The Greenwood girls and boys basketball teams continue their push toward post-season play as the regular season schedule dwindles to a handful of contests remaining. Greenwood won both games on the road at Alma on February 7th and repeated the feat at home against Vilonia last Friday, February 10th. The Lady Bulldogs remained unbeaten in league play, while the GHS boys made a significant move into second place. As of this writing, only four 5A West Conference games remain for both teams.
Vilonia at Greenwood
Last Friday night was the basketball homecoming for Greenwood High School, along with Queen Brooke Rice and her court. The 2010 Lady Bulldogs state championship banner was also presented, and several past and present members of that team were honored during the evening. As for the games themselves, the GHS girls got off to a very slow start, but rallied to defeat the Vilonia Lady Eagles handily. Following a different script, the GHS boys blew the Eagles off the court in the first half and coasted to an easy win.
The Vilonia girls took advantage of a pair of early Greenwood turnovers and poor shooting by the Lady Bulldogs, building a 14-3 lead after one period of play. But the hometown girls scored the first nine points of the second quarter as they roared back to take a 26-23 halftime lead. Sophomore point guard Lundon Williams led the way with 16 points in the period, many of those points coming off steals and layups.
The second half wasn’t much of a contest after the Lady Bulldogs started the third quarter with an 8-2 run and ended it with a similar 7-2 run. Leading 43-30 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs outscored Vilonia 15-14 over the final eight minutes to post the 58-44 victory, improving their overall season mark to 19-4 and their league record to a perfect 10-0.
Lundon Williams led the scoring for Greenwood with 26 points, and was the only GHS girl in double figures. Junior Presleigh Atkins added nine points, while junior Sammy Richards and freshman Megan Hartness each contributed eight points. Senior Haley Donald grabbed nine rebounds for the game. As usual, head coach Clay Reeves played a lot of girls, but senior forward Endsley Evans did not see action, nor was she dressed out for the game. Evans continues to nurse a tender ankle, but the Lady Bulldogs haven’t missed a beat in her absence. Still, they hope to get her back before the regular season ends and the state tournament begins.
“We knew it would be a big game,” said Coach Reeves in his post-game remarks. “[Vilonia] played outstanding down there, so I knew our kids would be ready. Maybe at the first, we were too ready,” he added. “I’d say that was the most we’ve been down early in a game. We seemed a step slow and they seemed a step faster. Vilonia was really ready to play. [But] our kids never blinked. They just played through it,” said Reeves. “They knew we were getting good shots and doing the things we needed to do. They stayed focused and gradually got back in the game.”
In the boys contest, the Bulldogs won the opening tip and Ryan Lensing took the first shot, a three-pointer that found the bottom of the net for a 3-0 lead. Within the first four minutes of the game Lensing had fired up a quartet of three-pointers, hitting them all for a 12-2 GHS lead, forcing a Vilonia timeout. But the Bulldogs continued the scoring blitz when play resumed and ended the period up 20-4. Lensing hit two more bombs in the second period, going six for six in the first half, as Greenwood built a 33-15 advantage at the intermission. Lensing finished the half with 20 total points.
The senior sharpshooter finally missed a three-pointer just inside the five-minute mark of the third period, but hit another one at the 3:15 mark. Senior Adam Lucas then added a 3-ball himself to make it a 20-point GHS lead at 44-24. The quarter ended with Greenwood ahead 48-27 after a pair of inside baskets by junior Colton McEvoy. Both head coaches pulled their starters midway through the fourth period, with the Bulldogs up by 24 points. The final score was a bit closer at 59-41.
Ryan Lensing led Greenwood with 27 points, finishing the game with seven three-pointers. Colton McEvoy added 12 points and junior guard Drew Morgan had seven points. “He can really shoot it,” said Greenwood head Coach Martin of Lensing’s performance. “It was good to see. It really sparked us. I was pleased to see us come out of the gate playing so well,” he said. “You could really see our confidence out on the floor. We were a little concerned about a hangover affect from Tuesday night [at Alma].”
This past Tuesday, February 14th, Valentines Day, both Greenwood teams were on the road at Siloam Springs. All that remains for the Lady Bulldogs is to maintain their momentum and close out the league schedule in first place, if not also with a perfect record, heading into the state tournament. But for the GHS boys, the stakes were higher, with Siloam Springs (6-4) just a game behind the Bulldogs (7-3) in the conference standings. A victory on the road against the Panthers would go a long way toward cementing Greenwood’s post-season berth as the second seed from the 5A West. On Friday, February 17th, both GHS teams are at home against Greenbrier at H. B. Stewart Arena.