Dexter comes out strong and blows out Cape Central 79-33

sports@standard-democrat.com

DEXTER -- Rebounding from their one-point loss to Notre Dame just two days prior, the Dexter Lady Bearcats put together a monster 32-point first quarter against Cape Central on Thursday before cruising to a 79-33 win.

"I thought the girls came out and had a lot of intensity defensively," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "We definitely made a lot of shots.

"One of the biggest differences between tonight and our game against Notre Dame is we made more shots tonight."

Scoring the first seven points of the contest, the Lady Bearcats were led by Paige Patterson's nine first quarter points while Mollie Whitehead and Brittany Harris pitched in eight each.

After letting the Lady Tigers close back to within five, at 13-8, with 2:50 to play, Dexter closed out the quarter on 19-4 run that included Dexter hitting their final seven shots of the frame.

Carrying their momentum into the second, the Lady Bearcats went 9 of 14 (64 percent) from the floor in the final eight minutes of the half, opening up on a 12-0 run.

Though a Cape Central timeout with 2:44 before the break allowed the Lady Tigers regroup and score six of the game's next nine points, a couple baskets by Alison Jarrell and Katelynn Frazier in the closing minute put Dexter up 51-18 going into the locker room.

"We definitely made some big runs," Allen said. "We'd go a little while in a drought, then all of the sudden we'd get out and make a 12 to 15 point run.

"That's what these girls are capable of doing. They can all score and they score at different times. That's one good thing to have as a coach for sure."

Holding the Lady Tigers to only 4 of 15 shooting in the third quarter, Dexter was able to build up a 33-point advantage midway through the frame at 60-27.

Putting up a six and seven point run in the final 4:19 of the quarter, Dexter ensured a turbo-clocked fourth as they heading the frame up 73-29.

"They put a lot of pressure on us," Cape Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "We didn't handle the ball very well and threw it away. We didn't shoot the ball very well tonight either.

"Give credit to Dexter. They're a really good basketball team and we just didn't come ready to play tonight."

Posting a double-double on the night, Harris led the Lady Bearcats with a game-high 20 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking a shot.

Patterson had 16 points and six rebounds with Whitehead adding 13 points, five rebounds and two steals to Dexter's cause.

The fourth Lady Bearcat to score in the double-digits, Cobb had 12 points, four rebounds and three steals.

For the Lady Tigers, Chelsea Vinson scored a team-high 13 points while Alayah Cooper-Johnson finished with 12.

On the game, Dexter shot 32 of 59 from the floor (54 percent) while Cape Central went 15 of 38 (39.5 percent).

Standing at 19-4 with only two games left in the regular season, Dexter will get a chance to hit the 20-win mark when they host Poplar Bluff on Monday at 6 p.m.

"I believe Poplar Bluff is first in our conference," Allen said. "So they're definitely going to be a tough team.

"(Lady Mules coach Kirk) Chronister always has them playing that good man-to-man defense. It's going to be a great challenge for us and I'm sure our girls are definitely up for it."

Dexter 32 19 22 6 - 79

Cape Central 12 6 11 4 - 33

DEXTER (79) -- Mollie Whitehead 13, Katelynn Frazier 4, Hannah Noe 8, Alison Jarrell 6, Erika Cobb 12, Brittany Harris 20, Paige Patterson 16. FG 32, FT 10-12, F 10. (3-pointers: Whitehead 3, Cobb 2. Fouled out: none.)

CAPE CENTRAL (33) -- Allie Hardesty 4, Alayah Cooper-Johnson 12, Tori Scheller 4, Chelsea Vinson 13. FG 15, FT 3-11, F 11. (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none.)