Ryan Casalman was pressed into emergency service as head coach of the Lady Bulldogs in 2024 when James Halitzka unexpectedly resigned just weeks before the start of basketball season. A highly successful two-time state champion coach, Halitzka was hired to replace Clay Reeves, the legendary head coach with 11 state titles to his name, the last eight of those at Greenwood. Casalman was the head coach for the GHS ninth-grade boys but also had 13 years of experience coaching girls basketball at County Line High School, so he was the logical choice for Greenwood Athletic Director Chris Young.
The popular Casalman was also the top choice of the players he led last season, finishing their first campaign together with a 17-12 overall record after suffering a mild upset in the opening round of the state playoffs, losing to Beebe, 57-46. The loss ended the Lady Bulldogs’ three-year reign as Class 5A state champions, a level of play this current crop of GHS girls aspire to, a desire also shared by Casalman, their now permanent leader.
But the Lady Bulldogs’ head coach is also a realist and understands the challenges ahead for this season and the future of the program. The 2025-26 team returns just two starters from last season – seniors Kylah Pearcy and Ashlin Rose – which is a good start. It’s a solid foundation to build upon, and that’s what Casalman hopes to do this season, despite a tough early schedule and a slow start. Greenwood’s 1-5 mark after six games includes losses to traditional basketball powers Bentonville, Fayetteville, Nashville, Lake Hamilton, and Little Rock Central. Their only win was against Searcy. But don’t panic. Last year’s team started 4-7 before going 11-3 in conference play for a second-place finish in the 5A West behind first-place Farmington.
Little Rock Central
The Lady Bulldogs’ most recent outing was also their first of the season at home against the visiting Lady Tigers of Little Rock Central at H.B. Stewart Arena. The contest was played on Tuesday, November 25th, two days before Thanksgiving, but the outcome was not what the GHS girls wanted, a 67-62 loss. The visitors scored the game’s first seven points before Ava Cranor netted Greenwood’s first basket. A Kylah Pearcy free throw and Ashlin Rose field goal followed, cutting the GHS deficit to 9-5.
The GHS rally continued through the end of the period, with Greenwood taking its first lead near the three-minute mark after back-to-back layups by Cranor, pulling ahead at 11-10. Leading 21-15 after one period, the Lady Bulldogs increased their margin to 34-22 midway through the second stanza before the visitors rallied to close the GHS advantage to 36-32 at the half.
That four-point difference held up through the first five minutes of the third period before the Lady Tigers made their move with a 7-1 scoring run ahead of the buzzer. Starting the fourth stanza, Greenwood trailed 49-46, but that deficit ballooned to 12 points at 66-54 at the 2:00 mark before a furious finish resulted in the 67-62 final score.
The two squads were close statistically across the board in a game that featured a whooping 56 turnovers, 28 for Greenwood and 27 for Central. Likewise, the two teams had 19 and 18 steals, respectively. Both sides shot about 39% for the game with the Lady Tigers making one more three-pointer (4) than Greenwood (3) and two more free throws, 11 to nine. The visitors also held a slight advantage in rebounding, 42 to 35. Both teams scored around 40 points in the paint.
Individually, Kylah Pearcy continued her offensive dominance for Greenwood with 26 points, hitting nine of her 23 shot attempts, including one three-pointer. She also netted seven points at the free throw line. Ava Cranor continued in her strong supporting role as a scorer with 15 points on seven of 14 shooting plus a free throw. Ashlin Rose added eight points, Halle Fox seven points, and Journey Clements had six points on a pair of three-pointers. Rose led in rebounds with 11 followed by Pearcy with nine. Rose also led in steals with five while Pearcy and Cranor had four takeaways each. Fox came away with three steals. Cranor and Pearcy tied for the team lead in assists with four each.
