Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Though it might be difficult to look past last weekend’s loss to Incarnate Word, these four seniors end their high school basketball careers with a winning legacy, which includes four consecutive District Championship Titles, back-to-back trips to the ShowMe Showdown in Columbia with a 4th place finish in 2013 and a 2nd place finish in 2014 – a body of work no sports team in the school’s history has matched.
All four, who have been playing basketball together since grade school use their friendship off the court to create chemistry on the court and create magical wins.
Each of the four seniors hit their 1,000th career point in 2014. They are a team, but they helped each other accomplish their personal goals on the court. Each of the four have earned so many accolades and awards over the years, but winning four straight District Championship Titles, hitting 1,000 career points, and going to Columbia placing 2nd in the state of Missouri are probably high on their list of accomplishments. No other group of girls has ever accomplished so much in four years at Dexter.Basketball may be over, but these girls are still going to be busy getting ready for their next phase of life - college! Each has decided to play basketball and each girl will make Dexter very proud! Once a Bearcat always a Bearcat!!
Shown in the photo are the four seniors, Alison Jarrell, Paige Patterson, Hannah Noe, and Erika Cobb each holding a District Championship plaque for the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. In the middle Paige and Hannah are holding the two State plaques, 4th and 2nd place.
Team record 27-4.
Alison Jarrell participated in cross country her freshman year, tennis her sophomore and junior years and basketball all four years. Alison is a member of FCA, Future Business Leaders of America and the Dexter Honor Society. Alison will be attending Evangel University in Springfield to play basketball. Alison plans to major in Athletic Training. She is the daughter of Dennis and Paula Jarrell.
Paige Patterson participated in volleyball her freshman and junior years, tennis her sophomore year and basketball all four years. She is a member of FCA, FCCLA, Future Teachers of America, DHS Pep Club, Student Council and the Dexter Honor Society. Paige plans to attend Evangel University as well in Springfield and major in Elementary Education and Sports Management. She is the daughter of Ronnie and Judy Patterson.
Hannah Noe participated in track during her freshman year, volleyball her freshman, sophomore and juniors years and basketball all four years. She is a member of FCA, USAV volleyball, Future Teachers of America and the Dexter Honor Society. Hannah plans to attend Southeast Missouri State University and play basketball majoring in nursing. She is the daughter of Jonas and Jo Carolyn Noe.
Erica Cobb participated in volleyball her freshman and sophomore years; however her love of basketball had her playing all four years. She is a member of the Future Teachers of America, FCA, and the Dexter Honor Society. She plans to attend Three Rivers College and play basketball. Erica also plans to major in Physical Education. She is the daughter of Lonnie and Ginger Cobb.
For coach Chad Allen it's been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have four seniors accomplish so much in four years. We wish each senior best of luck in their future endeavors and we can't wait to see them on the court next year playing college ball! Congratulations!!! One Team One Dream!!
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter, Missouri – The Dexter High School Track Team will have their first meet on Tuesday, March 25th in Cape Girardeau at 4:00 p.m.
“Last year we had a pretty successful year, I felt,” commented Dexter Coach Greg Lummukka. “MaKayla Waldner competed at state in the hurdling events and we had a relay team that had a good showing at state. Two out of those four girls are back and we have got some girls who are going to compete for the other two spots on the relay team. I really expect us to continue to improve as the season goes on and maybe challenge in the district or region.”
Dexter competes in Class 3, District 1 against local teams such as Notre Dame, Perryville, Sikeston, Ste. Genevieve, Kennett, and Fredericktown.
The Dexter High School Track Team opens its season at Cape Central on Tuesday, March 25th at 4 p.m. They will not be at home until April 24th.
“Everything has to do with showing up for practice, paying attention, working hard and being involved,” stated Coach Lummukka. “I am hoping as we move forward we have some really good practices and good competition. We want to rise to the occasion. I think in general it’s a young team and it’s kind of fun to work with some kids that are new to the sport. It will be an exciting year to see how they develop."
