By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Lady Bearcats, fresh off their second straight Class 4, District 1 title, are hitting the road tonight to take on the Park Hills Central Lady Rebels in MSHSAA Sectional action.

The Lady 'Cats have been hard at work preparing for the 20-7 Lady Rebels since their big win on Friday night over rival Notre Dame.

"We've just been working on preparing for Park Hills, going over all their offensive plays," LBB head coach Chad Allen said after Tuesday's practice. "They are pretty skilled offensively. They shoot well from the perimeter, they have a couple girls that are pretty quick and can take you off the dribble. They don't have a lot of size, but they are really scrappy and like to get after you."

"They'll definitely be a tough team," he added. "We'll have to show up and be ready to play."

This year's Lady Rebel squad is quite similar to the Lady Bearcats from last year - several of their key contributors are freshman, and they flew under the radar on their way to the Class 4, District 2 championship.

"They're young, just like us. They have a freshman point guard, Mackenzie Jones, and she's really composed and really tough. You wouldn't think she was a freshman based on how she plays," Allen noted. "Sydney Skaggs, a 5'10" freshman, she's long and lean and very active. She's a great shooter, and both of them are good players. It's like our girls were last year - they improved so much over the course of the season, and that's what these girls have done."

"They lost four games early on, and really started improving as a team. A lot of that was getting those freshman experience, which is the same thing that happened to us last year," he continued. "They're getting experience, and it's definitely paying off."

The roles will be reversed in the sectional matchup from last season, when the Lady Bearcats took on a seasoned Farmington squad. This time, the Lady Bearcats are the seasoned veterans, while Park Hills enters the playoffs for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.

"I think that helps. I always feel that getting experience in playoff games will help you the next year," Allen said. "For us, getting in that sectional game last year, it was a learning experience. Farmington put it on us, but they had a lot of experience and seniors on that team last year. Heading into sectional play this year, we've got that experience from last year, and hopefully it will help us get through this game."

Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. from Bob Sechrest Field House on the campus of Mineral Area College.

If you can't make it to the game, you can get quarterly score updates (cell phone signal permitting) on our Facebook or Twitter pages!