The Middle School Lady ‘Cats were in action again last night. With a packed house of Bearcat fans on hand, this game was a rematch of the finals of the Dexter Middle School tournament. The Lady ‘Cats were the champions defeating Jackson in tournament play by a score of 42-20.

The 8th grade game began as a defensive grind between the two teams. Dexter had a slow start offensively, an area that they normally stand out among their competition. End of the first quarter score was 6 to 3 in favor of the ‘Cats.

The Bearcats actually fell behind in the second quarter and with 13.8 seconds left in the half, Melanie McKuin hit a shot and was fouled. Unfortunately, the free throw was missed giving the ‘Cats a 14 to 13 halftime lead.

It was obvious that Coach Chad Allen instilled a little motivation as well as a new game plan for the second half as the 8th grade ladies pumped in four quick points within the first minute of the third quarter. From that point forward, the Bearcat offense continued to roll.

MaKayla Waldner was a complete thief during the 2nd half for the Lady ‘Cats, stealing the ball from the Jackson Indians and converting the turnovers into Bearcat points. She ended her scoring night with a team high of 11 points.

Ashlynn Werneck contributed four points on the night, but one key shot came at the end of the third quarter when she sank a two point basket at the buzzer. Additionally, Julia Hahn came off the bench for four key points in the contest.

The ‘Cats stretched the lead even further by out scoring the Indians 15 to 4 in the fourth quarter. One of the most unselfish teams you will witness, these Middle School girls run the floor like a High School team.

Dakota Reynolds continues to amaze the crowd. Though her point total was not as high, it’s only reflective of the overall passing scheme of this team. Dakota did have an incredible layoup in the first quarter, when she put a WNBA spin on the ball to the delight of the Bearcat fans.

Ironically, the final score of the game was within just a few points of the tournament victory the Bearcats handed Jackson during the recent tournament – Dexter Bearcats 40 and the Jackson Indians 19.

Unofficial scoring from the stands had McKuin with 9 rebounds, Keirsey and Werneck had 5 rebounds and Reynolds and Waldner had 4 each. In the petty theft category, Waldner led the team with 6 steals followed by four for McKuin and Reynolds, two for Keirsey and one for Tankersley.

The 7th Grade Lady Cats had another great game and defeated Jackson by a score of 23 to 16. Leading scorer for the 7th Grade was Harley Allen with 16 points. Sidney Rodgers added an additional 4-points while Mosby added 2-points and Wyman chipped in a free throw.

The Lady Bearcats will be in action again this coming Friday night against the Poplar Bluff Mules. The game will be held at the Bearcat Event Center with tip-off for the 7th grade game at 6 p.m and the 8th grade to follow.

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