The Greenwood varsity girls basketball team (20-4) appears to be on a mission to win another 5A state championship next month. If they do, it would be three years in succession, a rare feat indeed. Yet their most immediate objective is winning the 5A West conference title and earning a #1 seed in the state tournament to be held in Searcy starting on February 27th.
Most recently the Lady Bulldogs improved their league record to 9-1 after extending their current winning streak to five games with victories over Russellville, Van Buren, and Harrison. Up next is a trip to Siloam Springs on Tuesday and a showdown with Mountain Home on Friday at H.B. Stewart Arena. Greenwood and Mountain Home are tied atop the conference standings, though the Lady Bombers have another big game Tuesday at home against Russellville, the only conference team to beat Mountain Home this season. Given the dynamics of the remaining schedule, it’s likely the league title will be decided by next weekend, and the Lady Bulldogs are in prime position to take charge and run the table in preparation for postseason play.
Russellville
Greenwood had a very close call in early January when opening league play at Russellville, blowing a double-digit lead to eventually survive with a 71-70 overtime victory. But the Lady Bulldogs didn’t make that same mistake on Friday, February 2nd when the Lady Cyclones came calling at H.B. Stewart Arena. The visitors hung with the hometown girls for a quarter, with Russellville leading 20-18 after eight minutes on the strength of five three-pointers in the opening stanza.
But the Russellville girls couldn’t maintain their hot shooting in the second quarter. Greenwood put together a 7-0 scoring run to start the period to take the lead for good at 25-20 before the Russellville head coach called for a timeout. But the brief pause wasn’t enough to slow down the GHS momentum as the scoring streak extended to 17-0 before a Russellville free throw slowed the bleeding. By then the Lady Bulldogs were up 35-21 at the 2:40 mark. Greenwood led 41-27 at the half.
The third quarter saw the GHS ladies expand their lead to over 30 points with Carly Sexton, Brooklyn Woolsey, and Kylah Pearcy all draining three-pointers in the period. Greenwood led 76-44 after three quarters and easily rolled to an 89-55 victory after pulling all its starters with two minutes left to play with the mercy rule in force.
Offensively, all five GHS starters reached double figures in scoring, led by seniors Anna Trusty and Brooklyn Woolsey with 21 points each. Woolsey had five treys in the game, including four in the second half. Juniors Kylah Pearcy and Izzy Smith both had 15 points, and senior Carly Sexton added 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers. The starters accounted for 85 of the team’s 89 points. All stats are unofficial.
Van Buren
The following Tuesday, February 6th, the GHS ladies made the short jaunt across the Arkansas River to Van Buren to face the Lady Pointers in what turned out to be another blowout mercy-rule victory for the Lady Bulldogs, 59-34. But the home team led early in the first quarter before Greenwood’s Carly Sexton tied the score at 7-7 inside the three-minute mark. The senior scored again moments later, igniting what turned out to be a 15-0 scoring run that extended into the second period.
Greenwood led 15-7 after eight minutes and 20-7 before Van Buren was able to break its scoring drought. Anna Trusty later drove the lane and offered up a beautiful left-handed scoop shot off the glass that found the bottom of the net that made it 24-10. After a pair of Kylah Pearcy free throws, Trusty scored again in the paint, making it 28-10. Greenwood led 39-15 at the intermission and 57-25 after three periods to invoke the mercy rule. With most of the starters out of the game, the Lady Bulldogs scored just two points in the final stanza for the 59-34 win.
Anna Trusty led Greenwood in scoring with 17 points, followed by Kylah Pearcy with 14 points and Carly Sexton with 11. Brooklyn Woolsey added nine points before fouling out of the game, and junior Pate Jones came off the bench to score five points. The win pushed the GHS record to 19-4 overall and 8-1 in league play.
Harrison
Kylah Pearcy grabbed the opening tip and drove unimpeded to the basket for Greenwood’s first points against Harrison last Friday night at H.B. Stewart Arena. It was homecoming for the Lady Bulldogs, and they made short work of the Lady Goblins, leading 32-12 after one quarter. The visitors had trouble with Greenwood’s pressure defense, committing numerous turnovers that led to more scoring chances for the home team, which led 9-0 before Harrison finally scored.
Greenwood won the second quarter by a 20-5 margin for a 52-17 halftime advantage. Anna Trusty and Kylah Pearcy scored early in the third period for a 57-20 GHS lead and a Carly Sexton bucket at the 2:46 mark put the Lady Bulldogs up by 40 points, 65-25. It was 77-32 after three stanzas as both teams pulled their starters and let their reserves finish the game. The final score was 84-38.
Unofficially, the Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by Anna Trusty with 25 points, followed by Izzy Smith with 14 points and Brooklyn Woolsey with 10 points. Carly Sexton just missed finishing in double figures with nine points and Kylah Pearcy added seven points. Journey Clements came off the bench in the second half and hit a pair of three-pointers. Among the GHS starters, Anna Trusty was chosen by the varsity boys basketball team as homecoming queen, while Kylah Pearcy was a sophomore maid. The entire homecoming court was honored during halftime of the boys’ game.
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After Friday’s homecoming victory over Harrison, GHS Head Coach Clay Reeves talked about his team’s effort against the Lady Goblins and their preparation for the stretch run through the conference schedule and the upcoming postseason. As two-time defending state champions, the Lady Bulldogs remain the favorites to repeat again this season but can take nothing for granted. Wins over Siloam Springs and Mountain Home this week will go a long way toward determining the conference champion and their seeding heading into the state tournament.
“Our kids came out and played hard [against Harrison],” said the coach. “They practice hard against each other every day and they’re always ready to play against somebody different, and fortunately we came out and played well tonight. When [they] are playing against some of our players with two or three years of experience, [they] are playing against some of the best in the state every day. Our practices make each other better.
“We’re trying to mix different lineups with different kids at different times,” continued Reeves. “Sometimes we switch five for five, but now we’re trying to switch two or three at a time to get different lineups used to playing with each other.” Pate Jones, Journey Clements, Jenna Honkala, Ashlin Rose, and Piper Pitts have been the primary reserves coming off the bench first for the Lady Bulldogs, the same players who will be counted on heavily next season after the graduation of three starters.
Asked how he feels about his team less than three weeks away from the state tournament, Coach Reeves said, “They know I stress that we’ve got to play better defense and rebound every [game]. We’re blessed to have a lot of guards, ball handlers, good shooters, and a lot of really smart players. I think that’s what makes us a good team. But while all that stuff is great, I tell them to add a little more defense and rebounding with what we already do well. As long as we take care of our focus and do what we do well, that’s all we can do.”
The coach acknowledged that his team does control its own destiny. By winning out, including a victory over Mountain Home, Greenwood can secure a conference championship and the league’s #1 seed heading into the playoffs. Other talented teams around the state that could challenge the Lady Bulldogs in the postseason includes Benton, Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs Lakeside, Greene County Tech, Searcy, West Memphis, and Vilonia.