Lady Cougars win 15 straight, post undefeated mark at home

The Lady Cougars added more milestones to their already amazing season last Thursday night in Rector, topping conference foe Buffalo Island Central, 57-50, for their 14th consecutive win.

It gets better.

The Lady Cougars completed an impressive season-long streak at home, winning all 12 of their games at Rector. The squad was 9-0 during the regular season and went 3-0 while hosting the Pre-Holiday Tournament.

It gets better, still.

The Lady Cougars, ranked third in the state, posted a strong victory over a top-notch rival who was ranked fourth among all 2A teams in the state.

"That was a huge win for us," Rector head coach Matt Rabjohn said. "That's the kind of win that you look back on and remember for the rest of your life. When you beat a team as good as they are; it does incredible things for your momentum and your confidence."

Both teams battled all night long. However, a five point Lady Cougar lead with less than two minutes to go ballooned to an eight point advantage when senior Allison Smart buried a three-pointer from the right corner with 1:39 remaining, putting Rector ahead 47-39 and effectively securing the win.

"Allison's shot was huge," Rabjohn said. "There wasn't a bigger shot made in the entire game. That put us up by three possessions late in the game and all but wrapped up the win."

BIC fought back, including threes by standouts Jessica Shepard and Sammi Fowler, but it was not to be.

Rector slammed the door shut at the free throw line in the final minute. Hannah Parsley made six of six from the charity stripe down the stretch, while Amber Haynes connected a pair during crunch time.

Parsley made her return after sitting out the previous game with an ankle injury. She led Rector with 26 on the night, showing no ill effects. Hillary Calhoun added 11 in the win.

However, the top performance of the night may have been Calhoun's defensive pressure on Shepard. Calhoun held the conference standout and recent WBC signee to 18 on the night.

"Hillary really gave a great effort on defense," Rabjohn said. "Guarding Shepard is a tough assignment for anyone, but she went right after her and did a great job. I think that's as much a factor in this win as anything. Hillary's just all over the place. She's one of the most athletic players I've ever seen."

Smart added nine in the win. Other Rector scorers were Haynes 4, Racheal Gipson 4 and Sarah Fannin 3.

Shepard's 18 led BIC. Sammi Fowler finished with 15 in the loss.

Junior girls.

The Junior Lady Cougars were downed 54-38 in their meeting with BIC on Thursday.

Rector trailed throughout: 17-5; 27-11 and 38-22.

Allison Duncan led the young Lady Cougars with 12 points on the night. Rhoda Classen chipped in 10 in the loss. Other scorers were Heather Scott 7, Amanda Bradford 3, Casey Hollis 2, Kristie Hardin 2 and Emily Cornelison 2.

Victory over CRA

The Lady Cougars came away with a win Monday night at Paragould, topping Crowley's Ridge Academy 67-57 en route to claiming their 15th straight win.

Rector got out of the gates in a hurry, taking a 16-6 lead after the opening frame. The ladies in blue and white never looked back from there, leading 30-23 at intermission and 54-37 through three quarters.

Calhoun led the Lady Cougars with 21 points. Parsley and Gipson notched 16 points each. Other scorers were Smart 7, Haynes 4 and Fannin 3.

The victories keep piling up for the Lady Cougars, to the delight of their coach.

"I was pleased with how we played at CRA," Rabjohn said. "A lot of times, it's easy to lose focus after a big win like we had Thursday. But, we didn't do that. These girls are determined to win. They've worked hard to get to where they are right now. They don't take nights off out on the court. That's part of what makes this group so special: they don't take things for granted. They go out there and work each and every day,"

Junior girls

The Junior Lady Cougars were downed 35-32 in their game with CRA.

The youngsters from Rector put a scare into their hosts in the second half. After trailing 13-8 after the first and 25-17 at the half, the Junior Lady Cougars held CRA to a mere two points in the third, closing to within 27-25 going into the final frame.

Scott and Bradford paced Rector with 11 points each. Also scoring were Kelly Fowler 4, Duncan 2, Classen 2 and Cornelison 2.

The girls will travel to Weiner Thursday and Cross County Friday. The junior girls will take part in the district tourney at Bay beginning Monday.