Hillsboro, Missouri - The Lady Bearcats of Dexter have earned another trip to the Show Me Showdown Final Four in Columbia with a 81-63 victory on Saturday in the MSHSAA quarterfinal at Jefferson College.
The Lady Cats exploded in the second quarter scoring 28 points and going into the locker room at the half with a comfortable 47 - 30 lead.
"I thought we played exactly the way we wanted to play in the second quarter," stated Dexter girls basketball coach Chad Allen. He was referring to the full-court pressure by his team that shut down Lutheran South's ability to score. "We really got after it, caused a lot of turnovers, and scored a lot off those turnovers. That was just the biggest difference in the game."
Dexter (22-8) will advance to the Final Four for the third time in five seasons. They play St. Pius X-Kansas City (25-3) in the state semifinals on Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 6:50 p.m. at the Mizzou Arena. Tickets are $9.00 each.
Dexter sophomore Chaylea Mosby scored a team-high 34 points and hit four treys against the Lancers.
Krysten Garrison tallied 20 points including two treys and Natalie Sitze recorded 13 points for the Bearcats also with two 3-pointers.
"Chaylea has just been solid all year," commented Allen. "She is just a tremendous player offensively and defensively and so well-rounded and just makes things happen."
Lutheran South's Member-Meneh scored a game-high 37 points. She also broke the school's all-time scoring record according to the announcer.
"Our game plan was to definitely make her go left," stated Allen. "She is so explosive and when she gets to that right hand, it is almost impossible to stop her. We knew Leketor was going to score, but we wanted to limit her."
Lutheran South narrowed Dexter's lead to just one point with 14 seconds into the second period before the Lady Cats started their run and never looked back advancing to the state semifinal for the first time since the 2014 season.
"I am just excited for these girls and they have worked hard all year. We've had a lot of adversity this year with injuries and sickness and people coming back from surgery," Allen said. "It has been a trying time throughout the year, but the girls pulled it together here late and now we are on a roll."
Final Score Dexter 81, Lutheran South 63
Lutheran South 16 14 21 12 - 63
Dexter 19 28 19 15 - 81
Lutheran South (63) - Member-Meneh 37, Katie Brown 12, Abigail Howard 2, Peyton Anderson 5, Natalie Lawson 7, FG 25, F 18, FT 12/23. (3-pointers: Anderson 1, Fouled Out: None).
Dexter (81) - Macie Martin 4, Natalie Sitze 13, Cheyenne Mosby 2, Hannah Thurmon 8, Krysten Garrison 20, Chaylea Mosby 34, FG 28, FT 17/22, F 17. (3-pointers: Sitze 2, Garrison 2, Chaylea Mosby 4, Fouled Out: None)