The DHS Track Team members are Hailey Anderson, Weston Avery, Abigail Bates, Dustin Bates, Dylan Bazarian, Drake Bennett, Shayna Bess, Houston Burnett, Bailey Caldwell, Shania Case, Cameron Craft, Chandler Crowley, Matney Davis, Carly Dean, Dustin Fowler, Brittany Gibson, Marcus Gilliam, Julia Hahn, Hunter Hayes, Peyton Holcomb, Cory Holland, Dakota Holt, Taylor Ivy, Karaline Keirsey, Jaclyn Kiger, Joshua Ladd, Trevor Link, Tesa Martin, Corey Martinez, Alexis May, Madison McConnell, Melanie McKuin, Austin Mitchell, Cheyenne Mosby, Emily Page, Caroline Powers, Dakota Reynolds, Dalton Rickel, Logan Sandage, Kaitlyn Seiter, Matt Sims, Alexis Smith, Dakota Southerland, MaKayla Waldner, Mollie Whitehead, Trenten Williams, and Kelsi Wood.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
“We are excited about the season,” stated Dexter softball coach Chris Bolin. “It is our first season to have a district. That changes the whole perplexity of the season. So we have been kind of preparing for that.”
Dexter will have three seniors, Kendra Stevenson, Ashley Brown, and Brittany Bryant along with two juniors, Diana Gilliam, and Dakota Silliman.
“I think offensively we will be a pretty solid team,” Bolin added. “Defensively, we have got a lot of young girls. I could potentially be starting three or four freshmen. Getting those girls game-ready will be an issue, but I think offensively we will be very good. The key right now is just trying to get pitching lined up.”
Riley Rickman, a key pitcher for the Lady Bearcats, was recently diagnosed with leukemia. She has spent the last month in the hospital undergoing treatment.
“Riley Rickman is a senior this year and was going to be a huge part of our team. It’s a hard void to fill because she was a phenomenal softball player that was probably going to pitch a majority of our games.”
Home opener will be on Thursday against Advance. Game time 4:30 p.m.
With all the crazy wintry weather the girls have not had a lot of outside practices, especially outdoors. “We’ve had about two weeks of practice,” Bolin continued. “We are trying to deal with the weather situation and get practices in.”
Dexter will compete against top competitors this year in the Stoddard County area. Teams such as Bloomfield, Bernie, Woodland, Bell City, Advance, and Puxico will compete in the SCAA Tournament in Puxico on April 21st and 22nd.
“The County is always competitive,” Bolin said. “Bernie won it last year and graduated two or three really good players, but they are returning a very good group. I think Advance will be a tough team to beat as well. They have a pitcher that is above average so they will be tough. I think it’s wide open and because all the county teams are involved in the District, it changes how we approach the county tournament.”
On April 5th, Dexter will host the Swing Pink Tournament, a local fundraiser for 18Forelife and others who have battled cancer locally. Sixteen teams are expected to compete.
“This is our third year doing it and I don’t know of all the tournaments that go on in the spring, but I am going to assume this is probably one of the largest tournaments in Southeast Missouri,” continued Bolin. “Everything we do goes to 18Forelife and the girls are always real excited.”
The 2014 Team Members are: McKenzie Anthony, Ashley Brown, Brittany Brown, Brittany Bryant, Kaylee Carey, Kirsten Durrow, Cidney Gathings, Diana Gilliam, Reagan Miller, Emily Mouser, Morgan Ross, Halley Sielert, Dakota Silliman, Olivia Sitzes, Amber Spence, Riley Rickman, Kendra Stevenson, and Alexis Tankersley. Asst. Coach Leonard Morse.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter varsity girls basketball program has had their best season in the school’s history and was only one win away of becoming the first state champions. The Dexter community is extremely proud of them and no matter what the final score they are winners in our hearts and memories forever. We love our Lady Bearcats!
