Greenwood's Lady Bulldogs, the two-time defending 6A state champions, opened the grueling 7A/6A Central conference schedule this past week with mixed results. The GHS girls are still looking for answers to some early season questions.
After losing all five starters from last year's championship game, Head Coach Clay Reeves and his staff are dealing with issues of chemistry, inexperience, and inconsistency.
The GHS girls traveled to Bryant last Friday for the conference opener, after slipping below the .500 mark during the holidays. The Lady 'Dogs lost four of their last five games heading into conference play, but defeated Bryant to even their record at 7-7. However, a key injury contributed to a second half collapse at home on Tuesday, losing to Siloam Springs in overtime.
Conference games
The Lady Bulldogs used an 11-0 scoring run to finish the first half at Bryant to post a 51-42 win in their 7A/6A Central conference opener. The resulting 13-point halftime lead was reduced to five points in the fourth quarter, but the home team never got any closer as the GHS girls held on for 9-point victory.
Greenwood was led in scoring by freshman guard Kyiah Julian with 15 points, but it was senior post player Erin Black who really made the difference, especially in the first half when she scored all 14 of her points, aided by her five offensive rebounds. Black scored 14 of Greenwood's first 18 points.
The Lady Bulldogs led 11-9 after one period, but outscored Bryant 18-7 in the second quarter to build a 29-16 advantage. Greenwood led 18-16 before ending the half with its 11-point run.
It became a close game again down the stretch, but the Lady Hornets converted just 11 of 21 free throws in the second half, adding to the frustration of their 28% shooting from the field. Greenwood led 33-18 early in the third quarter for its biggest lead, but finished the period ahead 36-26.
Bryant whittled the margin to 37-31 early in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs pushed it back to double-digits at 43-33. Then with 3:40 remaining, Bryant cut the deficit to just five points, but that was as close as they got. Maddie Goodner, Greenwood's most seasoned player, helped to settle down the Lady Bulldogs to preserve the win.
“Defensively, [Greenwood] killed us on the boards," said Bryant Head Coach Brad Matthews. “I thought their post player (Black) played really well. I really thought [that] was the difference in the game. [Goodner] is a Division I signee. We held her to eight [points], but [Black] was the difference.”
The Lady Bulldogs hit 16 of 46 field goal attempts for 35% and were 16 of 25 from the charity stripe for 64%. Besides Julian (15) and Black (14), Goodner added eight points while Ashley Rozell and Sara Reeves both scored six points each.
However, the conference home opener was not as kind to the Lady Bulldogs. The Siloam Springs Lady Panthers survived a GHS offensive blitz in the first quarter to rally in the second half, forcing a tie at the end of regulation, then winning in overtime, 46-44. A injury to Goodner late in the first half contributed to the Siloam Springs comeback.
The GHS girls hit five of six three-point shots in the first half, building an 24-11 lead after the first eight minutes and taking a 32-23 advantage to the locker room at the half. Around the 3:00 mark of the second period, Goodner took a tumble and suffered an apparent blow to the head, forcing her from the game. She was helped to the training room and did not return to action or rejoin the team on the bench.
With Greenwood's most talented and experienced player out of the game, the Lady Bulldogs faltered in the second half, scoring just seven points over the final 16 minutes of regulation play, and were outscored 16-7. The Lady Panthers tied the game (39-39) on a bank shot by Abby Cox at the buzzer, forcing the overtime.
Cox opened the extra period by hitting a three-pointer as the visitors built a quick 44-39 advantage. But the Lady Bulldogs fought back, seemingly tying the score on a pair of free throws by Erin Black. But a lane violation nullified the second shot, leaving Siloam Springs ahead 44-43.
The visitors hit a pair of free throws with 13.7 seconds remaining to solidify their lead. Sara Reeves hit one of two free throws for Greenwood with 3.6 seconds left, intentionally missing the second shot in hopes of a Greenwood rebound and put back, but the strategy failed. When the buzzer sounded, a disappointed group of Lady Bulldogs (7-8, 1-1) left the floor after losing 46-44.
Goodner led the team in scoring, getting 13 points before leaving with the injury. Erin Black and Sara Reeves scored seven points each. The GHS girls also performed miserably at the free throw line, hitting just 11 of 22 attempts. Cox led the Lady Panthers and all scorers with 21 points.
After the game, Coach Reeves didn't make excuses for his team, refusing to blame the injury to Goodner as a contributing factor in the loss. "The game is 32 minutes. We always had five [players] out there. They always had five out there. No excuses. Just results. As long as it's five on five, fair game," said the coach.
"They [just] outplayed us toward the end. They hit a few shots and we missed free throws. The kids we had out there played hard. They competed hard and fought hard. We've just got to hit another shot or another free throw. We'll learn from this and it will make us better."
