By Marcus Rico, Focus Sports Editor
Vilonia – After dispatching third place Little Rock Christian one night before, the Vilonia Lady Eagles used a strong second half surge to beat rival Greenbrier in a quick turnaround Wednesday night.
Vilonia (23-2, 11-0) shrugged off a slow shooting start to collect a 54-39 home win over the Lady Panthers and further distance themselves from the pack in the 5-A Central race.
Greenbrier raced to an early 7-0 lead before junior post Kim Henry scored on a driving lay-up for Vilonia’s first bucket of the contest.
A pair of three-point baskets by Vilonia sophomore guard Lily Seiver helped closed the gap at 12-10 late in the first quarter before the Lady Eagles eventually imposed their will with a 16-6 run to close out the first half.
“We missed our first five shots but we got good looks,” Vilonia head coach Jeremy Simon said. “They just weren’t falling. We have to be careful not to shoot ourselves out of games.”
Maddie Mannion paced Vilonia with a game-high 12 points. Mya Brady and Brooklyn Burnham added nine points each while Henry finished with eight.
Greenbrier (16-10, 7-5) scored the first six points of the second half but from there balanced scoring attack and a smothering press defense would help the Lady Eagles maintain control of the game.
Strong inside play from the Lady Panthers kept them close early on and Simon praised Greenbrier for contributing to Vilonia’s ice-cold start.
“They forced us to take outside shots and we couldn’t get anything inside.” said Simon. “Offensively they utilized their post and she did a great job inside. They were able to hit some shots early on.”
Ally James led Greenbrier with 13 points.
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