The non-conference season is over, and as usual, the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs are sporting an impressive 11-3 record after facing some of the toughest competition inside and outside the state of Arkansas over the past seven weeks. The two-time defending state champions will travel to Russellville on Friday to open 5A West conference play and are once again the team to beat this season with three returning seniors in their starting lineup.
Asked recently if his team is ready for the conference season, Head Coach Clay Reeves offered a resounding “Yes,” then said, “I would like to have another week or two [of preparation]. I’ve got pages of notes – little things that we need to correct. We work on a few of them every day, but I’d like about two weeks just to get them all in. But our goal is to peak that last week of conference play.”
After beginning the season with a road loss at Vilonia, the GHS girls put together a six-game winning streak interrupted by a narrow loss at Little Rock Christian on December 15th. After a lopsided win at home against Little Rock Central four days later, Greenwood lost on the road at North Little Rock just before the Christmas break. The Lady Wildcats are one of the top 6A teams in the state. The Lady Bulldogs then swept all four games they played last week in the Pink/White Classic at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.
Little Rock Christian
Greenwood’s game at LR Christian was something of a shootout with the home team coming out on top, 77-75. As the score indicates, the game was close throughout. The Lady Warriors are hovering around the .500 mark for the season and Greenwood is clearly the better team, but anything can happen on a
basketball court, and LR Christian played an inspired game against the defending champs. Coach Reeves later admitted that he should have done something to change the trajectory of the contest in the second half, but failed to do so, believing his players would prevail in the end as usual.
“I should’ve made adjustments,” he confided. “Our players gave a good effort. But I should have made adjustments that would have helped our defense. We scored enough points, we just didn’t keep them from scoring and everything just seemed to go their way, and I should’ve done something to keep that from happening. I just kept waiting, but things never turned around. We were definitely the better team. But we learn from every game. I learned a lot from that game and what we need to focus on and get better at.”
A quartet of Lady Bulldogs reached double figures in scoring, led by super sophomore Kylah Pearcy with 23 points. She was followed by senior Anna Trusty with 17 points, senior Carley Sexton with 14 points, and junior guard Izzy Smith with 11 points. Smith got most of her points from beyond the arc with a trio of three-pointers. Junior Pate Jones had six points off the bench and senior starter Brooklyn Woolsey scored four points.
Little Rock Central
On December 19th the Lady Bulldogs played one of their few home games last month against the Lady Tigers, notching a lopsided victory, 67-34. Greenwood jumped out to a 16-10 lead after one period and 33-20 at the half. But things got even worse for the visitors in the second half, outscored by seven points in the third quarter and 13 points in the fourth, accounting for the 33-point GHS win.
Once again, the Lady Bulldogs had four players score in double digits. Anna Trusty had 18 points, Izzy Smith scored 17 points, Carly Sexton had 13 points, and Kylah Pearcy scored 11 points. Brooklyn Woolsey added eight points.
North Little Rock
Completing their trifecta of games against teams from Central Arkansas, the Lady Bulldogs took on their biggest challenge of the non-conference season against the Class 6A Lady Wildcats of North Little Rock, one of the best teams in the state regardless of classification. Unfortunately, the GHS girls had a below average shooting night, hitting only four three-pointers in a 62-44 road loss. But the game was much closer than the final score indicates.
“We got some good shots, and we were tied in the middle of the third quarter,” recalled Reeves. “We had a bad first quarter and our kids fought back and got us back into the game. Then we went on a cold streak not hitting [shots] and they were hitting and hurting us on the offensive boards, getting second shots.”
The GHS coach acknowledged North Little Rock’s status as one of the premier girls’ teams in the state, but expressed confidence that his Lady Bulldogs could play with them on any given day. “If we played 10 times, I feel like it would be 5-5, because both of us are two of the top teams in the state. They had a better, more complete game than we did, but I was proud of our kids for fighting back.”
The home team jumped out to a double-digit lead after one period, 20-10, though Greenwood trimmed the margin to 28-22 at the break. The Lady Bulldogs then tied the game midway through the third quarter before the Lady Wildcats began pulling away, leading 45-34 after three periods. The NLR ladies continued to pad their lead in the fourth period.
