PARAGOULD -- If Forrest City Coach Sue Jayroe had one Christmas wish before tonight's game against Poplar Bluff, Mo., it would more than likely be for a player taller than 5-11.
Jayroe's Lady Mustangs (2-4) are making their first trip to the McDonald's Shootout tournament which tips today at Paragould High School.
In Poplar Bluff, the Lady Mustangs are facing a team that returned everyone from a year ago -- which includes a pair of 6-foot-plus girls. Jayroe's tallest Lady Mustang is 5-11 junior, Sequoria Grady.
The Lady Mules won the Shootout two years ago and finished as runners-up last year to Bentonville.
The 10th annual Shootout, a three-day, three-game guarantee tournament, features an outstanding field of eight high school girls basketball teams looking to pick up an early Christmas present -- the 2003 championship.
Bentonville chose not to return to defend their title, so a group of six holdovers from last year -- Paragould, Jonesboro, Valley View, Pocahontas, Greene County Tech and Poplar Bluff -- along with the two new kids in the mix -- Forrest City and Central Arkansas Christian -- will battle to see who will succeed the Lady Tigers in the vacated throne room.
David Moon, organizer of this year's Shootout, says the field is competitive as ever.
"You can look at the (tournament) bracket and pick your poison," Moon said. "They can all play."
Forrest City Lady Mustangs
The Class AAAAA Mustangs defeated Wynne and North Pulaski for their two wins.
The Lady Mustangs are guard rich but do not have a true post player.
Instead, Jayroe has used a rotation of several players in search of a solid inside attack, including 5-10 Viveca Kimball, 5-6 Torrie Willis and 5-10 Teela Lee.
Forrest City's top threat is 5-6 senior guard Trina Wynne, who poured in 25 points in a victory over Wynne.
Other backcourt players who will likely see action are 5-2 senior Crystal Seawood, 5-7 junior Shari Rogers and 5-10 Nicole Parker.
Paragould Lady Rams
Looking to keep the Shootout trophy at home for the first time since 1999, the Lady Rams are coming off a runner-up finish in the Gerald Jennings Holiday Tournament at Armorel.
Last week, the Lady Rams won two straight games to improve their record to 4-1 before they struggled against top-seeded Riverside in the finals.
The Lady Rams want to be more than just a good host for the Shootout -- they want the title.
Jonesboro Lady Hurricane
Lady Hurricane coach Michelle Birdsong said she's looking forward to her team's annual trek to the McDonald's Classic, where the Lady Hurricane will try to improve on their 4-4 start.
The Lady Hurricane, who lost their top three leading scorers to graduation, got off to a slow start this season but have shown improvement in the past few outings, according to Birdsong.
Due to sickness and the team's youthfulness, Byrd has used several different lineups in the young season but said "some people have stepped up lately who are not our leading scorers."
Byrd is counting on Rachel Allison, a junior transfer from Nettleton and the Hurricane's No. 2 scorer and senior point guard Jackie Gilbert to provide most of JHS's scoring punch. Gilbert is leading the team with 13 points a game.
Senior forward Aquasha Anderson, is averaging 7 points a game.
CAC Lady Mustangs
The Lady Mustangs are making their first appearance in the Classic.
CAC is coming off a 27-6 season. Last year, the Lady Mustangs won their third straight 6AAA conference title and finished third in the Regional tournament before bowing out of the state tournament.
The Lady Mustangs return a good nucleus and are led by 5-7 forward Alicia Parker, the only senior on the team. Sophomore guard Amanda Morris, who was the team's second leading scorer last year and 5-8 junior forward Allison McDouga are also back.
Freshman post Whitney Zachriason (6-1) has scored 19 and 16 points in her first two games.
CAC has opened the season 6-2, including wins over Hot Springs and Benton. The Lady Mustangs lost in the finals of their own tournament to Cabot 60-31.
Pocahontas Lady Redskins
Despite returning their top six players from last year the Lady Redskins bring a losing 3-4 mark into the Classic.
The Lady Redskins have suffered losses to Rivercrest, Valley View, Marmaduke and Harding Academy.
Pocahontas uses a strong post game, spearheaded by 6-0 Lauren Wise and 6-2 Laura Throesch with assists from DeeDee Barre, Ashley Waller, Brittney DeClerk and Tiffany Cole.
