Written by
Jessica Snider, SMT Writer
Dexter, MO- Friday night was a big night for the Senior Bearcats in the Bearcat Event Center. The seniors from the dance team, cheerleading team, and boy's basketball team were announced prior to the start of the Varsity game.
Although Friday night was a time to honor the Bearcat seniors, the Dexter team came up a little short in the game against Scott City.
To start things off, Coach Rob Nichols started the five seniors, including Chase Young who suffered from an injury earlier in the year. After the tip off, Young came out of the game and received a well-deserved standing ovation.
With the crowd fired up, and the Bearcats ready to go, the game quickly got underway.
It was hard to tell which side the most momentum was coming from as both teams were going towards the goal in hopes to get on the scoreboard.
All night long the Bearcats suffered from missing shots right underneath the goal. Scott City's defense made it hard for Dexter to gain any points. Dexter held their own all the way into halftime, and Coach Rob Nichols took his team in the locker room in hopes to turn things around in the Bearcat's favor.
While the Bearcats were in the locker room, the fans enjoyed the Dexter Kickin' Cats' dance routine highlighting Senior Bethany Christian.
Despite Junior Nick Noble being on fire with three-point baskets in the third quarter, the Bearcats let Scott City's lead over them continue to gain.
The Dexter Bearcat fans, coaches, and players had hoped they could pull out the win on senior night, but the Bearcats just couldn't escape Scott City's efforts.
The Dexter Bearcats walked away with a loss of 37-57 on senior night.
The Lady Miners are on a winning streak after their victory against the Prairie Stars and their latest game played against Quincy’s Lady Hawks. The Lady Miners pulled out a five point win over the Lady Hawks, which is an amazing honor since the Lady Miners have not beaten Quincy at all for the last six years.
During the opening half, the Lady Hawks held the lead at 12 to 2 but the point gap was closed when Katelyn Heil shot a three pointer and her team rallied the ball. With a few turnovers and fouls, the Lady Hawks took the lead again and held the strongest lead of the entire game at 29 to 15.
Things were not looking good for the Lady Miners, but they pressed on. Both teams struggled during the first half and could not get the ball through the hoop. There were many attempts but their ratios were somewhat low.
During the second half, the Lady Miners scored thirteen straight points and closed the point gap, showing that they had what it takes to play the court just like the home team, the Lady Hawks. The Lady Miners shot a three pointer and took the lead. They took the opportunity and extended the lead by hitting another three pointer. The Lady Hawks retaliated and tied the game at 52-52 with only a couple minutes left on the clock of the second half.
The Lady Miners struggled to regain the lead but managed to hit two free throws, bringing them ahead. The game was then tied by Quincy as they shot a layup. Katelyn Heil sunk a three pointer and brought her team back into the leading position. After a steal and a foul, the Lady Miners shot their final points of the game from the free throw line and sealed the game with the final two points, bringing the Lady Miners to their first victory against the Lady Hawks since 2007.
Katelyn Heil, from Dexter, scored a total of ten points and played a great game against the Lady Hawks. The community is very proud of her and her latest win against Quincy.
The S&T Lady Miners have had slowed down this season with their past few games ending in losses, but their season is picking back up after their victory over the Springfield, Illinois Prairie Stars. The Lady Miners came out on top with a six point gap between them and their opponents with a final score of 63-57. In the last quarter of the game, the Lady Miners scored a total of 22 points while their opponents could only manage a mere 6 points.
The Dexter community is proud to have Katelyn Heil, a graduate from Dexter High School, playing for the Lady Miners at S&T in Rolla for the past three years. Heil has had a great season and we will continue to cheer her on as her team gets closer to the final tournaments that will end this year’s basketball season.
The first points of the game were given to the Lady Miners after Katelyn Heil got her hands on the ball and gave it to her open teammate, who buried the first shot of the game. The Lady Miners had the lead stolen from them after having five turnovers within just a few minutes. The Prairie Stars scored 11 straight points and the Lady Miners were trailing behind.
The Lady Miners were slowly cutting the lead but were down by ten with a pair of free throws from Heil and a three pointer from her teammate with only a few minutes left in the first half. There was a chance to cut the lead even more but the Lady Miners lost their shot and the first half ended with the Prairie Stars in the lead.
When the second half started, the Lady Miners were on fire and closed the point gap. S&T was down by only four points but they quickly lost their gain again when the Prairie Stars scored another 8 straight points. There was still hope for the Lady Miners and they pulled through and kept level heads as they scored 11 out of the 13 points, bringing them only one point away from their opponents.
The Lady Miners took the lead but it was lost shortly after when the Prairie Stars continued to score. The Lady Miners turned things around and made an amazing comeback with only ten minutes on the clock until the buzzer. The Lady Miners held the Prairie Stars back, not allowing them to score at all. Heil shot four free throws while her teammate sunk a jump shot, bringing the Lady Miners ahead. With the Prairie Stars not able to score, the Lady Miners shot another free throw and sealed the game with a win.
Bernie, Missouri - On Friday, February 15th, the Bernie Mules celebrated their Homecoming night by putting up a tough game for the Sikeston Bulldogs. Although the game resulted in a loss for the home team, it was still a great game and there were many milestones that took place throughout the night.
David Baker has played for the Mules for the last four years of his high school basketball career and on Friday, his coach and teammates were happy to celebrate his 1000th point with him. It was an amazing opportunity and honor to receive such an outstanding achievement.
When the game first started, Sikeston took the lead in the first quarter of the game, where they pulled ahead by only four points. The Mules put up a fight against the visitors as BJ Jennings sunk two three pointers during the first quarter. The Bulldogs retaliated by doing the exact same thing and tossing up a layup.
