By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DMS Bearcats played host to the Poplar Bluff Mules in their first contest since the Stoddard County Tournament on Monday night.


The ‘Cats were able to split the contest with the Mules, with the seventh grade falling 43-26 and the eighth grade winning (with a crazy ending) 45-44.


In the seventh grade contest, the ‘Cats kept up with Poplar Bluff throughout most of the first half, and trailed 8-6 at the end of the first quarter. Bluff went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 13-8 lead, and hit a big three late in the second quarter to take a 22-14 lead at halftime.

The ‘Cats battled back early in the third quarter, thanks to a seven-point effort by Jason Jarrell, but the Mules held a 34-24 lead heading into the closing frame.

Poplar Bluff’s defense stepped up in the fourth quarter, and held the Bearcats to two points off four free throws to claim the 43-26 win.

In the eighth grade matchup, the ‘Cats were without the services of big man Cole Renken, who dressed out but didn’t play.

Chandler Young led the ‘Cats in the first half with a 13 point effort, as well as several big rebounds on both ends of the court. Jacob Pedigo had some foul trouble late in the opening half, and saw limited action as a result. Despite the adversity, the ‘Cats were able to keep within three points at the end of the half, as Poplar Bluff held a 25-22 lead.

Bluff’s offense exploded in the third quarter, and the Mules doubled up the Bearcats with 16 points in the frame to take a 41-30 lead at the end of the frame.


The ‘Cats came back with some strong defense in the fourth quarter, with Young recording two blocks and Pedigo recording a pair of steals.


The last minute of the game seemed like something straight from Hollywood - Pedigo had an offensive rebound and putback to cut Bluff’s lead to 44-37. Young blocked a layup attempt with just under a minute left, and Pedigo picked up the loose ball and took it the length of the floor for another layup to bring the score to 44-39 with :33 left in the game.


The ‘Cats forced another turnover, and after a quick timeout, Pedigo hit a three to cut the lead to 44-42 with :20 left. Pedigo stole the ball on the ensuing play, and quickly dumped it off to Austin Chesser for a layup to tie the game at 44-44 with :03.7 left in the contest. Chesser was fouled on the play, and after a technical foul was called on Poplar Bluff’s head coach, Pedigo hit a free throw to seal the 45-44 victory.

The young ‘Cats will be in action again Tuesday (Nov. 22) night when they hit the road to face the Jackson Indians.


Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

---

Bearcat Youth Wrestling sign-ups have been announced!

The future Bearcats can sign up during the Red & Black Duel, held at the DHS Gym (adjacent to the Lobby) on Tuesday (Nov. 22) night at 6:00 p.m.

All wrestlers in the first through eighth grades are encouraged to come out and sign up for either the Elk's or AAU league.

In the Elk's league, the little Bearcats will learn the basics of wrestling, and will be limited to a local league. The AAU League is the 'Traveling Team', with the little 'Cats hitting the road to take on area competition.

The price for the Elk's league is $10, while the AAU league is $22. Please make all checks payable to Bearcat Youth Wrestling.

Don't forget to bring your canned food item and head out to the DHS Gym in support of the Bearcat Wrestling team as they duel for Varsity positions!

The honors keep rolling in for the Bearcat Football team, as several members of the squad have been named to the 2011 All-Region Team.

Tyler Miller (WR/DB) and Alex Cliff (K/LB) earned First Team honors on both sides of the ball, with Zach Lacy, Brandon Moore (both for the offensive line), and Nick Summers (LB) filling out the First Team.

Defensive ends Jake Lee and Joe Lovins, and Ryan Joyner (LB) earned Second Team honors on defense.

Cody Stevens (QB), Josh Overall (RB) and Jacob Stevens (OL) earned Second Team honors on offense.

Stay tuned to the ShowMe Times for updates on the 'Cats postseason honors! Congratulations Bearcats!

ROLLA - The Missouri S&T Lady Miners played a sluggish first 10 but were able to overcome it with strong final 30 to down Park University 54-41 in its season opener on Thursday night in Rolla.

The Pirates (6-1), playing their seventh game of the season, raced out to an early 8-2 advantage in the first five minutes of the contest. S&T (1-0) rallied to get within 10-7, but Park pushed the lead to nine on back-to-back three’s from Nicole Wilhite.

The last three came at the 10:33 mark of the opening and the S&T defense stiffened holding the Pirates scoreless the rest of the half.

Dexter, Mo., native Katelyn Heil started a 13-0 run with a layup at the 9:36 mark. Hailee Parks tied it at 16-all on a pair of free throws with 2:34 remaining in the half then Heil capped the run with a layup with 0:05 left.

The Lady Miners shot only 33 percent from the floor in the opening frame but were 8-of-10 at the charity stripe. They forced 17 Park turnovers which they turned into 10 points. Parks led the way with seven points while Courtney Kemp added five.

The Pirates shot 35 percent from the field and were led by Wilhite’s eight points.

S&T continued its run a minute into the second half with Taylor Jensen and Quintonia Evans scoring back-to-back buckets. Park closed to within four but got no closer than that the rest of the way.

Heil gave the Lady Miners a double digit lead with a three-pointer at the 11:27 mark, but the Pirates answered with one from Kristian Dodds to make it 38-30 with less than 10 minutes to play.

