Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ALLEN, HARTNESS
state’s top sophomores.
GIRLS SOPHOMORE OF THE YEAR
Megan Hartness is a tough player to categorize.
In her first two years as a member of the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs, the 5-9 sophomore has played every position and has played them all well.
“As a freshman, we brought her up to play the point behind Lundon [ Williams],” Greenwood Coach Clay Reeves said. “This season, we had to go with a smaller lineup and she wound up playing as a forward. She’s a very versatile player. She can play all five spots.”
Playing in the super tough 7A/6A- Central, Hartness helped the Lady Bulldogs finish a respectable 22-9 and reach the semifinals of the Class 6A state tournament. She has been selected as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Sophomore of the Year.
“It was tough every game. There were no nights off,” Hartness said. “We had to fight through a lot of things, but I thought we got better every game.”
Hartness was no newcomer to the Lady Bulldogs’ playing rotation. Reeves said Hartness played as many minutes during her freshman season as any other Greenwood starter. She led Greenwood with a team-high 17 points in the 2012 state championship game.
“She’s confident in her playing ability,” Reeves said. “She has the ability to score from a lot of different spots, and that makes it hard for anyone to guard her. … She’s athletic, and she has great ball-handling skills. We count on her for more than just scoring.”
“We lost all of our post players last season so I knew I would be asked to play a different position,” said Hartness, who averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds. “It was my job, to step up and help the team the best way I could. … I enjoyed playing forward more than the other positions because I like taking the ball to the rim and scoring.”
“She’s ahead of the game on the offensive end, but she’s very capable of being our best defensive player as well,” Reeves said.
Reeves said the one thing he’s asked Hartness to do is turn up her intensity.
“She’s worked hard to get where she is, but a lot of times when you’ve developed like she has, some things aren’t as challenging as they once were,” Reeves said. “We want her to play hard all the time.”
While Hartness has played every position, she admits she has mastered none of them and plans to get better.
“I thought I had a good year, but I think I could have done better,” Hartness said. “It was a lot of hard work and my teammates helped me out a lot. It was a fun season.”