Columbia, Missouri - The highly anticipated semifinal match-up between the Lady Bearcats was everything that was expected by the Dexter fans.  The skills and challenges delivered  by powerhouse Incarnate Word left know doubts on the court that they are certainly an incredibly talented basketball team as they defeated Dexter by a final score of 66 to 25.

The dashed hopes of the Lady Cats became evident on their faces as the strong offense and unrelenting defense of the Red Knights dominated the entire contest. 

“We talk about dictating the tone of the contest right off the bat and thought we did a good job doing that,” stated Incarnate Word Head Coach Dan Rolfes.  “We attacked the basket and I think holding them (Dexter) to two points defensively in the first quarter set the tone of the game.”

With 4:51 remaining in the first quarter, Brittany Harris made a powerful move to the basket and was sent to the free throw line.  Harris was able to break the ice making both shots.  Having held the Red Knights to 7 points, the Lady Cats had a brief ray of hope with the score 7 to 2. 

The rebounds were not going Dexter’s way as the talented 6’ 1” power forward, Napheesa Collier quickly sparked the Red Knights with her dominance on the boards.  As a sophomore, Collier’s height and long arms were difficult to overcome for the Bearcats. 

To add misery to the madness, Incarnate Word's guard Nakiah Bell displayed a soft touch from outside the three-point line, closing out the first quarter by draining a long shot for three at the buzzer.  The Red Knights held a commanding lead of 21-2. 

The Lady Cats remained poised throughout the entire game, patiently working the ball offensively in search of a scoring opportunity that never revealed itself.  The Bearcats were able to penetrate the paint forcing the Red Knights into foul situations.  The Bearcats were 15 of 19 from the charity stripe with a 78.9% average on the night.

The Red Knights continued to control both the offensive and defensive boards throughout the second quarter.  A brief offensive spark by seniors Brittany Harris and Katelynn Frazier cut into their opponent’s lead, but the Lady Knights battled back to close out the half with a 26-point margin, 36 to 10.   

The Bearcats showed real character in the third quarter with aggressive drives to the basket.  The Bearcats were able to accumulate 10 points on the quarter with field goals by Katelynn Frazier, Brittany Harris and Hannah Noe and free throws by Makayla Waldner and Mollie Whitehead.

Incarnate Word would not remove the offensive pressure outscoring the Bearcats 21 to 10 in the third.  Junior Nakiah Bell performed masterful as she worked the outside perimeter, dishing the ball inside to McKeena Treece and Napheesa Collier on a regular basis.  When Nakiah wasn’t pushing the ball inside, she rained field goals for her total 28-points on the night.

A low scoring final quarter ended quickly as the mercy clock was evoked in the semifinal game.  The Red Knights added an additional 9-points to win the contest by a final score of 66 to 25.

Incarnate Word simply was a very talented group of lady athletes.  If there is any consolation prize for the Lady Bearcats, their performance was admirable against players that will certainly compete at the division one level in colleges. 

“It was tough to see them (Incarnate Word) come from class five to class four,” commented Bearcat Head Coach Chad Allen.  “They are an extremely talented team.” 

The Red Knights had a good night on the boards with 15 offensive and 20 defensive rebounds.  The Bearcats had 22 rebounds on the night, 9 offensive and 13 defensive.  Erika Cobb had a great performance leading the Bearcats with 7 rebounds on the night, followed by Brittany Harris with four.

“We all were nervous obviously,” Harris said. “None of our shots were falling. We weren’t really aggressive driving to the basket. I think we let them being ranked in the nation get to us.”

Unfortunately, the Bearcats were unable to get anything rolling offensively.  Overall, the Cats were unable to connect on a 3-point shot in the contest, which is typically a major strength of their offensive attack.  Furthermore, the follow-up shots were not falling for them with their inside game.  The Lady Cats shot 13% (5 of 31) on field goals on the night. 

