Lady Cougars battle BIC in tough tourney action

Chelsea Drope (14) and Destinei Heathcott get position for a rebound. [Click to enlarge]

Casual observers at the NEA Tournament at Arkansas State university's Convocation Center learned something most people in the local communities have been aware for some time: 2A girls high school basketball provides some of the most competitive, hard-fought games of any sport. Last Wednesday's meeting between the Lady Cougars and Lady Mustangs of Buffalo Island Central, in which Rector came away with a 63-57 loss, was another game in a long line of thrilling meetings between the 2A-3 foes.

Trailing 53-47 to start the fourth, the Lady Cougars climbed to within two points, 55-53, after Allison Duncan connected on the front end of a one-in-one at the 2:49 mark. Duncan struck in the paint earlier in the frame, while Chelsea Drope sank two free throws and a three-pointer to account for the Rector scoring.

Prior to this point, BIC had managed just two points, both on free throws coming from standout Brittany Fowler. The Lady Mustangs were content to slow-play with their lead, letting the clock run without looking to initiate their offense.

In order to get the ball back, the Lady Cougars either had to foul their opponents or cause turnovers late in the game. With BIC playing cautious, Rector was forced to foul. Of the 10 points scored by the Lady Mustangs in the fourth, eight came at the line

After Duncan's free throw, the Rector pressure did manage to force BIC to briefly quicken their pace on offense, resulting in a layup by Jenna Pike with 2:18 left to play.

Rhoda Classes made it a one possession game once more, 57-54, by sinking the second of two free throws with 2:04 on the clock.

The Lady Cougars would come no closer, though. After running the clock down to 1:34, BIC then made both free throws to capitalize, moving ahead 59-54.

Duncan was called for over-the-back while reaching for a Drope miss from inside with just over a minute left which sent the Lady Mustangs back to the line where they garnered another point, 60-54.

In the final minute, both teams went three of four at the line to set the final in place.

The hard-fought game saw the teams attempt a combined total of 60 free throws. Rector finished 27-34 from the line, while BIC made 21-26.

BIC came out firing from long-range, en route to taking a 21-15 lead after the first. Rector trailed 35-31 at intermission.

"It was a battle," Lady Cougar coach Mark Manchester said. "I thought both teams played extremely hard. Unfortunately for us, Buffalo Island came away with the win instead of us."

While the outcome left something to be desired, Manchester said the game had some benefits.

"This game was good for us for a couple of reasons. First, it gave us an opportunity to go out there and play against a good team that's in our league. When we come back from break, our conference schedule picks up a notch. Going out and playing a game like this helps get you prepared.

"Also, this game gave us another opportunity to play hard in front of our fans. We have some loyal fans who follow us here (Jonesboro) and to other places and we want to give them a good effort every time we take the court. I think this was a game that basketball fans enjoyed watching."

Three Lady Cougars reached double figures in scoring on the night. Duncan and Drope netted 17 each to lead the way. Classen chipped in 11 in the tough loss. Classen and Duncan each finished with nine rebounds, as well. Also scoring for Rector were Rebecca Dodd 8, Stephanie DeMent 2 and Jessie Scott 2.

Fowler led BIC with a game-high 28 points. Pike added 15 for the Lady Mustangs, who advanced to the finals with a win over Rivercrest on Sunday.

The Lady Cougars will return to action beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4 at Marmaduke, before visiting Riverside on Jan. 7.