010. For GHS fans unable to make the trip to Hot Springs on a workday evening, the game will be televised live by the Arkansas Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Check your local listings for the correct channel designation based on your TV provider.