Greenwood pulls away, tops Searcy
SEARCY — Greenwood used a balanced offensive attack and a strong defensive effort late to pull away and defeat Searcy 61-47 in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A girls state tournament Friday at Lion Arena.
Sophomore guard Kylah Pearcy led all scorers with 20 points and senior guard Anna Trusty finished with 17 to lead Greenwood. Senior guard Carley Sexton added 12 points.
“We just needed to settle down a little bit,” Greenwood Coach Clay Reeves said. “I thought Searcy played really well in the first half and I didn’t think we played our best in the first half. We’re on their court in an away game, but our kids faced this type of challenge on a nightly basis in conference, nonconference and the state tournament over the years. They knew they had to keep their focus and keep doing what they were doing.”
Greenwood held a 31-26 lead at halftime, but used a 20-point offensive outburst in the third quarter to create separation and led 51-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
With just under six minutes left, Lions senior forward Sara McCain knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 62-53. But Greenwood responded with an 8-0 run that was capped by a layup from sophomore forward Elle Williams with 2:42 left in the game that gave the Bulldogs a 61-42 lead.
Searcy was led by sophomore guard Zaniyah Johnson, who finished with a 14 points. Junior center London Flowers scored 12 points and senior forward Eva Roberts added nine.
“We had to make some defensive adjustments and I’m blessed to have very smart players that are able to figure out what they need to do at any point during the game,” Reeves said. “I just give them all of the credit for making the adjustments on defense to try to stop what they were doing. Different people step every night, which is what makes us a really good team. We just try to take advantages of the matchups we have.”
GREENE COUNTY TECH 62, RUSSELLVILLE 42
Junior guard Jacey Edrington knocked down three first quarter three-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points to lead Greene County Tech over Russellville.
The Golden Eagles held the Lady Cyclones to four points in the first quarter. Greene County Tech built a halftime lead of 32-13.
Junior forward Weslyn Burnside hit 9 of 10 free throws and finished with 11 points for the Golden Eagles. Russellville was paced by senior guard Brenna Burk, who made five three-pointers and scored a game-high 26 points.
VILONIA 58, MOUNTAIN HOME 50
Vilonia trailed 31-28 at halftime, but rallied and outscored Mountain Home 30-19 in the second half to pull out the victory.
Junior guard Sidni Middleton scored 13 of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter to lead the way for the Eagles. Senior Alexis Heston finished with 14 points and sophomore Madison-Lynn Mannion added nine.
Mountain Home was led by sophomore guard Jayla Yonkers’ 14 points. Senior guard Parker Huskey finished with 13 points and junior guard Laykin Moore added 12.