Greenwood’s offense was led by Anna Trusty with 17 points, the only GHS player in double figures. Carly Sexton and Kylah Pearcy had eight point each, followed by Brooklyn Woolsey with six points and Izzy Smith with five points.
Greenwood, Missouri
The Lady Bulldogs traveled to Springfield, Missouri last week and spent three nights on the road, playing four games against teams from the Show Me state, winning all four contests. Their first game last Wednesday was against Greenwood Laboratory School in Springfield against the Lady Blue Jays, an easy 74-25 GHS victory. Coach Reeves was able to empty his bench with 11 players scoring points in the game.
Izzy Smith led the way offensively for Greenwood with 16 points, while Brooklyn Woolsey had 11 points and Anna Trusty 10 points. Journey Clements added nine points while fellow sophomore Eva Booth and junior Jenna Honkala had six points each. Starters Carley Sexton and Kylah Pearcy added five points apiece. Three others scored less than five points each. Greenwood led 21-9 after eight minutes, 40-16 at the half, and 64-19 after three periods.
Clever, Missouri
Up next for the Lady Bulldogs last Thursday was another group of Lady Blue Jays, this one from Clever, Missouri, a small town in the southwestern part of the state with a solid girls’ basketball program. They battled the GHS ladies into the second half before Greenwood began to pull away. The Lady Bulldogs led by the slimmest of margins, 12-11, after one period, and 29-28 at the intermission. But a 24-point explosion in the third quarter gave Greenwood a 53-45 advantage after three quarters before closing out the 72-58 victory.
Anna Trusty had one of her best offensive games of the season with 30 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs. The only other Greenwood player in double digits was Izzy Smith with 13 points. Brooklyn Woolsey had nine points, Kylah Pearcy eight points, Jenna Honkala six points, and Carly Sexton four points. The win propelled the GHS girls into the tournament semifinals.
Glendale, Missouri
Greenwood’s next opponent was Glendale High School of Springfield, Missouri, but it wasn’t much of a game after the Lady Bulldogs exploded for 32 points in the first eight minutes. Leading 32-11 after one period, the GHS girls built on their early lead with an additional 18 points in the second stanza for an overwhelming 50-15 halftime advantage. Greenwood cleared its bench and outscored Glendale 17-15 in the second half for the 67-30 final score.
Brooklyn Woolsey scorched the nets with seven three-pointers for a team-high 23 points. Anna Trusty added 12 points while Carly Sexton and Kylah Pearcy had 10 points each. Izzy Smith added seven points and Journey Clements five points. The 37-point blowout victory put the Greenwood ladies in the finals against Nixa, Missouri.
Nixa, Missouri
The tournament finale pitted the Lady Bulldogs against the Lady Eagles of Nixa, Missouri, a town of 23,000-plus located just outside Springfield. The championship game turned out to be very close, largely because there is no shot clock for high school games in Missouri. The Lady Eagles slowed down the affair by holding the ball sometimes for over a minute before taking a shot and were able to keep the contest close.
Reeves said, “They are one of the better teams in Missouri and we’re one of the better teams in Arkansas, and there’s not a shot clock up there. Our kids were playing good defense, so sometimes [Nixa] would use a minute or minute-and-a-half per possession. We were playing zone [defense] and they were having trouble getting shots off,” he explained.
Nixa prevailed in the first period, 15-13, but the Lady Bulldogs essentially won the game with a strong second quarter, outscoring Nixa 16-5 for a 29-20 halftime lead. The Lady Eagles rallied in the third stanza, winning it 12-7, trimming the GHS advantage to 36-32 going into the final eight minutes. But Greenwood also milked the clock and was able to hold off Nixa down the stretch for the 44-41 victory.
Anna Trusty netted 14 points to lead the GHS ladies, while Brooklyn Woolsey added 10 points. Kylah Pearcy scored nine points, Izzy Smith six points, and Carly Sexton scored five points.
Schedule
After Friday’s road trip to Russellville, the Lady Bulldogs will host Van Buren next Tuesday at H.B. Stewart Arena before traveling to Harrison on Friday. But Coach Reeves and his players know one thing for certain. They are the team to beat, and every opponent will be gunning for them. “With the success we’ve been blessed to have over the last [several] years, we’re always the team to beat. We’ve got to be focused every night,” he said.