POPLAR BLUFF - Shortly after a 73-62 loss to the nationally-ranked Wabash Valley Lady Warriors, Three Rivers coach Jeff Walk found several things to be frustrated about.

However, one thing stood out.

“Free throws, free throws, free throws,” Walk said. “You can’t miss 17 free throws and expect to win. … We stay close down the stretch if we make those free throws. It looked like to me that the girls were playing like we were down 20 instead of down 4-8 points. You get 49 rebounds for the game – that’s a bunch – so we’re doing some good things. But, you’ve got to play a complete game.”

Despite the frustration, the Lady Raiders (1-1) stayed with Wabash Valley, cutting the deficit to 67-62 on Candace Miller’s basket with less than two minutes to go, but came no closer.

Cold shooting in general plagued Three Rivers, as the black and gold shot just 30 percent (18-for-60) from the field and missed 21 out of its 24 3-point shots.

“We’ve got too good of shooters – that’s unacceptable,” said Walk. “It just boils down to focusing, concentration and getting the job done. I’ll be glad when the freshmen start playing like sophomores.”

The Lady Raiders played a strong first half, opening up a 20-14 lead on Brooke Godsey’s free throws with 7:12 left in the opening session.

Alex Hower’s 3 with 3:48 left in the first put Three Rivers up 24-19, but the Lady Warriors ran off 10 straight points to never trail again, opening up a 29-24 lead on Shauna Whitley’s trey with less than a minute and half remaining before the break.

“Another glaring thing was 22 turnovers against a team that plays zone,” Walk said. “The majority of those turnovers were unforced. When you’re just throwing it to them just to be throwing it to them, you’re just wasting a possession when you have an opportunity.”

The Lady Raiders stayed close, slicing the deficit to 46-43 on Whitney Mills’ free throws with 11:57 left in the game, but Wabash Valley responded with a 13-4 run to go up by double digits (59-47) with just under seven minutes to go.

Andrea Becker led Three Rivers with 12 points, while Godsey added 11 and Dennisha Rice finished with 10. Carolyn Overton also had a team-high 13 rebounds.

Brando McKinney led the Lady Warriors with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Emily Brown tossed in 15 points and Iesha Eaton added 14 points.

The Lady Raiders are back in action Tuesday when they travel to Ina, Ill. to take on Rend Lake. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

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Three Rivers College is a two year institution located in Poplar Bluff, Mo., that provides accessible and affordable learning opportunities and services for academic scholarship and professional success.


DHS Alum Abbie Warren is a member of the women’s basketball team.

For more information on everything related to TRC Athletics, make sure to visit raidersathletics.com!

BOLIVAR - The SBU offense was once again productive as Dan Connors threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, and had 73 yards rushing with one touchdown, but it was not enough against Emporia State as the Bearcats lost the game 42-28.

Emporia State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after the first drive of the ballgame, but SBU responded well with a 29 yard touchdown run by Connors to tie the game up at 7-7. Emporia would go on to score another touchdown in the first quarter, and add a second in the third to take a 21-7 halftime lead. The Hornets would add one more in the third, to go up 28-7 before SBU would respond with a touchdown of their own. With 3:46 left in the third quarter, Connors hit Charles Johnson with a nice 14 yard pass in the back of the endzone to pull SBU within two scores. The Hornets would add one more score late in the third quarter to go up 35-14.

However, the Bearcats would not go away and started the fourth quarter with back-to-back touchdowns to pull within 7 at 35-28. With 13:05 left in the game, Connors hit Nathan Mourik with a nice 21 yard pass to give SBU it's third touchdown on the day, and Connors second passing. Just four minutes later, SBU struck again with a dump off pass from Connors to Justin Duhaney where Duhaney made multiple Hornets miss and he made his way into the endzone with a 23 yard touchdown reception. However, the Hornets would add another score and eventually come away with the 42-28 victory.

SBU was lead in passing by Connors with 258 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions on the day. Connors also lead the Bearcats in rushing yards with 73 yards and one rushing touchdown. Marcus Sullivan pulled in five receptions for 67 yards, Mourik had five receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown, and Johnson had six receptions for 49 yards and a score.

The SBU defense was lead by Zach Moore who collected 9 total tackles, including two tackles for a loss, one sack, and one fumble recovery. On the day, the Bearcats had three sacks, two fumble recoveries, and one interception.

SBU will back in action on Saturday, November 12 when they host Truman State for Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. from Plaster Stadium in Bolivar.

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Southwest Baptist University is a four-year evangelical Christian university that was established in 1878. The main campus is located about 30 minutes north of Springfield, Missouri, in Bolivar, a town of approximately 10,000 people.

DHS alum Glen Johnson is a defensive lineman for the Bearcats.

For more information on SBU Bearcat Athletics, visit sbubearcats.com.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Middle School Lady Bearcats put on an outstanding show Friday night, downing the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules in both the seventh (28-21) and eighth (43-24) grade contests.

The Lady ‘Cats got one of their first tastes of playing in the Bearcat Event Center, and the young squads definitely rose to the occasion.


The seventh grade contest was easily the more entertaining of the two. The Mules jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, before a pair of steals from Harley Allen and Emily Mouser cut the Mule lead to 5-4. The two teams traded buckets until the end of the first quarter, with Dexter on top 10-9.

Both squads played outstanding defense in the second quarter - each team only scored two points - to send the Lady ‘Cats into the locker room with a 12-11 halftime lead.

Sydney Rodgers quickly put 4 points on the board to open the second half and increase Dexter’s lead to 16-11, but the Mules went on a 4 point lead to bring it back to a one-point game. At the end of the third, Dexter led 18-17.

Allen had a big fourth quarter, coming up with a block and steal, and hitting a big three-point basket at the 5:50 mark. Dexter’s defense stood tough, and held the Mules to just three points in the closing frame to take a 28-21 victory.

