Lady Cougars dominant in win over Corss Co.

The Lady Cougars eased their way through the first round of the 2A-3 District Tournament Monday evening in Rector, imposing their will upon the hapless Lady Thunderbirds of Cross County, 79-27.

The Lady Cougars went to work early and often, utilizing their full-court press to cause severe difficulties for the Cross County offense and key numerous scoring opportunities in transition.

Rector led 28-5 after the first quarter. Chelsea Drope connected on three of her six treys in the opening frame, netting 13 points in the quarter. Rhoda Classen scored six points on layups. Stephanie DeMent and Jessie Scott scored on a layup each, while Allison Duncan added a free throw to start things off right for the hosts.

Rector held a comfortable 45-11 advantage at intermission, and led by 50 points, 68-18, heading into the fourth.

The Lady Cougars made 13 three-pointers on the night, as the girls were able to find their range early and often. Drope's six from beyond the arc were joined by three from sophomore Amanda Bradford, two by senior Rebecca Dodd and one each from Emily Cornelison and Kelsey Wynn.

"We did what we needed to do," Rector coach Mark Manchester said. "We played well on both sides of the ball. I was proud of our effort."

The one-sided contest allowed Manchester to go to his bench early and often. On the night, 11 Lady Cougars made their way into the scorer's column. Drope finished with a game-high 26 for Rector. Bradford and Classen also reached double-digits, netting 11 and 10, respectively. Also scoring for the Lady Cougars were Duncan 7, Casey Hollis 6, Dodd 6, Scott 4, Wynn 3, Cornelison 3, DeMent 2 and Cheyanne Steward 2.

Rector advanced to the second for a Tuesday evening meeting with fourth-seeded East Poinsett County. As the Democrat went to press Tuesday night, late results showed the Lady Cougars falling to EPC, 66-54. Full coverage of the game will be featured in next week's edition.

Loss to Manila

The Lady Cougars completed their regular season last Friday, falling to 3A talent Manila, 58-46.

Drope led Rector with 14 points in the loss. Classen and Duncan also reached double figures, netting 11 and 10, respectively. Also scoring for the Lady Cougars were Scott 4, Heathcott 3, Dodd 2 and DeMent 2.

Junior Girls Fall

The Junior Lady Cougars closed out their season with a 31-23 loss to EPC in the snow-delayed first round of the "invitational" 2A-3 Junior High District Tournament last Thursday.

Kelly Fowler, who earned an All-Conference nod, led Rector with eight points. Vanessa Jones and Kaitlyn Essman added six points each. Bailey Haney finished with three points on the night.