Siloam Springs is still alive in the 5A-West race.
Thanks to one clutch 50-44 win in overtime Tuesday at Alma and another big victory 50-43 over Greenbrier on homecoming on Friday, Siloam Springs is still very much in the conversation with four games left in league play.
5A-West Conference basketball standings
Girls^Overall^Conf.
Team^W-L^W-L
Vilonia^21-1^10-0
LR Christian^21-2^9-1
Greenwood^14-8^6-4
Russellville^14-8^6-4
Siloam Springs^9-14^6-4
Alma^8-12^2-8
Greenbrier^5-18^1-9
Beebe^6-16^0-10
Last week’s results
February 5
Siloam Springs 50, Alma 44 (OT)
LR Christian 64, Greenbrier 45
Greenwood 58, Russellville 49
Vilonia 47, Beebe 32
February 8
Siloam Springs 50, Greenbrier 43
LR Christian 72, Alma 40
Russellville 50, Beebe 42
Vilonia 77, Greenwood 51
This week’s games
February 12
Siloam Springs at Greenwood
Beebe at LR Christian
Greenbrier at Vilonia
Russellville at Alma
February 15
LR Christian at Siloam Springs
Alma at Greenbrier
Greenwood at Beebe
Vilonia at Russellville
The come-from-behind win at Alma on Tuesday was big, but the win at home on Friday was just as important, according to coach Tim Rippy.
"It's a big win," Rippy said. "It was a must win for us, and you know we've got four games (left) and our goal is, we're telling them if we can get two of the four, we feel like we can get in the state tournament. One (win) gives us a chance, but we don't want to leave it to chance. We'd love to get two and earn our way in and be a clean cut top four."
Siloam Springs (9-14, 6-4) won its third straight game and moved into a three-way tie for third place with Greenwood and Russellville.
The top four teams in the league will advance to the Class 5A State Tournament in Lake Hamilton.
Rippy said this late in the season, all a team wants is to have a chance to make the postseason.
"That's exactly right," he said. "Going into every year that's what you want. You want a chance to get into the tournament and you want a chance to go compete. Our kids have done a really good job of that in the past. This group has come a long way from where they were in December and made steady progress throughout the year. Because of that they've earned the opportunity to have that chance and I'm very proud of that."
Siloam Springs took the lead on Greenbrier from the opening tip, taking a 6-0 lead and never trailing in the contest.
Siloam Springs led 11-6 after the first quarter and 19-12 at halftime. Siloam Springs led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter but couldn't pull away from Greenbrier (5-18, 1-9).
"We did some good things throughout the ballgame," Rippy said. "Tonight we struggled to find a run on the offensive end and that's something we've kind of relied on the last few games. We've always had a run in us. Tonight, I think both ways was back and forth, methodical. We were able to maintain a lead throughout the whole game, but it just felt like we couldn't get away from them, and when we'd get close to getting away from them, they'd hit a big shot or a really deep shot."
Siloam Springs knocked down 17 of 23 from the free-throw line, including 10 of 11 in the fourth quarter to help its cause.
"We prepared a lot," Shreve said. "We did a lot of shooting. I think our free throws have improved a lot."
Siloam Springs had a 10-point lead in the final seconds and it was hoping to take advantage of the maximum amount of 10 tiebreaker points it can earn from a victory. However Greenbrier hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the final margin down to 7.
"Those are the type of shots we're trying to force," Rippy said. "You've got to give them some credit for continuing to make those shots and staying right there and give them a chance to win the ballgame as well."
Riley Myatt led Greenbrier with 14 points, while Blysse Harmon finished with 10.
Chloe Price finished with 18 points to lead Siloam Springs and Brooklyn Shreve had 10, including eight in the second half. Emery Brown and Jael Harried each added six points, while Sydney Moorman scored five, Mia Hevener and Quincy Efurd each with two and Morgan Winesburg with one.
Siloam Springs 50, Greenbrier 43
Greenbrier^6^6^13^18^--^43
Siloam Springs^11^8^13^18^--^50
Greenbrier (5-18, 1-9): Myatt 14, Harmon 10, Donham 7, Naylor 6, Griffin 4, Seyller 2.
Siloam Springs (9-14, 6-4): Price 18, Shreve 10, Brown 6, Harried 6, Moorman 5, Hevener 2, Efurd 2, Winesburg 1.
Siloam Springs 50, Alma 44 (OT)
Siloam Springs trailed by nine points entering the fourth quarter and put on a furious rally to take a three-point lead in the final seconds, only to watch Alma's Cassidy Cooper hit a deep 3-pointer to tie the game and send it into overtime.
In the overtime period, however, Siloam Springs outscored Alma 7-1 and the Lady Panthers left Charles B. Dyer Arena with a 50-44 victory to complete the season sweep of the Lady Airedales.
"The kids played with a lot of maturity," Siloam Springs coach Tim Rippy said. "We never showed panic after getting behind by nine entering the fourth quarter. We showed poise and patience. We took great shots in the fourth and it paid off with a gutsy road win."
Alma led 15-9 after the first quarter and 23-17 at halftime. The Lady Airedales opened up a 36-27 lead going into the fourth quarter. Siloam Springs outscored Alma 16-7 in the fourth quarter.
Chloe Price led Siloam Springs with 20 points, while Jael Harried had 14, Brooklyn Shreve six, Sydney Moorman and Emery Brown each with four and Mia Hevener with two.
Cooper led Alma with 16, while Ariel Towns-Robinson had 14.
Up next
Siloam Springs heads to Greenwood on Tuesday for an important 5A-West contest, followed by a home game Friday against Little Rock Christian.
Sports on 02/10/2019