S&T didn’t wilt, answering with a 10-1 run spanning over five minutes that was kapped on a fast break layup from Kyesha Hall. Wilhite hit her third triple of the night to make it 51-41 with 1:01 remaining but Carissa Richardson scored the final three points to secure S&T’s eighth straight season opening win.

The Lady Miners were 13-for-28 in the second half and finished the game shooting 41.3 percent from the field. They were just 2-of-9 from three and 14-for-22 at the foul line. Parks led the way with 12 points while Kemp added 10 more.

Park shot only 39 percent for the contest and were led by Wilhite and Danila Fabbri with 11 apiece.

S&T returns to action next Friday traveling to Phoenix, Ariz., to take on California State-Dominguez Hills in the Grand Canyon University Thanksgiving Classic at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time).

Click here for a breakdown of the game's stats!

---

Missouri S&T is a four-year, NCAA Division II school, located in Rolla, Mo.

2009 DHS Alums Katelyn and Cathryn Heil are both members of the S&T Women's basketball team.

For more information on everything Miners Athletics, visit sports.mst.edu.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

If you had told people before the start of the 2010-2011 basketball season that a varsity basketball team, starting at least three freshmen a night and without the aid of veteran leadership, would finish the season at 8 games above .500, win their district, and beat a local basketball powerhouse twice in a 10-day span, many would have called you crazy.


The Lady Bearcats did just that a year ago, with their season ending against a senior-laden Farmington team in the sectional round of the MSHSAA playoffs. The Lady ‘Cats return all their key contributors from last season, and are working hard to live up to the high bar that they set for themselves last season.

“Well, pretty much since practices have started, we have all these girls back,” head coach Chad Allen said. “We only lost Razheem Miller last year, but we have all of our experience back. It’s pretty nice in practice - they know all the drills, and we can just get in and practice without me having to reteach a lot of stuff. These girls have been really working hard these first two weeks, and they’re really excited and ready to start playing.”

Despite losing Miller, the Lady ‘Cats return every other member of the 2010 team. The ‘Cats were able to ‘fly under the radar’ throughout most of the season, with many opponents underestimating their skill due to the extreme youth on the team.


Coach Allen knows that won’t be the case this year, and notes the differences that it can bring to both his team and opponents.

“Last year, being extremely young, a lot of teams probably thought that they could beat us, or at least stay with us. These girls improved so much throughout the course of the year last year,” he said. “A lot of teams will prepare for us differently and try to beat us in different ways, but I think these girls are definitely up for anything now - they’re up for the challenge.”

”All of them seem like they’ve improved. A lot of them seem to be more confident now,” Allen said. “Last year, you could tell a lot of them weren’t sure of themselves, playing on the varsity level as freshmen, they weren’t used to it. Now, all of them are a little bit more confident, and that definitely helps a lot.”

The Lady ‘Cats starting five is always different - despite only having eight players on the team, Allen uses all of them in certain roles. Hannah Noe is an outstanding defender. Alison Jarrell is money from three-point land. Katelynn Frazier is a tenacious player, and gives 110% every play. Paige Patterson and Brittney Harris are bot outstanding rebounders, with Harris being the team’s leading scorer last season, averaging 15 points and 10 boards a game.

It’s rare for a team to be this short on the bench, but have all members be key contributors to the team, and Allen is ready to use that to the team’s advantage.

“I don’t think in my coaching career that I’ve ever had more than eight on the bench on varsity, so I’m used to it. All these girls, they work extremely hard and they’re in great condition, so I don’t think having eight really hurts us any,” he said. “Maybe it would if we got a couple injured and they couldn’t play, but other than that they can definitely take it.”

“We can run them in and out, because they’re definitely all players. That’s one good thing about being eight deep is being able to play all eight,” Allen continued. “The starters are going to rotate a bit - it’s going to change based on who we’re playing. If we’re playing someone with a lot of size, it would be a different starting five than if we were playing someone with a lot of speed. It depends on who we’re playing and who’s playing well at the time.”

The Lady ‘Cats will open the season at the Farmington Tournament, played between Nov. 28 and Dec. 3. The Lady ‘Cats drew the No. 3 seed, behind Miller Career Academy and Poplar Bluff, and will have their first game on Nov. 28 at 6:00 p.m., against No. 6 Cape Notre Dame.


Allen noted the great competition that his team will face in the tournament, and views it as a ‘measuring stick’ for the season.


“It’s an extremely tough tournament, our toughest of the year except for when we get to the playoffs,” he said. “It’s a measuring stick to see how good you’re going to be throughout the season - if you do really well in it, chances are you’ll have a really good season. If you don’t do so well, you know you can still have a good year, just not as good as it could have been.”

It’s definitely a measuring stick for us to see where you’re at, especially early on in the year to see how much you need to improve,” Allen continued.

"Last year, we were 1-2 up there, and we were eliminated by Cape Notre Dame by 25 points, and then we came back and beat them twice at the end of the year. It shows you where you’re at and where you need to be.”


After the Farmington tournament, the Lady ‘Cats will open the regular season at home on Monday, Dec. 5, when they face off against Senath-Hornersville.

---

Make sure to follow SMT Sports this season, as we bring you coverage of of Lady Bearcat Basketball!