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Dexter girls basketball topples Cape Central in conference tourney opener
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The first week of the season has not been kind to the Dexter girls basketball team.
After losing last year's leading scorer, Krysten Garrison, for four months due to an injury and taking two 30-point drubbings in a tournament over the Thanksgiving break, the Bearcats had to endure 12 more minutes of tough luck against a pesky Cape Central team.
The No. 8 Tigers gave top-seeded Dexter everything they had in the opening round of the inaugural SEMO Conference Tournament, staying within five points through the first quarter and well into the second. The Lady Bearcats only rested easy after a late first-half run sent them into the semifinals with a 76-61 victory Monday at Poplar Bluff High School.
Dexter (1-2) will face No. 4 Sikeston (1-1) for a spot in the final at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"We definitely played some tough competition this weekend, and coming into this game, you would think that we'd be pretty aggressive and ready to go. But we came out flat," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "We didn't guard well. We didn't compete, and hats off to Cape Central because they tested us.
"If we want to be successful this year, we're going to have to be competitive from the first whistle."
Chaylea Mosby couldn't have asked for a better start, knocking down a 3-pointer a minute into the game on her way to a game-high 22 points. Harley Allen was close behind with 17 points and followed with another trey two minutes later for a 6-0 lead. But the Tigers had answers.
Yienvi Johnson and Abbie Reece hit back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Dexter went up by as many as five on Mosby's back-to-back layups to make it 11-6. Reece added a pair of free throws and a layup off a rebound to pull the gap back down to one before Natalie Sitze's 3-pointer made it a two-possession game in favor of Dexter.
"We felt pretty confident. Our goal was to just play hard and get better," Central coach Lance Tollison said. "It's a new system to them, so it's going to take some getting used to. But I can't say anything bad about the effort."
Dexter and Central traded the next eight points until Harley Allen's second 3 of the night sent the Lady Bearcats on a 15-9 spurt for a 32-25 halftime lead.
"I thought we wore them down a little bit, and our press started getting to them," Chad Allen said. "They had a few turnovers, and we scored off the turnovers. So that kind of attributed to the run."
Mosby had six points during that stretch to lead Dexter, and she opened the second half with her third 3-pointer of the game. Corrie Reece matched it 37 seconds later and added a layup, but that was as close as the Tigers got.
Mosby, Allen and Hannah Thurman each scored on consecutive possessions to start a 17-8 run led by Mosby's five points during that stretch.
"She's just a great player, and on both ends of the floor, she's the one that's most active," Allen said. "We're trying to really get the other girls to match her intensity and play with as much heart. Hopefully she'll rub off on the others."
Abbie Reece scored 18 points to pace the Tigers, and Corrie Reece added 16. But it wasn't enough against Dexter's second-half press.
"Their pressure was something we knew we'd have to adjust to, and we never quite got there," Tollison said. "Still really proud of the effort they put forward. Now we need to translate that into four quarters."
| Central | 10 | 15 | 13 | 23 | -- | 61 |
| Dexter | 14 | 19 | 24 | 19 | -- | 76 |
CAPE CENTRAL (61) -- Sydney Tollison 5, Corie Reece 16, Abbie Leimer 7, Abby Dumey 8, Yienvi Johnson 2, Abbie Reece 18, U-Euni Johnson 5. FG 16, FT 8-11, F 16 (3-pointers: C. Reece 4, Dumey 2, Tollison. Fouled out: Katherine Morton.)
DEXTER (76) -- Maycie Martin 10, Rylee Allen 4, Natalie Sitze 6, Meghan Trout 1, Keirstan Keirsey 6, Madison Crockett 2, Cheyenne Mosby 2, Hannah Thurman 6, Harley Allen 17, Chaylea Mosby 22. FG 14, FT 12-24, F 13 (3-pointers: H. Allen 5, Cha. Mosby 4, Keirsey 2, Sitze 1. Fouled out: None.)