It was impossible for the Siloam Springs girls basketball team to clinch a 6A playoff berth Friday night, but the Lady Panthers did take a major step forward in possibly locking down a No. 2 seed from the 7A/6A-Central.
Siloam Springs knocked off a short-handed Russellville squad 57-44 at the Panther Activity Center, and in the process they gave themselves a tiebreaker advantage over the Lady Cyclones, who defeated the Lady Panthers 44-38 on Jan. 16.
"We still want a chance at the No. 2 seed, and to do that we had to win by at least six points tonight," said Siloam Springs head coach Tim Rippy. "We didn't tell the kids that going in because just a win would give us a great chance to be in the state tournament."
Heading into the final four conference games of the season, the Lady Panthers' playoff scenario is now set. Siloam Springs, which hosts the 6A state tournament on March 3-7, can clinch a playoff spot with a Greenwood victory over Alma on Tuesday. To secure a No. 2 seed, the Lady Panthers need Greenwood to defeat Russellville on Friday, and then Siloam Springs would need to win at Alma on Feb. 24.
"Now we go to Alma with a chance to earn the second seed outright with a win," Rippy said. "That gives us a lot to play for."
The Lady Panthers had plenty to play for on Friday and they showed it from the opening whistle.
Siloam Springs (14-9, 4-6 7A/6A-Central) never trailed and opened up a 12-2 lead first-quarter lead on the Lady Cyclones, who were playing without 6-1 forward Shameka Ealy, who had to miss the game because of a death in her family.
Ealy scored 20 points in the Russellville's win over Siloam Springs earlier this year.
"That's tough. I didn't know until they got here and coach let me know," Rippy said regarding Ealy's absence. "We didn't even tell our kids. We just showed up and played. We didn't want it to change our mentality. That's a tough situation. I've been in that situation before on the other side. ... It's unfortunate for them. Certainly we'd want to play them full strength."
Russellville coach Steve Wiedower said Ealy's absence definitely didn't help the Lady Cyclones (12-11, 6-4).
"Oh yeah, she would have been a factor," Wiedower said. "There's no doubt about that. But you just have to deal with what you have. She had a family issue, you know, a funeral she had to go to. We felt good about where we're at. We've already locked up a spot in the state tournament, so it's a little different situation."
The Lady Panthers' took advantage of Ealy's absence as forwards Mayse Pippin and Baily Cameron scored 10 of the Siloam Springs' first 12 points.
"That made it easier for us to score inside," Rippy said. "Once we saw that, we really tried to pound it inside, especially early in the game."
The Lady Panthers led by as many as 15 points in the first half and pulled into half up 32-21.
Russellville's Alyssa Owens kept in her team in the ballgame with seven 3-pointers and a game-high 26 points. Owens hit back-to-back treys in the third quarter and Addy Hipps had a pair of free throws as the Lady Cyclones cut the lead down to 34-31 with 4:19 left in the third.
"She's a great shooter and a great player," Rippy said of Alyssa Owens. "We were trying to not let her get shots and she still got seven three's. We were trying to closely guard her but man she's a terrific little player."
Siloam Springs answered with a 13-0 run to close the third quarter and get to the lead back up to 47-31 entering the fourth.
Bailee Owens had a driving basket in that stretch and Rachel Jones followed up with a 3-pointer. Pippin hit two free throws and then made a basket, and Bailee Owens and Jones each scored twice more before the quarter was up.
Alyssa Owens hit a couple more 3-pointers at the start of the fourth as Russellville pulled within 47-37, but Cameron and Pippin answered with baskets inside to get the lead back up to 14.
Pippin finished with 20 points, while Bailee Owens finished with 13 and Cameron 11.
Siloam Springs 57, Russellville 44
Russellville 10 11 13 10 -- 44
Siloam Springs 16 16 15 10 -- 57
Russellville (12-11, 6-4): A. Owens 26, Hipps 5, Looper 4, Brown 4, Posey 3, Underhill 2.
Siloam Springs (14-9, 4-6): Pippin 20, B. Owens 13, Cameron 11, Jones 9, Torres 4.
Greenwood 63, Siloam Springs 30
GREENWOOD -- The Lady Bulldogs took a 16-point lead into halftime and then blew open the game with a big run to start the second half at H.B. Stewart Bulldog Arena.
The Lady Panthers trailed 17-8 after the first quarter and got within 17-10 to open the second on a basket by Mayse Pippin.
But that's the last points Siloam Springs would score until 1:58 left in the half and Greenwood went up 32-16 at halftime.
Greenwood, which forced 22 Siloam Springs turnovers, outscored Siloam Springs 16-2 to start the third quarter and took a 48-18 lead.
Maddie Goodner led the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points, while Megan Hartness scored 19 points coming off the bench. Goodner and Hartness combined to score 14 of Greenwood's 19 third quarter points.
Mayse Pippin led Siloam Springs with 14 points, while Haley Stewart had six.
Greenwood 63, Siloam Springs 30
Siloam Springs 8 8 9 5 -- 30
Greenwood 17 15 19 12 -- 63
Siloam Springs: Pippin 14, Stewart 6, Owens 4, Hoelscher 4, Cameron 2.
Greenwood: Goodner 21, Hartness 19, Jewell 8, Henson 6, Elkins 4, Clements 2, C. Clements 2, Branum 1.
Sports on 02/15/2015