Dexter, Missouri - Basketball season is an exciting time for many parents and grandparents as it becomes a time that kids of all ages get a chance to get on the court and improve their skills for the game.  Many times, you wonder what is the right age for kids to start playing organized sports.  A quick glance as the competitiveness of our Lady Bearcat Basketball girls will help you understand that an early start pays dividends at the middle school and high school levels.

Nothing different for a highly talented group of sixth grade girls that were in action this weekend at Southwest Elementary gymnasium.  This group of girls have been playing together since they were in the third grade, and their performance on the court is already proving they have a gift for the sport of basketball.

That gift can many times be difficult for other teams to swallow as the young Lady 'Cats took on a team from Chaffee.  The 6th Grade Lady 'Cats defeated the Chaffee team by a score of  61-3. 

The Lady 'Cats had four girls in double figures on the day as Chaley Mosby had 16-points, Natalie Sitze had 12-points, Maycie Martin and Anna Bishop each had 10-points. 

Experience of the Bearcat girls created a dominance on the court but not all games have gone this way for the season.  The 'Cats currently have a record this year of 6-2 and have played in states of Kentucky, Tennessee and of course Missouri.  The team will also be traveling to Jonesboro, Arkansas on December 22nd for a sixth grade tournament. 

The talented group of sixth graders ended last season on a high note winning the Delta Holiday Tournament.  They also play several teams in Missouri and will be taking on Kelly next Saturday at Southwest Elementary.  These young ladies are fun to watch so you are encouraged to stop by and watch them perform.  Game time begins at 10am. 

The team includes: Anna Bishop, Maycie Martin, Natalie Sitze, Maci McBride, Rylee Allen, Chayle Mosby, Brooke Hessling,and Kirsten Keirsey.  They are coached by Kevin Bishop. 

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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! 

Paraqould, AR – The Dexter Lady Cats won a hard fought 62-50 victory over the Buffalo Island Central Lady Mustangs Friday night in the semi-finals of the McDonalds Shootout in Paragould, Arkansas.

After turnovers by both teams started the game, the Lady Cats scored first as Alison Jarrell hit a three pointer from the left corner to give the girls an early lead.  After a made Caasidy Qualls free throw for BIC, the Cats scored 5 quick points on two free throws by Hannah Noe and the second of four three pointers on the night by Jarrell to take an 8-1 lead.

After the teams traded baskets, including a bucket in the paint by Brittany Harris, Brittany Fowler, the Division 1 signee with Arkansas State, took over for the Lady Mustangs. She made two three’s and a routine basket from the field, on her way to a game high 23 points to give the Lady Mustangs a 14-12 lead.

Erika Cobb knocked down a three point basket for three of her team high 16 points to give the Cats a short lived lead, before BIC scored four straight.  A final basket by Brittany Harris ended the quarter and the Lady Cats trailed 18-17.

Hannah Noe opened the second quarter with a quick steal and was fouled as she went down to shoot. Making one of two free throws to tie the game at 18 she then hit a layup to give the Cats a lead they would not give up the rest of the evening. 

Brittany Harris was fouled in the act of shooting and made one of two throws, and then Erika Cobb made a long three to give the Cats a five point lead.  The teams traded baskets and after two BIC free throws the lead was cut to three.  A big basket by Junior Mollie Whitehead (2 points, 4 rebounds and a steal on the night), a three by Cobb (who was chosen game MVP) and a basket by Noe gave the Cats a 33-24 lead.  Free throws by all state player Fowler for BIC and a basket late in the half by Paige Patterson gave the Lady Cats a nine point half time lead 35-26.

The second half was similar to the first in that the Lady Cats dominated the rebounds (28-12 on the night) while shooting free throws poorly (42% for the game).  Paige Patterson started the second half as she ended the  first with a quick basket (4 points, 5 rebounds and a block on the night) to give the Cats an eleven point lead.

BIC hung tough lead by Brittany Fowler to cut that lead to 8.  Hannah Noe then hit a basket, one of her 12 points for the evening and Alison Jarrell hit her final two three point shoots of the night to give Dexter a 48-36 lead. 

Katelynn Frazier then hit one of her three free throws on the night to give the team their biggest lead of the game at 13.  From there the team traded baskets for the rest of the quarter including freshman Melanie McKuin’s only bucket and the Cats had a 51-42 lead after three quarters.

The Lady Mustangs cut the margin to as few as 10 in the fourth quarter but could never get any closer as free throws by Cobb and Frazier and baskets by Cobb, Noe and Harris were enough for Dexter to hold on for the 62-50 victory. With the win the Lady Cats play the Paragould Lady Rams in the title game on Saturday at 4:30 in Paragould.  Try to attend of possible, but if you can’t the game will be broadcast on 90.3 FM.  Good luck to the Lady Cats..