The Bearcats will take on the Smithville Warriors on Friday at 1:40 p.m. at MIZZOU Arena in Columbia.  Smithville Warriors was defeated by Webb City by a score of 54 to 53 this evening. 

“We just have to get over this game,” commented senior Katelynn Frazier.  “No Dexter team has come this far and actually won a game.  That would be a big deal for our team and our town.”

One Team One Dream!  You girls got this!  The Dexter community is proud of the Lady Bearcats and what they have accomplished.  They are heroes on and off the court.  Gaige knows you are playing for him and he can't wait to meet all of you!  You are already #1 in his eyes! 

Dexter, Missouri - The Lady Bearcats will be headed to Columbia for the ShowMe Showdown Final Four Championship games following the Pep Rally at the Bearcat Event Center at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday morning.  With a record of 26-3, they have had one awesome season!  Now they face undefeated Incarnate Word with an impressive record of 29-0. 

Game time is 6:50 p.m. Thursday, March 14^th.

 

This is only the second trip to the ladies state tournament in the school’s history.  The last time was in 2009.   These girls are impressive.  They have set the bar high and have been working towards this dream for four years.  They are inspired, excited, dedicated, and committed to winning.  No matter win or lose Thursday night, they are heroes to Dexter Bearcat fans.  This small town is alive with Bearcat Fever!  The girls’ motto of One Team One Dream has become everyone’s motto. 

 

Who is Incarnate Word?  It is a private, all female Catholic Academy located in St. Louis, Missouri.  There are about 380 female students and 100% of their graduates go on to college and universities.  They are dedicated to their basketball team, no different than Dexter.  They practice daily, no different than Dexter.  They are good and so are the Lady Cats.  Do not estimate the Dexter Bearcats, as they want to win just as much or more than the Red Knights.

 

Coach Allan knows his team, he believes in his girls.  He knows they have it in them to WIN!  Incarnate Word may be ranked #1 in the state, but the Lady Bearcats are #1 in our hearts and we love them.  They are heroes to so many young students and each year they inspire girls to try-out for high school basketball.  They are model citizens, leaders in our community, admired by many and well respected in Dexter. 

 

The Red Knights can be defeated!  They are not immortal and they are not unbeatable.  Dexter is ranked #11 in the state according to MaxPreps and is 5-0 in the District. 

Incarnate Word fell to Class 5 Rock Bridge in the semifinals last season, but then dropped down to Class 4 this year.  The schools they have been playing are smaller and the challenge was just not there.  On the other hand Dexter has stepped up this year and has an extremely tough group of competitors all year long.

 

It’s anyone’s game Thursday night, but one thing is for sure…….Lady Bearcats are #1 in the hearts of everyone in Dexter and we are proud you represent us in the Final Four.  Whether on or off the court these ladies are awesome!  You got this!  Go Cats!

 

The ShowMe Times will be in Columbia catching all the action and will update throughout the Final Four ShowMe Showdown. 

You can also watch from your computer on the 2013 MSHSAA Class 4 Girls Basketball Semifinal #1 (Event): Missouri: PlayOn! Sports on the website www.mshsaa.playonsports.com as they will have it live.

Dexter, Missouri – The Dexter High School welcomes new Head Football Coach Justin Peden.  He is the head coach of the Hayti Indians Football program.

Coach Peden is not a native to Missouri, but is originally from Bolivar, Ohio. This small town is about twenty minutes south of Canton, Ohio.  He graduated from Tusky Valley High School in 1997 and attended Heidelberg College, where he played offensive line.

Coach Peden finished his degree at the University of Central Arkansas, where he was a member of Phi Alpha Theta, an honors society for History majors.  While living in Little Rock he met his wife, Jennifer.  They have been married for eight years and have a wonderful son Jaxson, who is three.

Coach Peden has been at Hayti for seven years, the last two years as head coach.  His team won the SEMO South Conference Title in 2011 with an undefeated conference record.  He was named SEMO South Coach of the Year award.