Mansfield
Needing to play and needing a win, the Lady Bulldogs traveled to nearby Mansfield this past Monday, December 1st, for a game that did not appear on the original schedule put out by the school district. Ironically, the football teams from both schools are also playing for a state championship the first two weekends this month, a first for Mansfield while Greenwood is going for its 13th state title. But in girls’ basketball, the Lady Bulldogs had the upper hand last Monday, winning 89-69.
The contest was an offensive shootout from the start, with both squads scoring in double digits in all four periods. But the visiting Lady Bulldogs really turned it on in the second half with 52 points to put the game away. A 32-point effort in the third quarter sealed the victory for Greenwood behind another huge offensive performance by Kylah Pearcy with 37 points. It’s also worth noting that for only the second time in seven games, Pearcy got double-figure scoring help from more than one teammate.
Leading 21-18 after eight minutes, Greenwood saw its lead dwindle to 37-36 at the half. But the 32-14 GHS run in the third quarter opened a 69-50 lead after three stanzas. The two squads then traded points over the last eight minutes to account for the 89-69 final score. Both teams shot the ball well, hitting more than half of their two-point shots and over 30% of their three-point tries. There was little difference between the two teams at the free throw line, but Greenwood did dominate in transition points, 24 to five. Mansfield also had 35 turnovers, 17 of which were Greenwood takeaways. The home team won the battle of the boards, 42 to 32.
Kylah Pearcy scored 37 points on 12 of 32 shooting including a lone three-pointer and 12 points at the line. She also had seven rebounds, seven assists, 11 deflections, and four steals, all team highs. Journey Clements, Ava Cranor, and Halle Fox also had good scoring efforts against the Lady Tigers. Clements added 15 points, all on three-pointers, plus three steals. Cranor continued her fine play with 12 points, five rebounds, seven assists, six deflections, and four steals. Fox contributed 10 points, four boards, three deflections, and a steal. Ashlin Rose was steady with eight points, six rebounds, eight deflections, and four steals. Others who scored included Trinity Spicer with three points and Spicer Fowler and Eva Booth with two points each.
Season outlook
Coach Casalman recently talked with the Dog Pound about his new job as the Lady Bulldogs’ head coach and his hopes and expectations for this season, still believing his team is one of a handful of squads with the ability to win a state championship. A lot of things can happen during a season, both good and bad, and many things must go right for any team to win a state crown. For the GHS girls, Casalman knows he must develop other players to supplement Pearcy and Rose, especially on the offensive side. Pearcy has been one of Greenwood’s leading scorers the past two seasons and has averaged nearly 30 points a game so far this fall. But she will need help from Rose and others to score enough to take them where they want to go.
This season’s GHS roster includes seven seniors, six juniors, and nine sophomores. The seniors include Kylah Pearcy, who recently committed to play next season for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, along with Ashlin Rose, Journey Clements, Trinity Spicer, Piper Ames, Honor Zuress, and Eva Booth. Members of the junior class are Kaylyn Jones, Halle Fox, Mazzy Van Lare, Hadley Webb, Skyler Monks, and Spicer Fowler. The team’s sophomores include Jovi Moore, Adalynne Fair, Anna Spicer, Lakyn Wyatt, Addison Gray, Rylee McAdams, Ava Cranor, Bella Meyers, and Kylah Robinson.
So, among that list of candidates, which players will step up this season to improve their game and help their teammates reach their shared goals of winning a conference title and playing for a state championship next March. The first six games give some indication of who those players may be. Starting sophomore guard Ava Cranor has averaged double digit scoring over the first half-dozen games, which is encouraging. Ashlin Rose has contributed offensively, mostly from the perimeter as one of Greenwood’s better long-range shooters, but she needs to do more. The same can be said of senior starter Journey Clements, another outside shooter with untapped potential. Junior Halle Fox showed improvement last season as a junior varsity player with limited varsity action, and that growth has continued this fall. So far, she’s scored nine points twice and 11 points in another game and should continue to get better offensively as the season unfolds.
