RRMR Warriors split wild weekend

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL: NORTHWOOD-KENSETT 54, RRMR 47 (FRIDAY) | RRMR 47, AGWSR 40

RRMR Warriors split wild weekend

The RRMR girls basketball team came away with a split weekend, going 1-1 against conference foe Northwood-Kensett on Friday and a non-conference victory against the AGWSR Saturday evening. After trailing for much of the game Saturday, a late fourth quarter surge and timely free throw shooting put the contest away for RRMR, notching a final tally of 47-40. The Lady Warriors got off to a rather quick start in the first quarter. After giving up the game’s first basket the girls sprinted ahead to a 16-10 lead off of scores from junior guards Sarah Parcher and Emma Staudt. The Cougars fought back in the next quarter, capitalizing on several turnover opportunities on their way to a 24-22 halftime lead.

Head coach Blake Hansen was pleased with his team after the win, but acknowledged that his squad still has some things to work on going forward.

“We did not take care of the ball near well enough in the first half,” Hansen said. “We just gutted it out in the fourth and the free throws put it away. We’ve got a lot to work on offensively. We’ve got a lot of games coming up, so we’ve got to get things dialed in real quick.”

Despite his team’s offensive struggles most of the game, Hansen did praise the Warriors’ defensive effort, as well as the all-around strong performance given by McGregor.

“Madison McGregor had a great game today and Mackenzie Rooney had a great game playing defense for us today,” Hansen said.

Parcher recorded two more steals in the fourth quarter, and after scoring again at about the 2:30-to-go mark to make the score 43-38, the Cougars would quickly resort to committing personal fouls in order to extend the game. But the Warriors would sink enough of their attempts from the foul line to hold onto the win, posting a final score of 47-40 to move to 3-1 on the season.

Leading the scoring for the Warriors was Madison McGregor, who amassed 22 points and made 10 of her 14 attempted shots on the night, while also sinking two of her four free-throw attempts.

McGregor also recorded a team high four assists. Alyssa Staudt lead her team in rebounding with six total boards, followed closely by Marth with four total rebounds, two each on offense and defense. Staudt, McGregor and Parcher all recorded three steals each on the night.

An overtime loss Friday night marked the first conference loss for the Warriors. A fourth quarter comeback forced extra time in Rockford. But the Vikings were able to come away with a 54-47 victory Sarah Parcher, who missed two free throws in the waning seconds to tie the game at 41-41, stole the ball at halfcourt and made the tying layup with less than a minute to play.

The Warriors next contest is on Dec. 15 at 6:15 p.m. against Newman Catholic, who are coming off a 54-44 road win over West Fork and hold a record of 3-3.

By Andrew Larson and Stephen Koenigsfeld sports@charlescitypress.com