During his time at Hayti his offense has set numerous school records, including most points in a game in 2012.  He prides himself on running a program that the players and the community can be proud of.  At Hayti he taught American History and American Government, raising the state test scores 45 and 58 percent respectively.

“I am very proud and excited to be named the new Head Coach at Dexter High School,” state Coach Peden.  “I am ready to hit the ground running and put a product on the field that will be exciting to watch and create a sense of pride for both my players and the community.”

“I realize that a great responsibility has been given to me and I do not take that lightly, continued coach.   “I know that with hard work from the coaches, the players, and myself we will be successful.”

 

Written by

Jessica Snider, SMT Writer

Dexter, MO- Tonight at Dexter High School, coaches will be honoring players of each winter sport at the 2013 Winter Sports Banquet.

The sporting participants to be recognized will be those from: boys and girls basketball, wrestling, basketball cheerleading, and dance team.

Senior players/participants will be recognized along with individual athletes who will receive awards.

All winter sports have drawn to a conclusion with the exception of the Lady Bearcat Basketball team who will be traveling to Columbia on Thursday for state competition.

Evansville, Indiana - The Missouri S&T Lady Miners shot only 29 percent from the field (19-for-66) in its 50-42 loss to the Lewis Flyers in the quarterfinal round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Friday evening at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. The game was tight throughout with two ties and eight lead changes.

Lewis, seeded first, led for the early portions of the contest, but S&T (16-12), seeded eighth, got on track taking its first lead of the game at the 13:14 mark on a jumper by Toni Knar (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein). The Lady Miners stretched the lead to three on a jumper by Erica Askew (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park), but the Flyers (22-5) scored four straight to regain the lead by the midway point of the half. 

S&T answered back scoring six of the next eight points to regain its three-point edge. It had some chances to extend the lead but missed five shots and turned it over a couple of times. Lewis took advantage scoring nine straight points to build its biggest lead of the half at 23-17 after a layup by Nikki Nellen with 1:25 left in the half.

Senait McLeod (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef) hit a jumper from the corner to make it 23-19 and Kylie Cooper (Andover, Kan./Andover) had a chance to make it a one possession game but her jumper wouldn't stay down. 

The Flyers scored nine points off of eight Lady Miner turnovers and shot 36 percent (11-for-31) from the floor. They were 0-of-6 from three and 1-for-2 at the line. Mariyah Henley led the way with six points while Sam Rinehart, Jess Reinhart and Kristen Itschner added four each.

S&T was only 9-of-33 (27.3 percent) from the field, 0-for-2 from three and 1-for-2 at the foul line. The Lady Miners outrebounded Lewis 25-20 and were led in scoring by Hailee Parks (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) with seven points. Knar added four more. 

S&T got off to a good start in the second half scoring seven of the first eight points to take a 27-26 lead on a free throw by Cooper with 15:13 left in the contest. It would be its last lead of the night as Lewis with an 8-1 run to retake the lead and push it to 34-28 on a 3-point play by Henley at the 11:25 mark.

The Lady Miners cut it to four on a jumper from Karli Sample (St. Joseph, Mo./Benton), but the Flyers got back-to-back baskets from J. Reinhart pushing the lead to 38-30. The lead grew to 45-33 on a jumper by Itschner with 4:17 to play. 

S&T ran off nine straight to get within 45-42 with 0:41 left, but Lewis went 5-for-6 from the foul line in the final 0:35 to end the game.

The Lady Miners shot 30.3 percent from the field in the second half, but was 0-for-8 from three and 3-of-7 at the foul line. Parks finished with a double-double scoring a game-high 12 points and added 10 rebounds. Knar and Katelyn Heil (Dexter, Mo./Dexter) added six points apiece. S&T grabbed a season-high 48 rebounds and outrebounded Lewis by nine. 

The Flyers finished the game shooting 37 percent (21-for-57) from the field, was 0-of-11 from three and 8-for-12 at the foul line. Henley and Reinhart were the lone Flyers in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.