The bottom line is that Coach Casalman and assistant coach Ryan Lensing need two or three additional players consistently scoring in double digits every game to supplement Kylah Pearcy’s 20+ points per contest. They will also need some bench players to give quality minutes to allow the starters to rest when needed. Can it happen? Most certainly. Will it happen? Well? It’s early and the jury is still out. Ultimately, it will be up to the players themselves and their coaches to make it happen.
Asked about taking over as the Lady Bulldogs’ head coach on a permanent basis after serving last season as interim coach, Casalman gave a somewhat “laid back” answer befitting his personality. “I told my wife, this is the job I wanted 20-something years ago and never had the opportunity. But it’s an honor, with all the success Coach Reeves and Coach Lensing had, it was an honor to be asked if this was something I wanted to do. This is one of those jobs, if you’re a high school coach in Arkansas, coaching girls’ basketball, this is the one you want.”
Reflecting on how last season ended, the coach said, “We got beat in the first round of the playoffs by Beebe, and that guy does a really good job. Coach Riley is a young guy who grew up with his dad, a long-time successful coach, Alvin Riley, and he does a good job. We knew he would have something for us, and he did. And that’s what we’ve been talking about ever since, how do we keep that from happening again?”
Asked about the tough early schedule for his team, Casalman said, “I think that’s something Coach Reeves did when he was here. But to be honest, I tried to find some games against some [other] teams, and everybody I called said they wouldn’t play us. We had one change – Conway dropped us – but other than that it’s pretty much the same schedule we had last year. But playing those teams prepares us for playing in our league and in the postseason. What we have to do is fight against the girls getting down on themselves.”
The coach explained that Bentonville [and Fayetteville] are expected to compete for a conference title in the 6A West while Nashville has become a perennial power in Class 4A. Lake Hamilton is a consistent winner in the 5A ranks and Little Rock Central is another 6A power that often dominates their opponents. Greenwood’s only wins so far came against a normally tough Searcy squad that seems to be struggling in the early going and Mansfield, a Class 3A school.
However, the Lady Bulldogs have been competitive in every one of their five losses by margins of 16, seven, six, six, and five points, with two blowout wins by 34 and 20 points. Even in their double-digit loss to Bentonville the GHS girls trailed by just eight points midway through the third quarter. And all but one of those losses was on the road, not an insignificant factor.
“There’s no breaks in there,” said Casalman of his team’s harsh early schedule. “And we’ve got three girls with little to no [varsity] experience who are starting. We’re just trying to get better every day, and I think we’ve done that. Coach Lensing and I have talked about it, and we think we’re getting better every game.”
The head coach agreed that his team’s early record is not indicative of how good they are or will be later in the season. “It was kind of that way last year [too],” he said. “There were very few years when Coach Reeves took a team into the state tournament that didn’t have 20 wins. But there were a handful of years they didn’t have 20 wins, and they were still very successful, and part of that was because of [the teams] they [faced] in non-conference play. Our win-loss record going into the state tournament is not something we’re worried about. We want a good seed and a good draw.”
Asked about the upcoming conference race in 2026, Casalman said he knows a lot more about the competition this season than last when his Lady Bulldogs finished second behind Farmington. “They lost five of their top six [players], but they’ve got the Player of the Year back,” said the coach. “They’re still going to be good, then Mountain Home returns three starters. Harrison is on the way up and Van Buren beat Pulaski Academy the other day. There are no gimme wins in our league. We’re going to have to play well every night.” Other league foes include Siloam Springs, Alma, and Russellville.
“I tell everybody that we’re one of seven or eight teams that can win a state title,” he added. “But I also say that we’re a team that could get beat in the first round of the state tournament. We’re also a team that maybe could not make the tournament if things went really bad.” That answer is reflective of the Lady Bulldogs’ potential for success or failure this season, all yet to be determined by their hard work and dedication to excellence, and their talent, but also by the intangibles like injuries, poor officiating at times, or just plain bad luck.
