Greenwood attack hamstrings Vilonia
5A-WEST GIRLS GREENWOOD 71, VILONIA 52
GREENWOOD — In a battle of two of the better girls teams in Class 5A, it was the aggressive play on both ends by Greenwood that doomed Vilonia.
The Lady Bulldogs seized control in the second quarter and pulled away late for a 71-52 5A-West victory over the Lady Eagles on Friday at H.B. Stewart Arena.
Greenwood (11-3, 2-0) forced 18 turnovers and seemingly contested every pass in pressuring Vilonia full court for most of the game.
“Our kids were playing fast and quick and getting to the ball,” Greenwood Coach Clay Reeves said. “Sometimes at the start of games this season, we are sort of playing really slow the first 2-3 possessions of the game on offense. If this is the way we are going to play, I guess that means the girls are figuring it out and it is working for us.”
Vilonia Coach Jeremy Simon said Greenwood was the best team his squad has seen, but it’s the effort plays that the Lady Eagles must get better at if they want to be a state contender.
“They attacked a lot harder than we did. They were scrappier than we were tonight,” Simon said. “When they shot the ball, they attacked the rim. When we had a girl shoot a layup, we had three or four girls around the three-point line. You saw them on the floor going for a loose ball more than you saw us. You cannot win championships playing like that.”
Ally Sockey paced four Lady Bulldogs in double figures with 20 points. Anna Trusty had 15 points, while Mady Cartwright chipped in with 14 and Kinley Fisher added 10.
Sockey and Abby Summitt each scored layups off steals that saw Greenwood’s lead reach double figures at 29-16 before the Lady Eagles rallied to within 32-25 at halftime.
Greenwood seized momentum at the start of the third quarter, opening with a 14-6 spurt to increase the lead to 46-31. Sockey scored 10 consecutive points in the quarter.
“You can be neck-and-neck with them and in three possessions, you are suddenly down 6 or 7 points,” Simon said. “We turned the ball over way too much and we helped them out with those runs.”
The Lady Eagles (13-2, 3-1) tried to rally, climbing to within 56-47 on a Madeline Tipton inside basket with 5:07 left, but baskets by Sockey and Haven Clements brought the lead to 63-49.
Lauren Patterson paced Vilonia with 13 points, while Laney Mears added 11.
Reeves said he was glad to get back to 5A-West Conference play after scrambling to get two games in the last week. The Lady Bulldogs played two of the top teams in Class 4A last week — Star City on Jan. 8 and Nashville on Tuesday — after having conference games canceled.
BOYS
VILONIA 52, GREENWOOD 49
Despite seeing a double-digit lead disappear in the fourth quarter, the Eagles (10-3, 3-1 5A-West) held off the Bulldogs (3-10, 0-3).
Vilonia led by 15 late in the third quarter and by 49-38 early in the fourth quarter, but Greenwood got to within 51-49 on an Aiden Kennon basket with 20 seconds left. After Harrison Janski made one of two free throws, Greenwood’s Sam Forbus missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.
Austin Meyers scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Eagles, while Janski added 14. Braden Stein scored 12 to lead Greenwood, while Kennon added 10.