Defending champs head back to playoffs as #2 seed

Defending champs head back to playoffs as #2 seed

The February 19th announcement by the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) allowing member schools to decide for themselves if they wanted to hold conference tournaments to choose their playoff representatives reverberated all the way to H.B. Stewart Arena this week. As a result, the defending state champion Lady Bulldogs will head back to the 5A state playoffs as a #2 seed.

Most leagues across the state, if not all, decided to have tournaments rather than try to make up games missed due to bad weather or Covid-19. The AAA also pushed back the start of the playoffs by a week to allow for makeup games or tournaments. By a 5-3 vote, the 5A West also opted for a tournament, greatly benefitting those teams in the bottom half of the league standings after nearly two months of conference games, giving them a second chance to earn a playoff berth.

The 5A West had already agreed to hold a boys’ tournament prior to the AAA’s pronouncement, though the change required the GHS boys to play one more regular season game (a loss to Siloam Springs) resulting in a worse seeding on the revamped tournament bracket. The Bulldogs then lost in the second round, again to Siloam Springs, and failed to make the playoffs.

Since the GHS girls were unbeaten in league play and had already earned a #1 seed at state, Greenwood voted against having a conference tournament for the ladies, but was in the minority. On the other hand, second-place Vilonia supported having a conference tournament, hoping to take the #1 seed away from the Lady Bulldogs. It was a gamble for the Lady Eagles and Head Coach Jeremy Simon, but it paid off in a big way this past Wednesday night.

“It’s an odd year,” said Simon after his team’s 77-69 win over the Lady Bulldogs. “We wanted a tournament because we thought we’d have a chance to improve our position. We knew the boys were [having] a tournament, so we thought it was only fair for the girls to have a tournament too. I would have been happy either way. [But] they asked us, and we said we wanted to play for something.”

Greenwood had earned a convincing 71-52 road victory at Vilonia back in January, and no one expected Wednesday’s upset of the state’s top-ranked 5A girls team. On paper such a thing seemed unlikely, but that’s why they lace up the sneakers and toss up the ball – anything can happen – and this week it did. If the same two teams played 10 times, the Lady Bulldogs probably win eight or nine of those games, but Wednesday night it was Vilonia’s turn.

The Lady Eagles fought hard throughout the contest, and trailed most of the time, first by a little then later by double figures, only to rally in the second half, and especially in the fourth quarter when the Lady Bulldogs went cold from the floor. Greenwood led 11-4, 14-6, and 16-8 in the first period before the visitors scored eight unanswered points to tie the game at 16-all. But the home team scored six of the final eight points of the quarter to lead 22-18 at the buzzer.

The GHS girls then pulled ahead 29-20 after a pair of Shea Goodwin free throws with just over five minutes left in the second stanza. But Vilonia roared back to cut its deficit to 31-30 moments later, then took the lead after draining a three-pointer just before the horn sounded ending the quarter. The Lady Eagles led 39-37 at the half.

After a magnificent first half, senior guard Kinley Fisher added to her game-high 30 points with a three-pointer to open the scoring in the third period, putting the Lady Bulldogs back on top, 40-39. With the score knotted at 42-all, Shea Goodwin drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to spark a 7-0 GHS run that included four free throws by Fisher, prompting Vilonia to call timeout at the 4:47 mark to blunt Greenwood’s momentum.

When play resumed the Lady Bulldogs continued to score, taking a 12-point lead (56-44) after a corner trey by junior Abby Summitt. Lost among all the scoring was the fourth foul on GHS sophomore starter Madi Cartwright, Greenwood’s tallest player, forcing her to take a seat on the bench for the next nine-plus minutes. A 6-0 Vilonia run then cut the margin to 56-50 before both teams exchanged three-pointers in the final minute, giving Greenwood a 59-53 lead after three quarters.

By four minutes into the final period the Lady Eagles had clawed their way back and taken their first lead of the second half at 65-64 after a pair of free throws. Greenwood then tied the game at the line, but a Vilonia three-pointer put the visitors ahead to stay at 68-65. Back in the game, Cartwright sank a free throw, but it would be Greenwood’s last point in the game until a three-bomb at the buzzer by junior Megan Gray, as the Lady Bulldogs went ice cold from the floor.

Greenwood scored only 10 points over the final eight minutes, including just one field goal besides Gray’s buzzer-beater. The Lady Bulldogs also lost the services of both Cartwright and senior guard Ally Sockey, who picked up their fifth fouls in the waning minutes of the contest. Greenwood put Vilonia at the line several times over the final two minutes, allowing the visitors to pad their lead to 11 points (77-66) before Gray sank her long jumper, too little too late.

When the buzzer sounded, the Lady Bulldogs were clearly disappointed and shocked by the 77-69 final score as Greenwood fell to the #2 seed in the 5A West post-season hierarchy. The Vilonia girls were ecstatic and celebrated with cheers and hugs before heading off to their dressing room. But both teams will be very dangerous in the state tournament.

For Greenwood, Kinley Fisher closed out her final home game with a flourish, dropping 30 points to lead all scorers, but uncharacteristically, she was the only GHS player in double figures. Abby Summitt came off the bench to score nine points, while Ally Sockey and Madi Cartwright both had seven points. Megan Gray added six points, Shea Goodwin netted five points, and freshman Anna Trusty contributed three points off the bench.

Vilonia outscored Greenwood by a 24-10 margin in the fourth stanza. “This is a big win for [us],” said Vilonia’s Coach Simon. “We know how good Greenwood is and their tradition. That’s what it’s all about. It’s a big win for our team.”