The Lady Redskins have a rematch with Valley View in tonight's 8:30 p.m. game.
Greene County Tech
Experience, depth and a balanced offense have been the major factors in the Lady Eagles' season-opening six-game winning streak.
As expected, GCT's four returning seniors -- Rachel Rowe, Ali Diggs, Stephanie Williams and Ashley Ricker -- have combined to key Tech's promising start, with each player averaging around 10 points through the first five games. Junior post Lindsey Newberry, who's back from season-ending knee surgery, juniors Brooke Eason and Chelle Morgan and sophomore Carrie Landers have come off the bench to bolster the defending AAAA-East champs' attack.
Tech coach Ted Cunningham said the Lady Eagles are shooting the ball better from beyond 3-point arc and have bumped up their team scoring average from a year ago.
"Record-wise, we've been real pleased," Cunningham said. "We've still got some areas we need to improve on. Overall, we played some pretty good basketball. We need to play better defense, not that we played defense badly, we just have been giving up too many easy baskets -- on some occasions. I know we can play better defense."
Cunningham predicted a tough battle with CAC tonight. "We know they have a good post player and some good guards. I'm looking for it to be a good first-round matchup. They're pretty good. They're fundamentally sound and they're athletic."
GCT's four returning seniors --Rachel Rowe, Ali Diggs, Stephanie Williams and Ashley Ricker -- have combined to key Tech's fast start, with each player averaging around 10 points through the first five games.
Junior post Lindsey Newberry is back from season-ending knee surgery and juniors Brooke Eason and Chelle Morgan and sophomore Carrie Landers have come off the bench to bolster the defending AAAA-East champs' attack.
The Lady Eagles are shooting the ball very well from beyond 3-point arc.
Poplar Bluff (Mo.) Lady Mules
The Lady Mules come into the Shootout looking to keep their perfect 4-0 record intact.
They will use a strong eight-player rotation and good solid fundamental basketball in hopes of adding to their list of accomplishments in this year's tournament.
Poplar Bluff is led by 5-7 Tiarra Johnson and 6-1 Francis Kalich. They are the top two scorers on the team.
Poplar Bluff squares off against Forrest City in the tournament's opening round.
Valley View Lady Blazers
The Lady Blazers (10-0) bring the best record into the Classic, but that doesn't necessarily make them the tournament favorite.
One reason the Lady Blazers are perfect through the first 10 games is the play of senior center Jill Shrable, a returning starter who's averaging 14 points a game. Shrable has recorded six double-doubles this season.
Shrable gets help from forward/post Chasni Lands, forward Stephanie Whitmore, shooting guard Brittinie Lloyd and senior point guard Casey Honeycutt, a transfer from Crowley's Ridge Academy.
The Lady Blazers will open against Pocahontas, a team Valley View beat 50-37 earlier this season.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Calvary Christian School used as 28-point performance by Jason Cantrell Tuesday to defeat Pathway Christian Academy 74-55. Kyle Smith added 22 points for the Eagles while Luke Myers added 12.
On Monday, the varsity Eagles held on in overtime to clip Thrifthaven 64-63, with 27 points from Jason Cantrell. Adam Hillis drained three, three-pointers for the Eagles.
Luke Myers and Trey Baldwin added 10 points each in the victory.
The Eagles will play their third game in four days tonight when they take on the Cross County Thunderbirds at the Thunderbird Invitational Tournament.
The two teams will tip at 5:15 at T-Bird Gym. Parkin and Palestine-Wheatley will tip at 7:45 p.m.
The Calvary Christian Lady Eagles picked up a 35-31 win over the Pathway Lady Warriors in their second outing of the season.
Hannah McMahand led Calvary with 17 points while Katie McNair and Elizabeth Ragsdale finished with six points each.
The Lady Eagles forfeited their opening game at the Thunderbird Invitational on Monday, which allowed the Cross County Lady Thunderbirds to advance.
The tournament continues tonight with the Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots going against McCrory at 6:30 p.m.
The elementary CCS girls lost in overtime 22-20 to Thrifthaven of Memphis.
Thrifthaven scored 18 of their 22 points in the fourth period. Kristin Heard scored 10 points to lead Calvary. The elementary Eagles defeated Thrifthaven 35-20 with 19 points from Seth Smith.