Jackson girls basketball holds off Dexter to win SEMO Conference regular-season championship

Jackson players swarm the court as time expires after defeating Dexter 47-44 to win the SEMO Conference girls basketball championship Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, at Jackson High School.

Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian

The Jackson girls basketball team survived a pair of Chaylea Mosby 3-point tries in the closing seconds to beat Dexter 47-44 Monday night and win the SEMO Conference regular-season championship outright.

Madison Lambert gave the host Indians a 47-44 lead with a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in a game played at Jackson High School

Mosby got off a 3-pointer from the top of the key near the 10-second mark, rebounded her miss and attempted another from the right key that was off target, enabling Jackson (20-4) to finish 7-0 in conference play.

Dexter's Chaylea Mosby (35) looks for an opening while guarded by Jackson's Olivia Ward (10) during a game at Jackson Monday, Feb. 18, 2019.

Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian

The Bearcats (18-8) fell to 5-2 league play.

Jackson coach Tyler Abernathy said that he was holding his breath at the end.

“They got the shot that they wanted her to shoot,” Abernathy said. “I couldn’t believe it. That’s high school, though. Sometimes you can say all you want, then the ball goes out there. You really don’t know what’s going to happen. Fortunate for us, it came out our way.”

Abernathy said going undefeated in the conference is an impressive accomplishment,

“I think it’s a big deal,” Abernathy said. “I’ve always told them as long as I’ve been here, it’s one of the hardest things to win because our conference is really good. There (are) a lot of good teams in it. Every year, you’re going to have to play two or three of those teams at their place. So to be able to (win conference) is a great honor.”

The Indians broke open a close game in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of the period’s first 11 points to take a 42-35 lead. They grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the quarter and out-rebounded Dexter 10-4 in the period.

“They are so good on the glass. I think that’s something they don’t get a lot of credit for,” Abernathy said of Dexter. “They are so good on the glass and so physical. If you’re going to stay in the game and hold them off or stay in it, you’re going to have to rebound the basketball. I thought we did a good job not just on the defensive end but the offensive end (where) we were able to keep some balls alive and get some baskets.”

The Bearcats rallied from the perimeter with Natalie Sitze, Mosby and Maci McBride each hitting 3s.

“I thought for the most part offensively, we executed well,” Dexter coach Chad Allen said. “We had a lot of shots that were open. It’s just we didn’t knock them down. We finally hit a few of those. Natalie hit a couple and I think little Maci hit (one) to get us back in it back (in the second half) to where we had a chance to win the game.”

McBride’s 3-pointer tied the score at 44 with 2:15 to play.

Mosby finished scored a game-high 20 points but was the only Dexter player to score in double figures.

Alexis Allstun paced Jackson with 17 points, and Lambert finished with nine points on three 3s.

It was an even first half as the Indians made 53 percent (9 of 17) of their shots in the first two quarters, and Dexter shot a solid 47 percent (8 of 17). The teams combined for only five turnovers in the opening half, and each team grabbed nine rebounds.

The Bearcats shot out to a 5-0 lead behind a driving layup and a 3-pointer by Mosby. Allstun scored Jackson’s first basket before Martin sank a free throw for a 6-2 lead.

Allstun scored inside, and Jordyn McClellan made a 3-pointer following an offensive rebound on Allstun’s missed free throw.

McClellan’s 3 gave the Indians their first lead, 7-6. Mik Liley followed with two free throws for a 9-6 advantage and cap a 7-0 run.

Mosby came up with a steal and hit a 3-pointer to tie the score, but Liley scored on a driving layup for an 11-9 Jackson lead entering the second quarter.

The lead changed hands four times in the second. Rylee Allen’s long jumper put the Bearcats ahead 14-13. Lambert followed with a 3-pointer for a 16-14 Jackson lead. Martin scored on an inbounds play to put Dexter in front 21-19, but the Indians closed the half with a 5-0 run. McClellan gave Jackson a 22-21 lead and Kalli Mayfield scored on a post move to set the halftime score at 24-21.

Mosby opened the scoring in the second half with five free throws to give the took a 26-24 lead. Dexter led by as many as five points, 33-28, in the third quarter following a Sitze 3-pointer and a Maycie Martin basket off an inbounds pass.

However, the Indians tied the score three times, including 33-all at the end of the quarter on a 3-pointer by Piper Guilliams and a basket inside by Allstun.

The Bearcats were able to build a lead in the third because Jackson committed six turnovers in the quarter.

“I thought we were flat-footed at times, especially the first half,” Allen said. “We really tried to push the tempo a little bit. I thought we did that for the most part, coming out in the third quarter.”

Those third-quarter troubles were quickly forgotten in the fourth as the Indians jumped out to that seven-point lead and held on for the win, and the championship.

DEXTER (18-8) — Martin 3(0) 1-2 7. Allen 2(1) 0-0 5. Sitze 2(2) 0-0 6. Keirsey 1(1) 0-0 3. Mosby 6(3) 5-5 20. Asberry 0. McBride 1(1) 0-0 3. Pullen 0, Totals 15(8) 6-7 44.

JACKSON (20-4) — McClellan 2(2) 0-0 6. Lambert 3(3) 0-0 9. Mayfield 2(0) 2-2 6. Allstun 8(0) 1-2 17, Liley 2(0) 2-4 6, Ward 0, Guilliams 1(1) 0-0 3. Hermann 0. Totals 18(6) 5-8 47.