It’s hard to pinpoint just when the journey began, but last Friday the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs completed their quest to defend the Class 6A state title they won last season, defeating the Lady Panthers of Siloam Springs, 39-31, at Bank of Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs.
It was their fourth state championship in six years, and the seventh overall for GHS Head Coach Clay Reeves, who also won three state titles at Class 3A Greenland before coming to Greenwood a dozen years ago.
GHS senior Megan Hartness, the title game’s most valuable player, was asked when she realized that winning another championship trophy was possible. She indicated that she never really had any doubts, and that repeating as state champs has been a team goal from the very first day of fall practice. “We’ve been pretty confident about it all year,” she said.
But perhaps the journey actually began 10 years earlier when Hartness and several other seniors began playing organized basketball in the second grade. Their AAU coach was Ragan Clements, whose daughter, Peyton, was among the five GHS seniors who started in the game last Friday.
“We’re blessed that Peyton’s dad got these girls together in elementary school and carried them all over the country since they were in the second grade,” said Coach Reeves during his post-game remarks. “He makes it easier for the junior high and high school coaches, when you’ve got great people who are a positive influence on young ladies coming up. That’s what helps make a total program.”
Members of that group include seniors Megan Hartness, Peyton Clements, Brittany Branum, Sarah Elkins, and Alyssa Crase, who was injured much of this season, along with junior reserve Gabby Shores. The other two seniors on the squad are Sydnie Henson, this year’s homecoming queen who started and played a lot of minutes against Siloam Springs, and reserve Shea Young.
Reeves acknowledged the benefit of having so many talented and experienced seniors this season. “They’ve been a great class all the way through,” he said. “Our seniors have won two straight championships back-to-back, and Megan [Hartness] played on the varsity as a ninth grader, so she’s been blessed to win three state championships. But our senior class is great. They’re a tight group.
Peyton Clements added, “I’m absolutely blessed to be able to play with these girls since the second grade. They’re my best friends. They’re like a second family.”
Clements added that she and other teammates always admired the older [girls]. “We always looked up to the older players,” she said. “We would go watch their games and I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I wish we were there.’ And finally we’re here. We did it two years in a row, and it feels amazing.”
Also at the post-game interview table was junior Maddie Goodner, who played considerable minutes in the title game and was a major contributor throughout the season. She will be the lone returning player next fall with significant varsity experience.
Goodner was asked about her role next season as a team leader to carry on the strong tradition of this year’s senior class. “I’m ready to take leadership,” she said. “I know we’re going to have a successful season next year. We’ve just got to push harder and work harder. We’re losing seven seniors, which means a lot of us have to step up and take responsibility and leadership, and I think we can do it and repeat.”
As for the game itself, the outcome seemed obvious even before the opening tip, with Greenwood having defeated Siloam Springs twice during the regular season by an average of more than 30 points per game. But the Lady Panthers performed well in the state tournament to reach the title game, and changed their approach to playing the Lady Bulldogs, hoping to keep the game close, which they ultimately did after falling behind by 20 points in the first half.
Greenwood committed turnovers on its first two possessions, with Megan Hartness taking a header under the GHS basket and hitting the floor in the first minute of play. So Siloam Springs (18-12) had the early momentum, with a 7-4 lead after sinking the game’s first three-pointer.
But Hartness countered with a trey to tie the score, then Sarah Elkins followed her own missed shot for a put back basket, and Maddie Goodner converted a steal into a lay-up to end the period with an 11-7 GHS lead. But there was much more to come.
Continuing the momentum, the Lady Bulldogs opened the second quarter with 16 unanswered points, taking advantage of 11 turnovers by Siloam Springs, many of them as a direct result of Greenwood’s high intensity defense. When the dust settled, the GHS girls had ripped off 20 straight points and led 27-7 before the Lady Panthers could stop the bleeding.
“Our team played extremely hard the whole game,” said Coach Reeves after the contest. “The first half went really well. We rebounded well and played hard on defense. We had a great lead at halftime.”
The first half run was sparked by Greenwood’s stifling defense and the offensive contributions of Hartness, Goodner, and Clements. Hartness ended the run with a conventional three-point play for a 27-7 advantage with 58 seconds remaining in the half. Siloam Springs finally broke its scoreless drought of 11:29 with two free throws and trailed 29-12 at the intermission.
But unlike the first two games when Greenwood turned double-digit halftime leads into mercy rule victories, the Lady Panthers mounted a spirited second-half rally, aided greatly by Greenwood’s ice cold shooting over the final 16 minutes of play.
After hitting 12 of 29 field goal attempts in the first half, the Lady Bulldogs couldn’t buy a basket in the second half, connecting on just three of 23 shot attempts. To make matters worse, they hit only one of 11 three-pointers in the game. They scored a total of only 10 points in the second half.
“The second half we played really hard,” said Coach Reeves, “but things didn’t go our way as far as rebounds and shots, and we missed a lot of free throws, [but] we kept fighting. Even when they cut it to a few points, we kept fighting.”
“Greenwood had beaten us twice really good,” said Siloam Springs Head Coach Tim Rippy. “We had to change the plan, [and] the kids did a good job executing. We took some chances to try to slow them down and slow the game down.” Rippy explained that the strategy was to get the ball inside under the basket, but also indicated that doing so against the Lady ‘Dogs was easier said than done.
While Greenwood’s lead slipped to 33-25 after three periods, the GHS pressure defense never wavered. “We never let up,” said Reeves. The Lady Bulldogs forced Siloam Springs into 13 second-half miscues and a total of 31 turnovers for the game. Siloam Springs cut the deficit to 36-31 with 2:49 left before Hartness hit two charity shots. The Lady Panthers would get no closer.
Greenwood’s go-to player all season, Hartness led the team in scoring. She accounted for over half (20) of Greenwood’s points (39) in the title game and earned the Most Valuable Player award. She also grabbed six rebounds. Maddie Goodner came off the bench early and played much of the game, scoring 10 points and also tied a state finals’ record with nine steals.
“A win’s a win,” said Coach Reeves, reflecting on his team’s uneven performance in the second half. “That’s what we came for, and that’s what we got. We couldn’t ask for a better season. We won conference and beat some of the best teams in the state. We’ve been blessed. We had downfalls in the second half, but we never gave up. We’ve got a lot of kids that can play and a lot of kids that can score. Tonight we scored a lot less, but a lot of that was us. We missed a lot of shots and free throws. If we hit those we probably have 20 more points.”
So the journey is now over and the quest for a second straight 6A state title was successful. If the Lady Bulldogs contend for a third consecutive championship next season, they will do so without the help of a remarkable group of seniors who have played together and pursued excellence on the court for the past 10 years. Two of those seniors, Megan Hartness and Brittany Branum, will continue their basketball careers as teammates at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.
Greenwood fans have enjoyed watching these girls play together for the past few years and should count their blessings for such high character, athletically gifted young ladies in our community. But we should also appreciate the efforts of volunteers like Ragan Clements, who sacrificed countless hours over many years to help mold these girls into the young women and players they are today – repeat state champions.
And kudos to Coach Reeves and assistant coach Paul Dean for their hard work and dedication to their craft. Greenwood is blessed to have some of the best coaches in the state across all sports, and Coach Reeves has reached the pinnacle of his profession, winning his seventh state championship overall. Great coaching, nice facilities, administrative and community support, strong tradition, and hard working student-athletes is a formula for winning basketball, as the Lady Bulldogs have proven once again. So enjoy it, ladies. You’ve earned it.