Just over a third of the way through the league schedule, the Greenwood High School girls and boys basketball teams have found the going tough in the 7A/6A Central conference. Both teams got off to a rocky start at 1-3, including losses at home to Fort Smith Northside last Tuesday. The other losses were to traditional Little Rock basketball powers Parkview and Hall. But a pair of wins at home over Little Rock Catholic last Friday got both GHS squads back into the win column, improving their conference records to 2-3 with nine games remaining.
Fort Smith Northside made the short trip to H.B. Stewart Arena on January 15th for a league doubleheader, winning both games from Greenwood. The Lady Bears won handily, beating the Lady Bulldogs 63-43, while the Grizzlies rallied late to pull off a 66-56 come-from-behind win over the Bulldogs.
Northside, with only one loss at the time, dominated the paint, with a huge rebounding advantage of 55 to 32 over the Lady Bulldogs. Of their 63 points, 17 came after offensive rebounds, accounting for 27% of their total points. Northside led 17-16 after the first eight minutes, but took charge of the contest with a strong second quarter, outscoring Greenwood 17-7 for a 34-23 lead at the half.
The Lady Bears limited Greenwood to 2-of-11 shooting and benefited from six turnovers by the Lady Bulldogs. Northside ended the half with an 11-1 scoring run. They continued to build on their lead in the second half, outscoring Greenwood 17-11 and 12-9, respectively in the third and fourth periods.
Greenwood head coach Clay Reeves expressed disappointment with his team’s lack of energy. “That’s what my job is,” said Reeves. “To get us ready. To get us prepared. We didn’t seem ready or prepared, and I’ll take the blame for that,” said the coach.
The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by junior point guard Lundon Williams with 11 points, the only GHS player to score in double digits. Sophomore Megan Hartness added nine points, while senior Sammy Richards contributed eight points in the loss.
In the boys game, Greenwood led for three quarters, but could not put the game away.
Northside didn’t take the lead until the fourth quarter, with just over five minutes left. Greenwood’s Drew Caple hit a three-pointer to retake the lead, but Northside countered with a three-ball of its own to take the lead for good at 54-53. The Bulldogs then committed turnovers on six of their next seven possessions, as the Grizzlies stretched their lead to produce a double-digit win.
The GHS boys led 12-9 after one period and 31-25 at the half. But a strong second half scoring surge by Northside, and a lack of points by Greenwood in the fourth period, sealed the victory for the Grizzlies. The Bulldogs led 47-44 after three periods, but could not stop the Northside rally. The visitors outscored Greenwood 22-9 over the final eight minutes of play.
Senior Ethan Clark was the offensive spark in the second quarter, as the Bulldogs built their early lead. He tallied nine points in the period, and finished with 15 for the game. But the scoring leader for Greenwood was junior guard Evan Lensing with 17 points. Seniors Drew Caple and Colton McEvoy also contributed to the scoring with 10 and eight points, respectively.
“We didn’t do a good enough job keeping our poise,” said GHS head coach Brian Martin. “They took our turnovers and scored easy baskets. If we don’t do that, who knows what would have happened.”