Asked about the earlier victory at Bryant, Reeves said, "It was a good win. We shot free throws well that night. This is our 15th game, and they've all [been] tough, but we've got 12 more, and they're going to be tough too," he said after Tuesday's loss.
Asked if losing the opening 6A conference game of the season at home put his team behind the proverbial eight ball, Reeves scoffed at the idea. "We've played 14 away games, so home and away doesn't really affect us. We're still going to play. This is our first home game. We're 0-1, so I'll [take] my chances playing on the road a lot more than playing at home right now."
Tournament Results
After enjoying some down time for Christmas, Coach Reeves took his girls to Russellville for a holiday tournament starting on Monday, December 28th. Greenwood played Little Rock Parkview, Benton, and Clarksville, dropping two of three, but showed improved play.
In their tournament opener the Lady Bulldogs lost to Parkview, 50-45. The tourney format was unusual, with two 16-minute halves and a 35-second shot clock. Greenwood trailed 23-18 at the half, but scored 27 points to match Parkview in the second half.
Scoring leaders for Greenwood included senior point guard Maddie Goodner with 16 points, freshman guard Kyiah Julian with nine points, and senior Ashley Rozell with seven points.
In game two the Lady Bulldogs had an outstanding first half performance, scoring 38 points against Benton, and led 38-10 at the intermission. Greenwood won the second half as well, outscoring the Lady Panthers, 27-21, for the 65-31 victory.
Once again Goodner led the team in scoring with 21 points. Junior Sara Reeves, the head coach's daughter, added 10 points, and Kyiah Julian chipped in with eight points.
The Lady Bulldogs closed out tournament play with a 48-28 loss to Clarksville. The Lady Panthers dominated both halves of play, outscoring Greenwood 24-12 and 24-16 for the win. Goodner was the only GHS player in double figures with 12 points.
"We played two pretty good games," said Coach Reeves of the Parkview and Benton contests. "But the last game we didn't play very well at all. That game (Clarksville) was a little disappointing. We didn't seem ready to play, and that's my job as a coach, to make sure we're ready to play. So we're working on those things. We're [trying] now to get ready for that first conference game."
Pre-holiday Results
Before the holidays, the GHS girls continued their early season road schedule with a low-scoring 39-26 loss at Class 7A Bentonville on December 17th. Neither team faired well offensively, but Greenwood reached double digits in scoring in only one period, while the Lady Tigers did so in three of four quarters.
Bentonville led 10-8 after the first eight minutes and just 14-11 at the half, with both teams combining for only seven total points in the second period. The game remained close throughout the third stanza, with Greenwood trailing 26-21 heading into the final eight minutes.
But the Lady Tigers outscored the visitors 13-5 in the fourth period for the 13-point victory. For the game, Greenwood hit only seven of 27 field goal attempts (26%) and were outrebounded on the boards by a substantial margin of 31-15.
The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by senior point guard Maddie Goodner with 10 points, while freshman guard Kyiah Julian added seven points. Sophomore Kaila Cartwright, and seniors Ashley Rozell and Erin Black all had three points each.
On December 21st Coach Reeves took his Lady Bulldogs to Fort Smith to take on the talented and athletic Northside Lady Grizzlies. The GHS girls had a size advantage inside, but Northside was much quicker and had the edge in experience. Midway through the opening period the home team seized the advantage and never gave it up.
A Northside run forced Reeves to call a timeout at the 1:46 mark with his Lady Bulldogs trailing 14-7. The Lady Bears led 17-8 when the quarter ended, and continued their onslaught in the early part of the second period. Northside led 27-8 when Greenwood called another timeout at the 3:32 mark, having failed to score in the first 4:28 of the stanza.
Northside's pressing full-court defense was forcing GHS turnovers and the Lady Bulldogs were getting whipped on the boards as well. Kyiah Julian finally broke the scoring drought with a pair of free throws, but the Lady Bears led at the half, 30-14.
More defensive pressure by Northside halfway through the third quarter helped the home team maintain its double digit advantage. Leading 38-20 after 24 minutes, the Lady Grizzlies went on to twin by a comfortable margin of 51-29.
Kyiah Julian led the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points and Sara Reeves added six. Kalia Cartwright led Greenwood with four rebounds and also had six points. Sara Reeves also scored six points.
Coach Reeves reflected on the losses to two Class 7A powers. "We played two really athletic teams that showed us a lot of things we need to work on," he said. "We need to do things fundamentally right. We've played some other teams since then, and worked on some things and we've gotten better. We played Parkview the other night, and that helped us also. You only get better by playing good teams."
The Lady Bulldogs play at Conway on Friday and will travel to Alma next Tuesday. Both are 7A/6A Central games, and the Alma contest is a 6A conference game.