Harris' post play lifts Lady Bearcats

sports@standard-democrat.com

DEXTER -- On a roster filled with scorers and difference makers, Brittany Harris pushes Dexter to another level.

The 5-11 junior uses a plethora of moves around the basket and is nearly impossible to slow down. She leads an already potent Lady Bearcats roster as one of the more dominant post-players in the Southeast Missouri region.

It may look and sound like a simple plan, but the majority of Harris' points came by her teammates simply passing her the ball around the rim.

Harris would do the rest.

Most of the time, the junior has the advantage of being taller than her defender, which prompts a shot over them with ease.

"I'm definitely taller than a lot of the people we play," Harris said. "We usually have a mismatch on me."

Harris averaged 16.5 points, nine rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game.

"She's got a great shot around the basket," Dexter head coach Chad Allen added. "She keeps the ball up high and she can just turn and shoot over a lot of girls."

In the off-chance that a shot wasn't in the cards, she put her assortment of post moves to work which almost assuredly led to another easy bucket.

Allen has noticed a definite improvement in Harris as far as moves around the basket.

"She added a lot more moves this year," Allen said. "She's got a good up and under. She's definitely took her game to another level."

Not only can Harris be relentless around the basket, but she can also run the floor much like the guards that surround her -- just another element to Harris' game.

"She can run the floor very well," Allen said. "We give her the ball in transition a lot."

Harris creates even more scoring opportunities for herself by rebounding.

The junior averaged nearly 10 rebounds a game. A lot of her boards were offensive rebounds which she put right back up.

"She's a great rebounder," Allen said. "She gets a lot of offensive boards and put-backs. She makes herself available for the ball and gets herself open. She really works hard to get the ball."

She is the leader of a young and talented Dexter squad that seems to have every piece instilled in their lineup, which consists of two other all-region selections.

Although Harris may be a go-to player, she' not pressured into strictly being a scorer because of the players surrounding her.

They have the distributor, Hannah Noe, the shooter, Allison Jarrell, and even another post threat, Paige Patterson, who is slightly taller than Harris at 6-1.

"I don't have to be 'that' player because we have really good shooters and people that can drive to the basket," Harris said. "I'm not even the only post. If I have to, I'm always ready to put the team on my back and do whatever I can to help us win."

Added Allen, "We definitely have a lot of options that can score. Every one of the girls that we put out there can score. Those girls, also, make Brittany better with them around her."

It's easy for Harris to assume the leadership role she has taken on. Not only is she one of the older players at only a junior, but she's comfortable around her teammates who she's been playing with since the eighth grade.

"We've always been really close," she said about her teammates. "The closer you are with your team, the better you play together. Coach Allen has pushed us to bond and be close together because he knows the more chemistry you have outside of basketball, the more you have on the court.

"We're basically family. We spend a lot of time together."

She has evolved into the leader of the group. A position Harris says she thrives in.

"I love it that they look up to me," she said. "I try to be a leader for them. I'm not very vocal on the court, but I try to lead by example."

Harris has been involved in the Lady Bearcats program for the past five years, ever since Allen took over as the girls head basketball coach.

"She's been with me ever since the seventh grade and she's definitely gotten better over the years," said Allen. "She was pretty raw her seventh grade year and it's been neat to see the progress she's made."

As a freshman, Harris was thrust into playing time as part of the varsity team. She admits playing at that level as a freshman was somewhat intimidating, but credits Dexter's weight-lifting program to break her fears of playing with the older kids.

"Coming in as a freshman I was really weak and so scared to play varsity," she said. "We have a weight lifting program and it was crazy how much tougher I got. Coming from middle school to varsity, was so much different. But, playing against tougher competition makes you a better basketball player."

Dexter is one of the few schools who seek out bigger, established girl programs to play. They routinely make trips to the St. Louis area to take part in Invitationals and host summer camps, such as the Rib City Shootout in Dexter, to ensure they see stiff competition.

"I would rather play against tougher competition any day," Harris said. "I would rather have a worse season and better games so maybe we can go farther at the end of the year."

Harris is a model of consistency. Apart from her 16-point average, she altered opposing offenses like none other nearly every trip down the floor.

Guards rarely penetrated through the lane against her, fearing their shot would be sent right back. Post players had just as hard of a time putting anything up against Harris.

And no matter how well her teammates were shooting, Harris seemed to always step up when a basket was needed or keep one of their many scoring runs going.

Harris' importance could be illustrated the best on Feb. 29 against Park Hills Central during the Class 4 Sectional round, in which the Lady Bearcats won 64-49.

"I knew it was a big game and we lost sectionals my sophomore year and it hurt so bad," Harris said. "I know I was going to go in and give everything I could."

She scored the first six points of the game and eight of Dexter's 15 in the first quarter. Harris finished the first half with 18 points and nine rebounds.

"All of my shots were falling. It felt great," said Harris. "I made free throws, we ran the floor, we won and it was awesome."

She scored 10 of the Lady Bearcats' 18 points in the second quarter, despite facing double teams on every possession. By now, Harris is used to the extra attention she receives.

"It gets frustrating, but the madder I get, the worse I play," Harris said. "I've learned to not let stuff affect me so much because I play better. I finish better."

She ended up with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

"I really thought she had a great offensive game," Allen said about her work against Park Hills. "She didn't miss very many shots and she ran the floor well. The other girls around her definitely looked to get the ball to her."

Dexter finished with a 23-7 record with a loss in the quarterfinals to end their season. The Lady Bearcats beat Notre Dame 62-38 in the district championship after losing to the Lady Bulldogs by one point in their meeting prior.

The Lady Bearcats ended up ranked sixth in the final state poll.

"We wanted to go to state this year," Harris admitted. "But, we got one step closer than last year. We're going to try and go to state next year. It's really exciting just to think about that."