Poplar Bluff won the opening tipoff of the eighth grade contest, but MaKayla Waldner quickly stole the ball and put two points on the board for the Lady ‘Cats. Dakota Reynolds hit two threes late in the opening frame to help propel the ‘Cats to 14 unanswered points. The Mules were able to squeeze in a bucket at the close of the quarter, but Dexter held a commanding 14-2 lead at the end of the frame.

Julia Hahn came off the bench and hit a pair of threes midway through the second quarter, which the ‘Cats opened with a 7 point run. Waldner picked up a block that led to a Alexis Tankersley trey in the last minute of the opening half. The Lady ‘Cats went into the half with a 27-8 lead.

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Waldner hit a three to open the second half, helping the Lady ‘Cats to a 38-12 lead at the end of the third.


Poplar Bluff’s defense stepped up in the fourth quarter, holding the ‘Cats to just five points, but it was too little, too late for the Mules. The Lady ‘Cats would go on to earn a 43-24 victory.


Both DMS squads are a perfect 11-0 on the season, and will be in action again on Tuesday, when they host the Kennett Lady Indians at T.S. Hill Middle School.

The contest is set to get underway with the seventh grade game tipping off at 6:00 p.m., and the eighth grade game immediately following.

POPLAR BLUFF - It is better to win ugly than to lose pretty.

Just ask the Three Rivers Lady Raiders, who overcame a six-point halftime deficit and inconsistent play to pull out a 64-57 win over the Williams Baptist Lady Eagles Tuesday night at the Bess Activity Center in the season opener for the black and gold.

“It was a growing experience in the post,” Three Rivers coach Jeff Walk said. “I think our guards do a decent enough job and they’re going to get better because were sophomore-heavy in the backcourt.”

Not until Dennisha Rice canned a 3-pointer with 8:32 to go did the Lady Raiders (1-0) snap a 47-all tie and take the lead for good against Williams Baptist.

Rice’s trey ignited a 12-3 run, making it a 59-50 game on her basket with 5:22 to go. After Williams responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to two points, Candice Miller hit a field goal with 1:48 to go to end the run and make it a 61-57 game.

“That’s what you expect those sophomores to do,” said Walk. “I think that’s an indicator of what’s to come from – not only (Rice) but the rest of them.”

Three Rivers led 23-16 in the first half, but the Lady Eagles seized momentum, going on a 17-4 run to end the opening session and take a 33-27 lead to the locker room.

“In the middle part of the first half, when we got the ball at the post and scored at will, and then we stopped doing it because of the inexperience of the freshmen post players,” Walk said. “They’re still just doing things that they did in high school and the emphasis was get the ball to the post.”

In the second half, the Lady Raiders began to slowly chip away. Andrea Becker’s rebound and putback of a missed free throw cut the deficit to 41-39, and Miller’s runner with 11:14 to go tied the game at 41.

Three Rivers never trailed again.

“The second group that came off the bench defensively is really what got us started,” said Walk. “They went on a run and sparked us. That was a big growing point for them because that was all freshmen on the floor.”

Rice led the Lady Raiders with 15 points, 11 in the second half, while Carolyn Overton added nine and the duo of Miller and Becker each chipped in eight.

Three Rivers is back in action Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against perennially tough Wabash Valley.

“That’s going to be a good early test,” Walk said. “They’re 20th in the nation. They’ve got a lot of sophomores coming back. That’s going to be a great early-season test for us just to see where we are.”

Dexter native Abbie Warren, who transferred to TRC over the summer, is currently in a 'boot' due to an ankle injury and wasn’t able to play. Coach Walk says “Abbie Warren will probably be back in a month and a half.”

By Staff Writer, ShowMe Times Sports Contributor

The seventh and eight grade boys basketball teams delivered an action packed evening on Thursday night against the Bloomfield Wildcats. Both the Bearcats and Wildcats have been dominating against their opponents throughout the 2011 season. Both teams have won by large margins over 20 and 30 points each outing.

 However,  these two games were sure to be a collision course of two great Stoddard County middle school teams. Both games would prove to be highly competitive for both teams.

The seventh grade had a slow start as both teams were only able to find a total of 8 points. Alex Gibbs had the hot hand for the Wildcats and got his team out in front at the end of the quarter by a score of 5 to 3.

But Jason Jarrell continued his powerful scoring in the second quarter for the ‘Cats tossing in 10 points of his own. The Bearcats outscored Bloomfield by four in second quarter giving them a lead at halftime of 17 to 15.

But the battle was not finished as the Wildcats Hector and Gibbs continued their strong offensive attack and evened the score by the end of the 3rd quarter at 28 point each. But Jason Jarrell pumped in 6 fourth quarter points along with Bryce Simmons and Zach Potts each with two, leaving the Wildcats one point shy at the end of the game.  Potts' shot was a last second buzzer beater to win the game for the Bearcats. Dexter won the contest by a score of 38 to 37.

In the eight grade contest, the Bearcat’s Jacob Pedigo was absolutely on fire for the entire contest. He helped the Bearcats jump out to a 9 to 5 lead in the first quarter by contributing 8 points. But the second quarter flipped the coin with Bloomfield scoring 9 points to the Bearcats 5 points. Noah Langley and Chandler Young helped keep the Bearcats in the game with a bucket each in that quarter. That left the game tied with a 14 to 14 score at the halftime.

But Jacob Pedigo turned it on again in the 2nd half scoring an additional 14 points of his game high of 21points overall. The game was like a great boxing match with one basket by one team answered with a basket by the other. However,  the Wildcats managed to squeak an extra point out of each second half quarter and with only seconds remaining in the game, the Wildcats' Battles sank a shot to secure the victory. .