Despite the unexpected loss, the Lady Bulldogs remain a top contender for their second consecutive state title and their sixth overall in school history. Nettleton High School, last year’s co-champion with Greenwood, failed even to make the playoffs this season, and GHS Head Coach Clay Reeves even hinted that his team’s loss might be a blessing in disguise.

“We’re a lot better than we played tonight, but I’ll give Vilonia credit. They seemed to be more prepared from a coaching standpoint. I didn’t have [my team] prepared enough. We just didn’t play well enough to win the game, and they did. When they fought back, I don’t think we responded well in the third and fourth quarters. They made more plays than we did.

“The whole fourth quarter I don’t think we took very many good shots,” he continued. “I thought we took faster shots that were covered instead of making one more pass or kicking the ball out. We got in a hurry with the ball.

“But this will help us,” added the coach. “We haven’t had to play a [whole] game since the first semester, so I know this will help us. Our kids will be ready to fight and come back and play hard and focus more. We try to win every game, but I didn’t coach good enough and we didn’t play good enough to win, so we will go back and work on some of that stuff. This [loss] will get us more ready for the run we are getting ready to make [through the state tournament].”

But Greenwood wasn’t the only 5A giant to be slain this week, as Jonesboro knocked off the Batesville girls in the championship game of the 5A-East tournament, 51-50. The Lady Pioneers have jostled with Greenwood all season at the top of the state’s Class 5A rankings. That now puts Batesville on the same side of the playoff bracket as Vilonia, while the Lady Bulldogs are on the same side as Jonesboro.

The #2 seed not only changes Greenwood’s potential opponents, but also the days and start times for their games in the state tournament. Instead of playing their first two playoff contests at 10 in the morning next Tuesday and Saturday, they now play Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m. both days, much closer to their normal routine.

On the bracket, all 5A West teams are matched up against teams from the 5A South, which includes #1 seed Lake Hamilton, a team the Lady Bulldogs defeated back in November, 66-59. Greenwood could also face such teams as Jonesboro, Little Rock Christian, Batesville, or get a rematch with Vilonia, but no matter the opponent, the stakes are much higher now when every contest is an elimination game.

The Lady Bulldogs are probably the most dangerous #2 seed in the tournament and should still be favored to return to the championship game, but they must play hard and prove themselves on the court every game to defend their state crown. The 5A title game is set for Saturday, March 20th, at 4 p.m. at Hot Springs Convention Center.

Greenwood 85, Greenbrier 45

Last Tuesday’s conference tournament semi-final opponent for Greenwood was Greenbrier, a team the Lady Bulldogs had already beaten twice this season by a combined winning margin of 70 points or 35 points per game. As the #1 seed on the bracket, Greenwood received a bye to the semi-finals. Both teams were already assured of making the playoffs.

While the Lady Panthers put up a good fight in the opening minutes, they once again were unable to cope with Greenwood’s relentless full-court pressure defense, leading to numerous easy baskets and layups for the Lady Bulldogs, who led by 35 points at halftime.

Ally Sockey and Kinley Fisher both scored inside for a 4-0 GHS lead, but a pair of Greenbrier three-pointers cut the Greenwood lead to 7-6 at the 6:00 mark. But Greenwood’s aggressive defense soon began to take its toll with steals turning into driving layups on the other end of the floor, and the Lady Bulldogs led 24-13 after eight minutes.

In fact, Greenwood needed less than six minutes to score 24 unanswered points and take an insurmountable lead (42-13) midway through the second stanza. Sockey opened the second period with a corner three-ball, followed by back-to-back-to-back layups by Abby Summitt and Shea Goodwin (twice), all the result of takeaways on defense. Two minutes into the quarter the Lady Bulldogs were up by 20, leading 33-13, and Greenbrier didn’t break its scoring drought until a free throw near the four-minute mark.

The Lady Panthers were clearly rattled by Greenwood’s pressure on the ball, in some cases unable to get across the mid-court line. The Greenbrier head coach called several timeouts to settle down his players, but to no avail. In a humorous moment, those sitting near the visitors’ bench heard the coach say to his girls, “Avoid the white jerseys. We’re wearing blue.” But the score at halftime was no laughing matter, with the home team ahead by plenty, 55-20.

The GHS starters never returned to the floor in the second half as Coach Reeves used the opportunity to clear his bench and play everyone in a white jersey, but even Greenwood’s second tier of players are often better than most other teams’ first string, and the reserves were able to add to the lead slightly in the third quarter, with the mercy rule already triggered.

The Lady Bulldogs led 71-34 as the game moved into the fourth quarter and yet more Greenwood reserves left the bench for some conference tournament playing time. Greenbrier also bench its starters as the running clock shortened the final period. Among those players who made an impact in the second half was senior Evan Brown.

The only non-starter among the team’s five seniors, Brown has been a model teammate and bench player throughout her career. A solid long-distance shooter, she hit two three-pointers among her eight points against Greenbrier, and the second trey (from NBA range) gave her team an 80-37 lead with 6:41 remaining, the fourth time this season the Lady Bulldogs have scored 80 points in league play.

“Evan is a great kid,” said Coach Reeves. “She works hard. She’s a really good offensive player. She shoots it [well]. She practices hard every day against some of the best players in the state. She can play. We’re blessed to have a lot of really good players, and sometimes it’s hard to get as much playing time as you want. It’s good for our team because we can rotate players and rest [people]. She’s been really good for our team.”

Kinley Fisher scored 18 points in the first half to top Greenwood’s scoring list. Ally Sockey added eight points, as did Shea Goodwin, Evan Brown, and sophomore Adriana Rusin. Madi Cartwright added seven points, while teammates Anna Trusty and Abby Summitt scored six points each. Haven Clements and junior Kadince Youngwolf scored five each. Altogether, 12 Lady Bulldogs scored in the game.


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