By Andrew Cato,
ShowMe Times Sports

The Dexter Lady Bearcats put on a display of complete defensive dominance Thursday night (Feb. 3) at home. The Lady ‘Cats faced off against the Lady Hawks of Kelly, and held the Hawks scoreless for the first six and a half minutes of the first quarter.

Freshman Alison Jarrell opened the night for the Lady ‘Cats with a steal and a three-pointer in the opening minute of the game. Dexter jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, when Brittany Harris blocked a jumper from Kelly’s Kristen Powell at the 6:00 mark to keep the shutout effort going. Erika Cobb was able to connect from beyond the arc for the ‘Cats, pushing Dexter’s lead to 15-0. Harris stole the ball from Powell and dumped it to Cobb, allowing the Lady ‘Cat freshman to hit her second three of the night at the 1:40 mark.

Kristen Vetter scored put up Kelly’s first points of the evening, hitting an easy layup with 1:30 left in the opening quarter and ending an impressive 20-0 Dexter run. Hannah Noe connected from three-point land with 45 second left in the first, and Harris made her second steal of the night to prevent a Lady Hawk fast-break with 10 seconds on the clock. The Lady ‘Cats had a dominating 22 point lead at the end of the first.

Harris again stole the ball immediately after Kelly’s inbounds pass to open the second quarter, allowing Jarrell to hit her second three of the night on the ensuing possession. Powell made an easy layup at the 6:00 mark for the Lady Hawks, stopping another scoring spree (7-0 to open the frame) for the Bearcats. Cobb, Paige Patterson, and Mollie Whitehead all recorded steals in the quarter to help keep the Lady ‘Cats on top going into halftime, 37-7.

The third quarter was more of a defensive battle than the first half. Dexter’s defense continued to impress, with Jarrell recording her second steal of the night at the 6:40 mark. Kelly’s defense also stepped up in the frame, holding the Lady ‘Cats to only nine points in the frame, but Dexter still held a commanding 34 point lead after the third. Dexter was able to rotate in some of it sub’s during the fourth quarter, with Kendra Stevenson, Raezheem Miller, and Sarah Langely all seeing action in the frame. Harris had an opportunity for a three-point-play with 6:00 left in the game, but was unable to connect on the free-throw. The Lady Hawks were able to put up seven points in the frame - their highest total in any quarter of the contest, but Dexter came out on top with a 55-19 final score.

The Lady ‘Cats will next be in action on February 7, when they face Notre Dame at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.