“Overall, I am proud of our girls,” stated Dexter’s head coach Chad Allen. “They fought hard all game long and we definitely gave Incarnate all they wanted. Last year we played scared and today we didn’t play scared. We got after them on both sides of the ball, both offensively and defensively.”The Bearcats only lead in the game was in the first minute when they were up 2 – 0. Incarnate answered with a 13 point run, but Dexter answered back with three treys of their own. Alison Jarrell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to rally the Bearcats at the end of the first quarter. Hannah Noe answered with one as well. Incarnate Word lead by only 4 points going into the second period.
“I owe all the guards that play around me,” stated Alison Jarrell. “I can’t get the ball without them passing it and getting me good looks.” Jarrell hit a total of three treys for Dexter during the game.
Bearcat fans spent a lot of time on their feet cheering for the Lady ‘Cats. There were a few tense moments when a girl would fall or go sliding across the court for the ball. Both teams were very aggressive with getting the ball and getting down court to their respective goals. By half-time Dexter was only down by 8 points, it was still anyone’s game. The crowd gave the girls a standing ovation as they left the court at half-time.
“The first half I felt like we gave up a few too many offensive rebounds and the second half we missed a few shots we normally make,” continued Allen. “If we had done those two things it definitely would have been a lot closer and we would definitely made a good game out of it.”
Hannah Noe #10 tallied a team-high 16 points for the Lady Bearcats including three treys. She has had an awesome year being the first of four Lady ‘Cats to hit their 1,000th career point. She earned that prestigious honor against the Kennett Indians back in January of this year. As a senior, knowing it was her last high school game, emotions were high and at the end she showed her fellow teammates the true spirit of the game, giving hugs and shedding tears on the court.
Alison Jarrell #12 finished the game with a total of three 3-pointers totaling nine points. A senior and the second player of the four who earned their spot in the Dexter hall of fame hit her 1,000th career point against the Kennett Indians. The same game as Noe. She plans to attend Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri and play for the Lady Crusaders Basketball Team. Erika Cobb, also a senior, added 4 points to the board. She became the third Lady ‘Cat to hit her 1,000th career point this year against the Jackson Indians. After graduation from high school, Erika will be joining the Three Rivers Lady Raiders in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
“I didn’t feel like we were scared at all,” commented Erika. “We came out there and played as hard as we possible could.”
Senior Paige Patterson #22 shot 50% from the floor and recorded 10 points. She too had an awesome year hitting her 1,000th career point during a District play-off game against the Kennett Indians. She also plans to attend Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri and play for the Lady Crusaders Basketball Team.
"Coming into this game I really thought it definitely helped being here last year," Allen said. "I thought our semifinal game was the best game we've played all year offensively and defensively. To get here to the championship game and get the monkey off our back of getting fourth place is huge. Our girls didn't play scared, got after it and I'm proud of them."
Dexter completes their season with an impressive 27 – 4 record. Hannah Noe, Alison Jarrell, Erika Cobb and Paige Patterson will graduate this year and they will be missed on the court. Good luck and we hope to watch your college games next season!! Once a Bearcat always a Bearcat!!!
As for the rest of the Lady 'Cats we will see you on the court next year for some great Bearcat Basketball!! It's been an awesome year and we are so proud of each and every one of you. One Team One Dream says it all!!
Final Score Incarnate Word 60 Dexter 43
Dexter 13 7 10 13 - 43
Incarnate Word 17 11 15 17 - 60
Dexter (43) - Hannah Noe 16, Paige Patterson 10, Alison Jarrell 9, Erika Cobb 4, MaKayla Waldner 2, Melanie McKuin 2 FG 16, FT 5/6, F 16 (3-pointers: Alison Jarrell 3, Hannah Noe 3. Fouled Out: none)
Incarnate Word (60) - Napheesa Collier 33, Nakiah Bell 9, Abbey Huff 6, Gwen Adams 12 FG 22, FT 13/17, F 10 (3-pointers: Nakiah Bell 3. Fouled Out: none)
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Columbia, Missouri – One Team One Dream! The Lady ‘Cats made history today as they won their first Class 4 state semifinal game against the Benton Lady Cardinals by a score of 54 – 21. Saturday, they will again make history by being Dexter’s first varsity girls basketball team to play in a state championship.
