Lady Cougars coming together in early part of the season

It was a tough night at the charity stripe for the Lady Cougars Monday night at Armorel. Rector came up short, 50-42, in a contest which saw the blue and white-clad visitors connect on just 12 of 29 free throws.

"We shot ourselves in the foot by missing that many free throws," head coach Mark Manchester said. "That's the difference in the game. We missed 17 free throws in a game we lost by eight. That's an area where we're definitely going to have to improve."

Rector trailed by as many as 12 during the game, but went in to the final frame hot on the heels of their hosts, cutting it to 32-30. Rector trailed by four points after each of the first two quarters: 13-9 and 22-18.

Chelsea led the Lady Cougars with 16 points in the loss. Also scoring for Rector were Rhoda Classen 8, Allison Duncan 8, Rebecca Dodd 4, Destinei Heathcott 2, Kelsey Wynn 2 and Jessie Scott 2.

Junior Girls Roll

The Junior Lady Cougars cruised to a 53-26 win in their meeting with Armorel. Rector jumped out to a 10 point lead after the first quarter, 18-8, and never really looked back from there, leading 29-18 at the half and 45-22 through three periods.

It was a total team effort by the young squad, as 11 Lady Cougars scored on the night. Kelly Fowler led all scorers with 14 points. Also scoring for Rector were Lenae Haley 9, Vanessa Jones 6, Kaitlyn Essman 3, Bailey Haney 2, Kendall Gunn 2, Kristen Smart 2, Johnna Lopez 2, Rebecca Scott 2, Cheyenne Ellis 2 and Courtney Shepard 2.

Classic Win

The Lady Cougars came away with a 45-36 win over Batesville-Southside at the Highland Classic on Saturday. Rector trailed 9-7 after the opening quarter, but took an 18-14 advantage at intermission. The Lady Cougars moved ahead 31-22 after three quarters of play.

Drope finished with 13 points to lead all scorers. DeMent finished with 11 points, while Duncan put up a double-double, scoring 10 and ripping down 14 rebounds. Also scoring for Rector were Classen 9, Heathcott 1 and Wynn 1.

Loss to Corning

Rector visited county rival Corning last Thursday night, with the Lady Bobcats coming out ahead, 50-34.

The Lady Cougars got out to a slow start, which put them behind for the rest of the night. Rector managed just two first quarter points, as the lagged 13-2 after the opening frame.

Another cold snap in the third turned a 12 point halftime deficit into a 26 point disadvantage, 43-17, going into the fourth quarter.

Drope notched 13 to pace Rector. Classen finished with 10 points and had eight boards. Also scoring were Duncan 9, Dodd 3 and DeMent 2.

Sierra Scheffler led Corning with 13 points. Chelsey Kilbreath added 11 for the hosts.

Juniors top Corning

The Junior Lady Cougars picked up a big win over rival Corning, easing past with a 29-28 victory. The first quarter came to a 3-3 close, but Corning slipped ahead 15-14 at intermission. Rector trailed 25-18 going into the final frame.

Essman finished with eight points to lead the Junior Lady Cougars. Also scoring were Jones 4, Fowler 4, Smart 4, Anna Blackshare 1 and Shepard 1.

Win over Manila

Rector started their season with a nice win, edging past host Manila, 41-39, last Tuesday night. Rector trailed 11-9 after the first quarter, but held a slim 27-23 advantage at intermission. The teams were knotted up at 33-all going into the fourth.

Drope led the Lady Cougars charge with 17 points. Classen notched 10 in the win. Also scoring for Rector were Duncan 9, Dodd 3 and DeMent 2.

Kimberley wise paced Manila with 20 points.

Junior Girls Fall

The Junior Lady Cougars were downed by Manila, 41-28. The hosts led throughout: 11-6; 23-16 and 32-24.

Jones finished with a team-high seven points for Rector. Also scoring were Fowler 6, Blackshare 4, Essman 3, Haney 2, Gunn 2 and Lindsey Ford 1.

Kristen Adcock led Manila with 11 points.

Due to a scheduling conflict, the Lady Cougars will not be playing Piggott Thursday as was initially announced. Rector will be hosting Trumann beginning at 6 p.m. Monday. After the Thanksgiving holiday break, the girls will be back in action at Dyer County on Dec. 5.