Paragould, AR - The Dexter Lady Cats won the championship of the 19th annual McDonald Shootout with a 42-37 victory over the Paragould Lady Rams on Saturday night.

For the first time in three games of the Shootout, the opposition scored first as Sydney Laylock made a basket for the Lady Rams.  Brittany Harris, member of the All Tournament team answered with a basket and Allison Jarrell (also an All Tournament team member) added a three to give the Lady Cats an early lead.  Paragould then went on an 9 - 0 run with a number of "backdoor" baskets in a great offensive set.  Harris hit another basket for the Cats, Paige Patterson then hit two free throws after getting fouled while shooting and Hannah Noe (game MVP) made a three to give the Lady Cats a one point lead. Mollie Whitehead (11 points on the night) then entered the game, was fouled  while shooting, and made both free throws, giving the Cats a 16-13 first quarter lead.

The Lady Cats changed from their patented "match up" zone defense to a straight man to man and played some of the best defense of the season the last three quarters of the game. The Lady Cats scored 12 points in the second quarter, 7 by Hannah Noe and 5 by Mollie Whitehead, and held Paragould to 5 points in the quarter to open up a 28-18 halftime lead.

The third quarter began with a number of turnovers for Dexter which allowed the Lady Rams to score 7 straight points and make it a three point game.  Two free throws by Mollie Whitehead and a nifty steal and layup by Makayla Waldner made the score 32-27 at the end of three quarters.

The fourth quarter opened with both teams missing shots and turning the ball over before Allison Jarrell hit a three pointer from the right corner.  Paige Patterson then made a two from in the paint to increase the lead to 10.  A basket by Carson Gill and a three by Erica Cobb (All Tournament team) gave the Lady Cats a little breathing room with an 11 point lead.  The rest of the way the Lady Cats missed a few free throws but held on for the 42-37 victory. 

In addition to the three players listed above, Katelynn Frazier was voted to the All Tournament team for her great defense and ball handling.  The Lady Cats will next be in action on Thursday night with their first home game of the season at the Bearcat Event Center.  JV game against New Madrid County Central starts at 6 p.m. with the varsity game to follow.  Come out and support the state ranked Lady Cats!