By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Time was when the Cabot Lady Panthers dominated Forrest City's Lady Mustangs on thre basketball floor.
To say the conference games weren't close would be an understatement of massive proportions.
From the 1996-97 season until the 2000-01 season, the Cabot girls won eight straight games against Forrest City and outscored the Lady Mustangs 507-to-289 a difference of 218 points and an average per game winning spread of 27 points.
As they say, that was then.
Since Sue Jayroe took over the girls program at the start of the 2000-01 season, the Lady Mustangs have closed the gap in the annual conference series against Cabot.
Jayroe's previous three Lady Mustang teams have split with the Lady Panthers each year and are 3-3 in six meetings.
Forrest City has beaten the Lady Panthers twice on Cabot's home floor and once at Mustang Arena. In the three Cabot victories, the Lady Mustangs have only been outscored 198-to-147 -- a difference of just 51 points.
Against Jayroe-coached teams, Cabot's three wins have been by only an average of 17 points per victory.
Still, going against Cabot is reason for concern, as Jayroe will quickly tell you.
When the two teams square off Friday for the AAAAA-East Conference opener, the Lady Panthers will do so under new coach Carla Crowder, lured away from Bryant, where she had built a girls' basketball dynasty.
The Cabot ladies are currently 10-1 and ranked second in class AAAAA behind the only team to beat them this year, Little Rock Parkview, in the finals of the Joe T. Robinson Classic before Christmas. Jayroe's Lady Mustangs are 4-9 for the year.
Still, the Lady Mustangs present an ever-present threat, even though this year's team may not be quite as strong as Jayroe's past three Lady Mustang teams have been. Especially the two which were led by Caronica Randle, who averaged a "double-double" against Cabot last year in three meetings, including the game-winner in the conference opener last year.
Randle is playing college ball at the University of Central Arkansas this year.
"Right now, we are trying to prepare for Cabot the best we can," Jayroe said. "I can's promise a win, but I can promise the Lady Mustangs will play hard."
Jayroe will go into Friday's game with some additional help, getting Kim Ursery eligible for the second half of the season. Ursery has not played since last season but could see some playing time off the bench against Cabot.
For the Lady Mustangs, getting the ball to fall is the biggest key to gaining another win.
The Lady Mustangs are averaging less than 40 percent from the field.
"We have to get our shots to start falling," Jayroe said. The Lady Mustangs have scored less than 40 points in four of their nine losses.
Cabot is led by junior post player Ashley Anderson, which gives Cabot the advantage in the paint since the Lady Mustangs do not have a true post player.
Cabot's outside threats are seniors Allie Gammill and Brittany Goings.
The Lady Mustangs are led by seniors Trina Wynne, Crystal Seawood and Teela Lee; juniors Shari Rogers, Torrie Willis, Sequoria Grady, Viveca Kimble, Nicole Parker and sophomore LaShundra Rogers.
Game time is set for 6 p.m.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
It may be too early to predict postseason play for the Cabot Panthers, but one thing Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton knows for sure is that this year's Panther team is "much improved."
Forrest City will host Cabot Friday in the AAAAA-East Conference opener for both teams.
A year ago, in the league opener against Cabot, the Mustangs caught fire from the opening tip and raced to a 21-2 lead before setting for a 21-point 58-37 victory.
This year's Cabot team doesn't have a lot of wins to reflect its improvement, but the improvement is there.
The Panthers recently lost two close games against quality opposition in the Red Devil Classic.
Cabot fell to Little Rock Central by 11 points before dropping an overtime loss to conference foe Searcy.
In both games, the Panthers played very well, executing their offense and hitting the open shots.
Forrest City, winners of six of their last seven games, bring an 8-4 record into the conference opener.
The Mustangs, led by several very athletic players, last played in the finals of the Seminole Classic tournament at Osceola, in which they defeated Osceola for the championship.
Unlike the Panthers (3-9) the Mustangs have had several postseason appearances under Lofton, while the Panthers are the only AAAAA-East boys' team that does not a postseason appearance under their belt in many, many seasons.
Under Lofton, the Mustangs have lost only twice in 14 meetings against Cabot -- a 68-57 loss during Lofton's first season (1996-97) and a 58-57 setback two years ago. Both Cabot victories came on the Panthers' home floor.
While the Mustangs will be the favorites going in, they won't be as heavily favored as last year.
Lofton and the Mustangs have already previewed this year's Panther squad, having watched them play during summer basketball camps.
The Mustangs are led by seniors Lorenzo Spearmon, Jon Foreman, Buck Braddock, Roy Parker and Maurice Lowe; juniors Taurus Moore, Sherman Allen, Chris Williams and sophomore Cameron Henderson.
Following Friday's opener against Cabot, the Mustangs will be on the road twice next week -- at West Memphis on Tuesday and at Searcy on Friday (Jan. 16).
Jacksonville and Searcy opened AAAAA-East Conference play Tuesday as the Red Devils downed the Searcy boys and the Lady Lions defeated the Jacksonville girls.
A full schedule of games is on tap Friday night.