Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Coming off of an 0-2 Thanksgiving weekend playing two very formidable opponents in St. Louis, the Lady Cats battled once again against the Cape Central Lady Tigers and earned a victory 76-61 pushing them into semifinal action of the inaugural SEMO Conference Girls Basketball Tournament.
The No. 8 seeded Lady Tigers gave everything they had in the opening round staying within just a few points through the first quarter and well into the second period before the Lady Cats stepped up and started knocking them down after the half gaining a 24 point lead before emptying the bench in the 4th quarter.
"We came out a little flat in the beginning," commented Dexter head girls varsity coach Chad Allen. "We got off to a very slow start. It is just a matter of us competing. They have to make up their minds that they want to win and get after it. We just talked to them in the locker room about that."
"I thought we were more active in the second half," continued Allen. "We got off to a good start in the 3rd quarter and made a good run. Then they got a few on us there at the end. Defensively we have got to match up better. We need to know who our shooters are and we have got to go cover."
Dexter (1-2) will face #4 Sikeston Lady Bulldogs (1-1) at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29th for a shot at the SEMO Conference Championship Game slated for Thursday.
Sophomore #35 Chaylea Mosby had an incredible game knocking down a trey in the first 45 seconds of the game on her way to a game-high 22 points.
senior #33 Harley Allen also scored double digits contributing 17 points. She hit a 3-pointer a minute later after Mosby for a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.
Sophomore #1 Maycie Martin added 10 points.
Abbie Reece and Yienvi Johnson answered with back-to-back shots for Cape Central narrowing the lead two in the first few minutes of the game, then added 4 more treys throughout the game. The Cape Central Tigers kept pace with the Bearcats until late in the second quarter. Mosby, Allen, and Hannah Thurmon went on 17-8 run and never looked back.
Junior forward #34 Abbie Reece finished the game with a team-high 17 points followed by junior guard #10 Corrie Reece with 15 points.
Final Score Cape Central 61, Dexter 76
Cape Central 10 15 13 23 - 61
Dexter 14 19 24 19 - 76
Cape Central (61) - Sydney Tollison 5, Corie Reece 16, Abbie Leimer 7, Abby Dumey 8, Yienvi Johnson 2, Abbie Reece 18, Yienvi Johnson 5. FG 16, FT 8/11, F 16. (3-pointers: Corrie Reece 4, Abby Dumey 2, Sydney Tollison 1. Fouled Out: Katherine Morton).
Dexter (76) - Maycie Martin 10, Rylee Allen 4, Natalie Sitze 6, Meghan Trout 1, Keirstan Keirsey 6, Madison Crockett 2, Cheyenne Mosby 2, Hannah Thurmon 6, Harley Allen 17, Chaylea Mosby 22. FG 14, FT 12/24, F 13 (3-pointers: Harley Allen 5, Chaylea Mosby 4, Keirstan Keirsey 2, Sitze 1. Fouled Out: None)
In other SEMO Conference action Sikeston beat Kennett 48-29, Jackson beat Poplar Bluff 48-35, and Notre Dame beat Saxony Lutheran 67-63.
Line-up for Tuesday, November 29th - 4:00 p.m. Cape Central vs Kennett, 5:30 p.m. Poplar Bluff vs Saxony Lutheran, 7:00 p.m. Dexter vs Sikeston, and 8:30 p.m. Jackson vs Notre Dame.
Pictures is #1 Maycie Martin about to shoot for the Lady Bearcats against Cape Central Tigers at the 2016 SEMO Conference Tournament.
