Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Cape Girardeau, Missouri – It’s a 4-peat!! Dexter Lady ‘Cats earn another Class 4 District 1 Championship defeating the Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs 65 – 58 in overtime! The win is pretty special to four Dexter seniors, as they have won four District Championships.
“It was pretty nerve-racking,” Dexter’s sophomore MaKayla Waldner said of the overtime. “But we knew we had to come together and play as a team.” This is Waldner’s second District Championship.
"Anytime we play a Notre Dame team it's always going to be tough," Allen said. "Those eight seniors definitely didn't want to go out their senior year with a loss and they played with a lot of heart and passion. We really had to work our tails off to pull out this game."
Bearcat fans went wild when Alison Jarrell hit a 3-pointer for the first points in overtime. It was the girls could do to contain their excitement. They were on a roll now and nothing could stop them from a win.
“I told Alison Jarrell when she was subbed out she was going to hit a big three for us at the end of the game,” continued head Coach Chad Allen. “As soon as she went in we ran a play for her to shoot a 3-pointer in the corner and she nailed it.”
“This was the biggest 3-pointer of her career,” commented Allen. She gave Dexter a 55 – 52 lead with just under three minutes remaining in overtime and gave the girls momentum to come up with the win.
“Coach Allen had it drawn up on the board and we figured out how to rotate right and after that we executed very well,” stated senior guard Alison Jarrell.
Steals and free throws were implemented extremely well during the overtime portion of the game. MaKayla Waldner had two back-to back steals, which helped the girls increase their lead.
“We have been working on defense a lot in practice and those two steals definitely sealed the deal in the game,” Hannah Noe said of MaKayla Waldner.
“When we starting subbing offense for defense MaKayla came up with some big steals at the end and we hit some big free throws as well.”
Hannah Noe and MaKayla Waldner each hit four free throws in the overtime portion.
Another impressive Lady ‘Cat was Melanie McKuin. “Melanie played one of her best games for us and really set the tone, not only handling the ball out front, but also defensively,” commented Coach Allen. “She got some good steals at the beginning of the game and scored off some of those turnovers. She had a great game, not only offensively, but defensively as well.”
Hannah Noe finished with a game-high 27 points and was 10 of 12 from the charity stripe. She also contributed a 3-pointer.
“Hannah did a great job of trying to calm the girls down.” Coach Allen said. “She thrives in a game like this and is a big time player. She really helped them keep their composure.”
Paige Patterson #22 was also in double figures for the Bearcats tallying 10 points. Both Melanie McKuin and Erika Cobb added 9 points each. McKuin shot 67% from the field and 100% at the charity stripe. Cobb hit two 3-pointers and so did Alison Jarrell. Way to go ladies!!!
Dakota Reynolds summed the game up the best saying, “We did pretty good tonight. Our defense has gotten a lot better throughout the year and we were ready for them tonight!”
Dexter 24-3 will play Park Hills Central 26-1 on Wednesday, March 12th at 6:30 p.m. in a Class 4 sectional at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff. Park Hill’s only loss this season was to Dexter in January when the Bearcats defeated them 77 – 58.
“Park Hills is a team that has really improved. They lost their point guard pretty much the whole season last year and they really struggled without her,” commented Coach Allen. “The Skaggs girls are pretty good post players and they have got a lot of size. We played them once before and we know it’s going to be a tough game again. We will have to look at some film and see what we can improve on from last time. I know we beat them last time, but any game from here on out we’ve got to be ready to play.”
Final Score Dexter 65 Notre Dame 58 OVERTIME
Notre Dame 15 18 6 13 6 - 58
Dexter 16 18 9 9 13 - 65
Notre Dame (58) - Kaitlin Welter 12, Annie Siebert 10, Karsen Powers 13, Shelby Beussink 4, Halle Lynch 8, Taylor Feeney 2, Madeline Rosenquist 4, Kayce Landewee 5. FG 20, FT 13/15, F 20 (3-pointers: Kaitlin Welter 2, Karsen Powers 1, Kayce Landewee 1, Annie Siebert 1. Fouled Out: none)
Dexter (65) - Hannah Noe 27, Melanie McKuin 9, Alison Jarrell 6, Erika Cobb 9, Paige Patterson 10, MaKayla Waldner 4. FG 21, FT 18/22, F 20 (3-pointers: Hannah Noe 1, Alison Jarrell 2, Erika Cobb 2. Fouled Out: none)
