The Lady Bulldogs are returning to the Big Dance, or at least the high school version of it. But earning a berth in the 6A state playoffs didn't happen without some drama and just a smidge of desperation. But all of that faded away after Tuesday's big win over Texarkana.
After losing to Russellville last Saturday in the opening round of the conference tournament, the GHS girls had their backs to the wall, falling into the consolation bracket and needing a win over Texarkana to earn a berth in the state playoffs and keep their season alive.
Fortunately, the game was played at Greenwood's H.B. Stewart Arena, and the Lady Bulldogs played well at home for an easy 60-35 victory, advancing to the state tournament in Lake Hamilton. They will next face Benton on Saturday in the continuation of the conference tournament.
Texarkana
The GHS girls wasted little time in putting the game away early, scoring the first seven points of the contest. A three-pointer by sophomore Baleigh Wiginton made it 10-1 moments later, followed by consecutive baskets from senior Sara Reeves for a 14-1 advantage.
Greenwood led 18-3 after one quarter and 36-10 at the half, threatening to invoke the mercy rule in the second half. Both teams hit several three-pointers in the third quarter as the Lady Bulldogs increased their lead to 33 points, 54-21.
Head Coach Clay Reeves pulled all of his starters after three periods and cleared his bench over the final eight minutes. Senior Kaitlyn Summitt entered the game in the third quarter and provided some instant offense, hitting a trio of three pointers in the second half.
Sophomore Kyiah Julian led the team in scoring with 12 points, followed by Summitt's 11, Kaila Cartwright's 10 points, and six each for Reeves and Wiginton.
"We thought our defense would probably give them trouble and disrupt what they like to do, and it did," said Coach Reeves after the game. "Our kids played hard and gambled a lot. Our kids got up and down the floor and it was good to get to play again and work on some stuff we needed to work on.
We needed this one," said Reeves. "Obviously we're going to prepare as hard as we have for any game all year for Saturday's [contest] against Benton. But we know that next week there's going to be 12 [teams] there, and one of us at the end of the week is going to bring home the big one, and that's what our goal is. Anything can happen once you get here."
Russellville
Last Thursday the Lady Bulldogs made the trip to Pope County and extracted a 47-45 victory, spoiling senior night for the Lady Cyclones.
Greenwood led 13-7 at the end of the first period, opening the game with a three-pointer. After the Lady Cyclones closed the gap to 5-4, the GHS girls went on a 6-0 scoring run and led by half-a-dozen at quarter's end.
Greenwood maintained that lead until halftime, 23-17, then opened the third quarter with another three-pointer. The Lady Cyclones scored three field goals in the period, but the Lady 'Dogs gradually pulled away to lead by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Russellville pulled to within a single point with 1.8 seconds left in the game, but one final GHS free throw with less than a second remaining put the visitors ahead by the final margin of two points.
Just two days after defeating the Russellville varsity girls in the regular season finale, the Lady Bulldogs returned to Cyclones' arena last Saturday afternoon for the opening round of the 6A West conference tournament.
Unfortunately for the GHS girls, beating the same team on their home court twice within 48 hours proved to be impossible, as the Lady Cyclones prevailed 48-39 and punched their ticket for the 6A state playoffs with the win. The loss put Greenwood in the consolation bracket, needing a win over Texarkana to prevent their season from ending.
In Saturday's rematch, Russellville remarkably held Greenwood without a single field goal in the first half, constructing a comfortable 29-8 lead at halftime. After not being able to find the basket in the first half, the Lady Bulldogs won the third quarter 19-6 to narrow the gap to just eight points (35-27) by the start of the fourth period. But the late rally fell short as the home team held on for the nine-point win.
Offensively, sophomore Baleigh Wiginton and freshman Jaelin Glass each had nine points for the Lady Bulldogs.
Siloam Springs
On Valentine's Day the Lady Bulldogs honored their small senior class after notching an exciting 46-44 overtime win at home over visiting Siloam Springs. The very young GHS roster boasts only two seniors, guard Kaitlyn Summit and forward Sara Reeves, recognized in a ceremony after the victory.
As for the game itself, Greenwood led 15-11 after one period and 21-20 at the half. But the Lady Panthers got off to a strong start in the third quarter, leading 28-23 before a three-pointer by Jaelin Glass propelled the Lady Bulldogs to a 6-1 run to tie the score at 29-all after three quarters.
After briefly leading 33-31 at the 5:00 mark, the GHS girls found themselves trailing by four points (39-35). But moments later the score was tied at 39 following a Jaelin Glass free throw, though the talented freshman fouled out soon after.
The Lady Bulldogs took the early lead in overtime on buckets by sophomore Suzannah Stein and Sara Reeves, but the visitors regained the lead (44-43) on a three-pointer with just over a minute remaining.
A Kyiah Julian drive put Greenwood ahead to stay at 45-43 with a minute left. Both teams traded turnovers as the seconds ticked away, but it was a Kaila Cartwright interception of a Siloam Springs' pass in the final seconds that turned the tide for good.
The GHS junior forward was fouled and went to the line with 2.2 seconds remaining. She hit one of her two charity shots to nail down the win, 46-44. The Lady Panthers got off a desperation shot at the buzzer, but it missed the mark.
Cartwright led Greenwood in scoring with 13 points. Glass added 12 points, Reeves 10 points, and Julian seven points.