Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Cape Girardeau, Missouri – The Dexter Lady ‘Cats easily defeated the Kennett Lady Indians, but the real excitement of the night was Paige Patterson reaching her 1,000th career point.
Patterson knew coming into the game that she could acheive the same milestone that three of her classmates had reached earlier in the season. She got her chance in the third quarter when she went to the charity stripe.
“I was kind of nervous,” stated Patterson, “But I knew I had to step up and knock it down.” As the ball sank, cheers from Bearcat fans were heard throughout the gym! Because of District play, the announcer was unable to note her accomplishment.
“It was a team effort,” commented Patterson. “We didn’t do it by ourselves. We all helped each other reach our goals.”
“She was definitely excited about it,” Dexter head coach Chad Allen commented. “She has been working hard. That 1,000th point was definitely a goal of hers and it was big for her, especially since she had three teammates already get to 1,000. It’s good to get it over with so we can get focused on the District championship game.”
Patterson was the fourth Bearcat to reach her 1,000th point this season. Seniors Hannah Noe and Alison Jarrell both reached their goal in the same game against the Kennett Indians back in regular season play in January. Erika Cobb, also a senior, reached her 1,000th point against the Jackson Indians in February.
The Bearcats overpowered the Indians early in the first quarter. Paige Patterson scored first and by the end of the first quarter it was 24 – 5.
“Defensively, I thought we were really active, got after them in the full court, put a lot of pressure on them and created a lot of turnovers,” continued Allen. ‘ We did a great job of matching up, to only in the full court, but also in the half court.”
Dexter’s defense was really good. They held Kennett to only one field goal in the second and third quarters giving the Bearcats quite the lead at half 53 – 7. By the end of the third quarter it was a 68 – 9.
Hannah Noe scored a game-high 21 points.
Alison Jarrell tallied 15 points including one trey. She was also 100% at the charity stripe hitting 4 free throws.
Paige Patterson hit 14 points including her 1,000th career point with an awesome free throw.
MaKayla Waldner hit one 3-pointer.
For the fourth straight year it will be a Dexter-Notre Dame Class 4, District 1, Championship game on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. at the Cape Central High School.
“We’ve been preparing,” stated Patterson. “We are ready. We’ve been playing a lot of defense. Defense wins championships, so we have been working on that as a team. We are going to have to play our ‘A’ game.”
“Notre Dame is always tough,” according to Coach Allen. “They have got eight seniors. I know they are hungry and so are we. It’s going to be a tough game.”
Good luck to tonight! Go Bearcats! One Team One Dream!
Final Score Dexter 75 Kennett 17
Kennett 5 2 2 8 - 17
Dexter 24 29 15 7 - 75
Kennett (17) - Khadijah Whitfield 3, Shondrea Wynne 4, Hadley Hilburn 2, Heidi Shetley 8. FG 7, FT 5/10, F 13. (3-pointers: none. Fouled Out: none)
Dexter (75) - Dakota Reynolds 7, Hannah Noe 21, Melanie McKuin 4, Alison Jarrell 15, Erika Cobb 6, Paige Patterson 14, MaKayla Waldner 4, Cheyenne Mosby 2, Olivia Sitzes 2. FG 29, FT 15/20, F 12. (3-pointers: Alison Jarrell 1, MaKayla Waldner 1. Fouled Out: none)