The Bearcat had a nearly perfect game shooting 57% from the field. Offensively they executed well. They scored 17 points in each of the first two quarters. Defensively they could not have asked for a better show holding Benton to just 9 points in the first half.
“Overall, I thought defensively we played one of our best games of the year,” commented Dexter’s head coach Chad Allen during the after game interview. “Coming in tonight we knew we wanted to put a lot of pressure on them. They have a great point guard and a great shooter. I just thought we did a good job with our game plan trying to take those two away and put a lot of pressure on them”
Benton never lead during the game, the closest was early in the first quarter when Dexter lead 6 – 5. The Lady ‘Cats gave a tremendous effort hitting 21 of the 37 attempts making for some spectacular basketball.
“Today was one of the first days we executed all of our sets,” Allen stated. “We got a lot of good looks off of them. When you are hitting shots it makes you look a whole lot better.”
“It feels good to come out here after leaving last year with fourth knowing that we are one step closer to going home with a state title,” commented Hannah Noe at the after game interview. Noe, who earlier in the year hit her 1,000th career point, will graduate in May. She tallied the game-high 18 points including one trey. She shot 6 of 12 from the field and was 100% at the charity stripe hitting all 5 of her free throws.
Senior Paige Patterson #22, who also recorded her 1,000th career point, scored 16 points for the Bearcats. 
Big 3-pointer Alison Jarrell #12 hit three treys recording 9 points for the Bearcats. She is also a senior and recorded her 1,000th career point during regular season play.
The final senior on the team, Erika Cobb #15 who also scored 1,000 points of her career this year added seven more points and 8 rebounds to help the Lady ‘Cats defeat the Cardinals.
Sophomores MaKayla Waldner and Melanie McKuin each added 2 points.
“We’ve definitely got some good offensive players,” Allen said. “All seven players we throw out there can score.”
When Coach Allen put in his freshman and junior varsity squad and brought the four seniors and one sophomore off the court, they received a standing ovation from the crowd. They knew then that they were about to be in the state title game and couldn't be more excited!
Final Score Dexter 54 Benton 21
Dexter 17 17 13 12 - 54
Benton 5 4 9 3 - 21
Dexter (54) - Hannah Noe 18, Alison Jarrell 9, Erika Cobb 7, Paige Patterson 16, MaKayla Waldner 2, Melanie McKuin 2. FG 21, FT 4/7, F 14. (3-pointers: Hanna Noe 1, Alison Jarrell 3. Fouled Out: none)
Benton (21) - Mallory McAndrews 3, Daejah Bernard 5, Elizabeth Mollett 4, Morgan Domann 9. FG 7, FT 6/10, F 10. (3-pointers: Mallory McAndrews 1. Fouled Out: none)
Dexter will play Incarnate Word for the Class 4 State Title on Saturday at 6:20 p.m. in the Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri. Incarnate Word is the defending state champion with a record of 29 – 1 this season.
This will be the first time in Dexter Senior High School history that the girls basketball team has earned a place in the state title game.
"It feels good to get the monkey off our back," Allen commented. "It's great getting to this game, but we are not satisfied. Last year we were just in awe of Incarnate. This year we know we can play with them. We will definitely look at some film tonight and get prepared for them. We've got a short time to prepare for them, but we'll give them all that we can."
“They are a really good team,” commented Paige Patterson. “We were scared of them last year. I was scared of them, but this year we are going to come out and play to beat them.”
Incarnate Word can be beat.
Dexter can stop them!
Our ‘Cats are strong and have more heart than any other team out on that floor!!
We will be victorious!
We are winners!
We will make history!
Let’s Go Bearcats!!!