In the second quarter, the Mules inched closer as they continue to score and began to push through Sikeston’s defense. The home team outscored the Bulldogs by two points, but began to close the point gap between the two teams. The score of the second quarter was 31 to 29 with the Bulldogs barely holding onto the lead. Senior David Baker of the Bernie Mules scored a total of eight points by getting four two pointers on the Bulldogs while his teammate, Jennings, snuck in and got another three pointer.
The Mules were making a comeback but let the lead slip out from under them. The Sikeston Bulldogs pulled sixteen points out of the third quarter and as the time quickly ticked away, the Bernie Mules only managed to score five points throughout the eight minutes. Senior Sam Turner shot a three pointer while Baker put in a layup. The Bulldogs stole and kept the lead for the rest of the night and the Bernie Mules slowly fell more and more behind. Sikeston’s player, Vashawn Ruffin, scored seven points and helped his teammates bring up the lead.
“We really struggled offensively in the 3rd quarter,” Bernie’s coach, Brad Botsch, explained. “Credit Sikeston for turning up the pressure and when they did, we did not respond well. They got a lot of easy buckets on us off of turnovers and we just couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
During the fourth quarter, the Bernie fans were hoping for another comeback and the Bernie Mules began to score again, slowly coming closer to their opponents, who were playing the field nicely. In the final quarter, the Bulldogs shot a total of eighteen points while the home team only scored fourteen. Baker scored eight of the fourteen points and he and his team put up a great fight against the Bulldogs. The final score was 65 to 48, but it was an overall great game for both sides of the court.
“We knew coming off a loss, that they were going to be ready to come in and annihilate us. However, I thought our kids came out super focused and played a great first half defensively,” Botsch says. “When we are focused and intense, we are capable of playing great defense. We also did a good job against their press in the first half and were poised and composed the entire half. Overall, we can take some positives from this game that should help us prepare for districts next week. Playing Sikeston right before districts is great for us win or lose, and hopefully we’ll be 100% ready to go next week.”
The Mules have been preparing for their next game, which will take place tonight at 5:30pm at the Bloomfield District Tournament against Senath.
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
There will be six young men graduating from the basketball team this year, Jonathan Page, Brad Potts, Austin Richardson, Chase Young, Ryan Joyner and Jordan Miller. From the cheerleading squad, Brooke Duckworth, Sydney Graves, Jessica Norman, and Brooke Stoker will also be graduating in May. Bethany Christian is the Senior from the Kickin' Cats who is graduating.
Bethany Christian is the seventeen year old daughter of Steven and Cheryl Christian. She has been a football cheerleader all four years, played softball two years, and has been a member of the Kickin' Cats Dance Squad for three years. Bethany is a member of FCA, FCCLA, Student Council, DECA, and is President of FTA. She plans to attend the Southeast Missouri State University Campus in Sikeston and major in Elementary Education.
Brooke Duckworth is the seventeen year old daughter of black and Rhonda Duckworth. She has been a basketball and football cheerleader all four years. Brooke is a member of FCA, FTA and DECA. Brooke plans to attend the University of Missouri and major in Journalism.
Sydney Graves is the eighteen year old daughter of Michelle Kirkley and Chris Graves. She has been a basketball cheerleader all four years, a football cheerleader one year, ran track one year and played volleyball one year. She is a member of student council, FTA, FCA, FBLA, FCCLA, and is the treasurer of the Dexter Honor Society. Sydney plans to attend Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and major in Phsical Therapy.
Ryan Joyner is the eighteen year old son of Stand and Anita Joyner. He has played basketball for three years, football all four years, golf for three years and ran track for three years. He is member of FCA, Rotary Interact, Dexter Honor Society, Top 10 Percent, and is the Senior Class Vice President. Ryan has received an appointment to the U.S. Navy Academy and will major in Mechanical Engineering.
Jordan Miller is the eighteen year old son of Jeff and Kim Miller. He has played basketball and football three years and baseball four year. He is a member of FCA. Jordan plans to attend the University of Missouri and major in Biomedical Engineering.
Jessica Norman is the eighteen year old daughter of Christy and Dallas Norman. She has been a basketball cheerleader all four years and a football cheerleader one year. She is a member of FTA, FCA, DECA, and Rowdy Gals. Jessica plans to attend the University of Missouri - Columbia.
Jonathan Page is the eighteen year old son of Michelle and David Page. He played football all four years and basketball three years. Jonathan plans to attend Three Rivers College and major in Health Sciences.
Brad Potts is the seventeen year old son of Randy and Peggy Potss. He has played basketball and baseball all four years. He is a member of FTA and FCA. Brad plans to attend college, play baseball and major in Business.
Austin Richardson is the eighteen year old son of Deanna O'Neal. He has played basketball three years and ran track four years. Austin plans to attend Southeast Missouri State University, run track and major in Physical Therapy.
Brooke Stoker is the eighteen year old daughter of Craig and Deffery Stocker. She played volleyball one year and has been a basketball cheerleader for three years. She is a member of FCA, FTA, DECA and FCCLA. Brooke plans to attend Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and major in Elementary Education.
Chase Young is the eight year old son of Marty and Christine Young. he has played basketball and baseball all four years and football three years. He is a member of FCA, FTA and Dexter Honor Society. Chase plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Martin and major in Pre-Medicine.
These are the young men and women have provided the fans of DHS with many nights of exciting basketball action and entertainment. They have devoted countless hours of practice and preparation. Their fellow team members, classmates, teachers, and the fans will miss their dedication that they have made to our extracurricular programs and our school community.We wish them the best and appreciate all that they have done while attending Dexter Public Schools.
