Lady Beacats roll past Naylor 72-33

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Naylor Eagles varsity girls basketball team was an offensive surge away from overtaking the state-ranked Dexter Bearcats a couple minutes into the third quarter Thursday night.

A field goal by Naylor's Charity McCoy cut Dexter's lead to 46-33 with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

What followed was a near opposite of an offensive surge.

Dexter put together a defensive perfecto in the final 13 minutes of regulation as it finished the contest on a 26-0 run on its way to a 72-33 win against Naylor.

"We wore them down that first half and just played better defensively the second half," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "That first half we weren't containing the ball and they were beating us off the dribble. We had a pretty decent lead that first half, but we let them come back. I think the biggest difference in the game is our girls kept their composure and wore them down after halftime."

Dexter jumped out to a 9-0 lead less than four minutes into the first quarter. The Bearcats increased its advantage to 35-15 with about four minutes left in the second quarter. Naylor ended the half on a 13-5 run to trim the deficit to 40-28 at halftime.

Dexter senior guard Hannah Noe put together one of her best offensive performances of the season. Noe tallied at least four points in every quarter on her way to a game-high 30 points. Noe shot 63 percent from the field and tallied half of the Bearcats' six treys.

Dexter senior forward Erika Cobb also had a hot hand. Cobb hit a 2-pointer in every quarter. She shot 88 percent from the field and finished with 16 points.

Dexter senior center Paige Patterson dominated in the paint in the first half. Patterson tallied four of her five field goals before halftime. She finished with 13 points.

"I thought we definitely played well offensively tonight," Allen said. "Defensively, we struggled a little bit in the first half, but we made up for it in the second half."

Dexter sophomore forward Melanie McKuin tallied a team-high three assists and a team-high five steals.

"They play the 1-3-1 zone quite a bit," Allen said. "In the past it has given us some trouble, but I thought our guards did a good job of getting their heads up and finding the open man tonight."

McCoy led Naylor in scoring with 16 points.

Dexter sophomore guard Dakota Reynolds returned to action Thursday after missing more than a week with an injury.

"It's great to have Dakota back," Allen said. "It make us a little deeper. She's skilled offensively and can get after it defensively as well. So it's good to have her back and have more depth."

Dexter improves to 15-3 with the victory and Naylor drops to 10-7.

The Bearcats return to action Monday when they play at Notre Dame Regional High School of Cape Girardeau, Mo.

"We've definitely got some big games next week, especially that conference game against Notre Dame," Allen said. "The team that wins that game probably has a good chance to win the conference. It will be a tough game for us, especially at their place. They've got eight seniors and all eight of their seniors are skilled. I know they are definitely getting prepared for us and we are going to get prepared for them. Hopefully, we can go in there and get a win."

NAYLOR (33) - Charity McCoy 16, Darby Pruett 7, Brooklyn Ulrich 2, Lauren Rich 2, Shayna Tharp 6. FG 10, FT 12-15, F 9. (3-pointers: Tharp 1. Fouled out: none)

DEXTER (72) - Dakota Reynolds 2, Hannah Noe 30, Melanie McKuin 2, Alison Jarrell 6, Erika Cobb 16, Paige Patterson 13, Makayla Waldner 3. FG 28, FT 10-14, F 11. (3-pointers: Noe 3, Jarrell 2, Cobb 1. Fouled out: none)