“We’ve got seven seniors, but it starts with Kylah Pearcy,” said Casalman. “She’s been playing varsity since the ninth grade and been a major contributor every year. She’s a two-time All-State and All-Conference [player], River Valley Player of the Year, and a 1,000-point scorer. When you get one of those back, you’re sitting pretty good.” Pearcy also played significant roles on both the 2023 and 2024 state championship teams. Barring an injury, she should finish this season among the top career scorers in school history.
“Ashlin [Rose] has played really well,” said the coach of his other returning senior starter. “We’ve been pleased with the way she’s played,” he added, noting that she had double digits in both points and rebounds in two of their first three games. The coach also talked about his other starters, none of which started last season. “Journey Clements saw some spot minutes last year and her role has changed, and that’s just something she’s going to have to grow into. I think she’s one of the best pure shooters in our conference, but she needs to get some confidence and get comfortable in that situation.”
As for his two underclassmen starters, Casalman said, “Halle Fox is a junior who was a junior varsity warrior last year, but worked her tail off and put herself into a spot to be able to start, and she just keeps getting better. Ava Cranor is a sophomore who had a really good junior high career. She is 5’9” or 5’10” and strong as an ox. She’s a really good athlete and another one that’s just got to grow into her role. She could be the X-factor. If she really improves between now and [the postseason], she could be something to deal with in the state tournament.
“Last year we had two primary scorers in Kylah and Izzy Smith, and we’re going to have to find somebody to make up for that spot we lost (Smith),” said the coach. “Kylah is still getting her points, but we’re going to have to get double-digit scoring from those other four players for us to get back to where we were last year, and I think it’s coming. Fox is a capable shooter and a good athlete. She gets to the rim and finishes at times. Journey is a good shooter and then Cranor’s athletic ability – her strength and size around the rim. If she can create her own shot, she becomes a different type of player.”
In the early going, the Lady Bulldogs have depended on Pearcy and Cranor to handle the basketball at the point, trying to push the pace of the game. When asked about help off the bench, the coach admitted that it’s a work in progress. Trinity Spicer has seen few varsity minutes in the past and like Clements, her role on the team has changed as well. Spicer Fowler is a member of the GHS state champion varsity dance team who played some junior high basketball, and she had shown potential in the early going. Hadley Webb are Rylee McAdams are both talented volleyball athletes who are getting close to contributing this season and will gain valuable experience playing on the junior varsity level.
“What we have to get better at is when teams gameplan and try to slow Kylah down, that we can make them pay from other spots,” offered the coach. “What we’re trying to do right now is develop those other players. But when Kylah is one-on-one, there’s nobody in the state who can guard her,” he said of his senior superstar and team leader.
Finally, Casalman spoke about his largest class of Lady Bulldogs – the nine sophomores on his roster. “They were fairly successful as ninth graders, and obviously Ava Cranor is getting big time varsity minutes as a sophomore. Addison Gray, a little guard, is hurt right now, but in the future she could be a really good player. That class has two or three players who could be contributors even next year. Rylee McAdams had a really good year in volleyball, and it’s carried over into basketball. We’ve got some kids coming, it’s just going to take some time.”
As for the team’s style of play, the coach admitted that it won’t change, partly based on personnel and partly on tradition. Greenwood doesn’t have a true post player. Ashlin Rose at around six feet is the tallest player on the team, and she often plays away from the basket on the perimeter. Over their many years of success, the Lady Bulldogs have become known for their strong guard play, aggressive defense, transition offense, and three-point shooting. Of course, having superior athletes and size and speed play important roles as well, and some teams are more blessed with those factors than others.
This year’s Lady Bulldogs’ squad is still searching for its identity as they play their way through a rigorous early schedule, learning and growing as they go. But the potential for success is there for them to become a tough, battled-tested squad by the end of the season and the playoffs. A good conference record leads to a good tournament seed, and a good draw on the bracket could launch them into a strong playoff run, and who knows where that might lead? So, good luck, Lady Bulldogs.