Dexter, Missouri - The Bearcat wrestling team was in action at home again last night as the Cape Notre Dame and Poplar Bluff wrestling teams visited the Dexter High School gymnasium.  The Bearcats split with the two teams, dominating the Bulldogs 63-18, and narrowly losing to the Mules 42-33. 

Coach James Sneed was pleased with the performance of his athletes overall on the evening and continues to see their hard work and dedication to be paying off for the team.

"I thought we competed hard tonight and went down to the wire with Poplar Bluff," said Coach Sneed.  "the kids really did a good job fighting from being on their back."

The lightweight Brandon Twomey provided  excitement on the evening in a strong battle against Bailey Alford of Poplar Bluff.  Brandon was able to take advantage of a move made by his opponent and pin the Mules wrestler at the 5:20 mark of the match.

The 138 and 145 weight classes continue to be an exciting set of matches as junior Trevor Waldner and freshman Ethan Stevens are very skilled on the mat against opponents.  Both Waldner and Stevens remain undefeated early in the 2012-13 season.

Keith Craft found his way to the varsity level last night in the heavyweight class, as Damion Glasener was sidelined with an illness.  Craft took advantage of the opportunity and recorded his first varsity win in the Notre Dame match by pinning Bulldog Sam Moses at just over 1 minute into the contest.

"There were a few matches that I thought we should have won but didn't,"  Sneed commented.  "But the kids did a good job battling."

"I told the kids that the program is up and coming for sure," noted Sneed.  "But we need to beat a Sikeston or 'Bluff to go to the next level, and until we do, we will just have to keep plugging along."  The Bearcats are very young, but have been prepared by the extra efforts afforded by participation in the middle school program in recent years.  

Essex, Missouri- Tuesday, December 4^th was a busy day for the Richland High schoolers as the Beta Club put on a chili supper fundraiser, the Pep Band prepared songs to play at halftime, the Pep Clubbers painted their faces and put on all their red attire, and yes, last but not least, the Richland Rebel basketball team prepared for their first home game of the season.

The team this year is coached by Matt Cline and Tyler Feller, both teachers at Richland High. On Tuesday, they played the Campbell Camels in their own gym and it was a game that kept every fan in the gymnasium on the very edge of the bleachers.

The Rebels started their season off with two losses in the Oran Tournament in late November but that just showed them where their weak spots were so they could work harder to achieve success.

During the school day, the Pep Club and cheerleaders put on a pep rally to get the fans and students excited about the upcoming game where the Pep Club members dressed in red to “Red Out the Camels”. The cheerleaders performed a witty skit and music director, Amber Duley, did a fantastic job of introducing each and every basketball player.

The Rebels were missing two of their starters last night, but that didn’t slow them down. Senior Richard Forshee (#50) will hopefully soon be back on the court during their next game but had to sit out their last three games due to stressed tendons in his foot. Their other starter, junior Tyler Maddox, was at an absence but will also be participating in the next game.

The game against the Camels was definitely a game worth watching. It was a constant power struggle between both teams. The first quarter was 12 to 19 with the Camels in the lead. Both teams had to step up their defense due to their stronger players plowing through their defensive players.

The second quarter had the fans' heads whipping back and forth from one side of the court to the other as the ball flew into each net several times. The score of the second quarter was 33 to 34 with the Camels barely holding onto the lead.

During halftime, the Pep Band performed three of their more popular songs for the Richland audience: Party Rock Anthem, The Horse, and Crazy Train. The fans also got a special treat during halftime. With the big, gray hat, a fuzzy, white mustache, and a red suit, you would never be able to tell who was dancing in front of the crowd and helping lead the cheers. But it was "Colonel Red", Richland’s first ever mascot to step foot onto the basketball court. The fans both young and old loved Colonel Red and we look forward to seeing him at each of our home basketball games this season.

The third quarter continued to grip the audience and the players as more shots were made. There was a constant struggle for strong defense on both sides of the court. Richland pulled ahead but lost their lead due to Campbell’s multiple free throws, leaving the third quarter at 49 to 51.

The fourth quarter was definitely the most exciting quarter. The Rebels quickly took the lead away from the Camels and kept it throughout most of the quarter. The fans rose to their feet as the Camels began to catch up. It was a back and forth battle, with only a one or two point gap between the two teams just like the rest of the night. Due to multiple fouls on the Rebels, the Camels eventually pulled ahead and took the final victory of 65 to 71.

Sophomore Marcus Grayson made many incredible plays throughout the night and was the lead scorer, followed by sophomore Skyler Harper, senior Nick Daniels, senior Tyler Jacobs, and senior Jesse Barnes. Although they suffered a narrow defeat, the Rebels are still proud of their efforts and believe that the season will turn around very soon.