Strong second half lifts Dexter past Naylor

sports@standard-democrat.com

DEXTER -- Rebounding from a loss to Saxony Lutheran earlier in the week, the Dexter Lady Bearcats used a strong second half to down visiting Naylor on Thursday, 60-47.

"Really I just felt like we sort of came out flat tonight," Dexter head coach Chad Allen said. "We weren't really moving our feet well defensively and weren't really attacking offensively. At halftime we really talked about that and the girls did a much better job in the second half."

After trailing by as many as seven points early in the second quarter, the Lady Bearcats rallied to within a point entering halftime down 23-22.

Dexter almost doubled it's first half production in the third quarter alone, outscoring the Lady Eagles 20-10 in the period, to take a lead they'd never surrender.

Kristen Garrison hit a pair of free throws to open the half, putting the Lady Bearcats on top for the first time since the opening minute of the game. Naylor answered soon after, but Garrison went on to score eight-straight points for Dexter to lead a 13-5 run.

Another Garrison layup with 3:27 left in the quarter gave Dexter their biggest lead up to that point, 35-28.

A nine-point lead going into the fourth was stretched to a game-high 15 points with 3:10 left in regulation.

A pair of Dexter turnovers, coupled with back-to-back 3-pointers form the Lady Eagles closed the gap to nine points, 55-46, with 1:14 remaining before Naylor's rally stalled out.

Dexter hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to hold on for their second win in three games.

Much of Dexter's success in the second half could be credited to an improved performance by their defense. They won the turnover battle with Naylor 15-13, including seven steals with the help of a strong press.

"I feel like our press has gotten better," Allen said. "These last two games have been good signs. Early on I didn't really know if we could press or not, but it's looking better these past few games and it's really helped us out a lot."

Dexter also won the rebound battle 30-14 thanks in large part to a game-high 12 rebounds from freshman Hannah Thurmon, who also had two steals.

Thurmon added 12 points to finish with a double-double on 4 of 7 (57 percent) shooting. Garrison was the team's leading scorer with a game-high 16 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of steals.

Dakota Reynolds was the third Lady Bearcat in double figures with 10 points.

"Any given night someone steps up, but tonight it was more spread out," Allen said of his offense. "Naylor has a really tough 1-3-1 defense and we really struggled with it early. We did much better in the second half attacking it and being more aggressive.

"It was nice to see balanced scoring tonight."

As a team Dexter shot 19 of 42 (45 percent) from the floor, compared to Naylor's 16 of 39 (41 percent) effort.

Shayna Tharp paced the Lady Eagles with 15 points, scoring all her points from outside the arc where she hit on 5 of 8 (63 percent) attempts.

Now at 11-8, Dexter will host Notre Dame Monday at 6 p.m. before traveling to Cape Girardeau on Thursday to play Cape Central.

"We're getting into our SEMO Conference games, which is a really good one and it's always tough," Allen said. "We'll have a tough stretch playing these teams. Of course Notre Dame has always had a good tradition and they've gotten better throughout the year. So we can't take anyone lightly."

Dexter 10 12 20 18 -- 60

Naylor 13 10 10 14 -- 47

DEXTER (60) -- Dakota Reynolds 10, Melanie McKuin 8, Sydney Rogers 4, Cheyenne Mosby 8, Hannah Thurmon 12, Kristen Garrison 16, Harley Allen 2. FG 19, FT 18-24, F 12. (3-pointers: Reynolds 2, Mosby 1, Thurmon 1. Fouled out: Reynolds.)

NAYLOR (47) -- Gracie Gargac 6, Shayna Tharp 15, Lauren Rich 6, Chelsey Rigdon 3, Kabrien Rogers 6, Callee Pickrell 8, Brooklyn Urich 3. FG 16, FT 7-9, F 19. (3-pointers: Tharp 5, Rich 2, Rigdon 1. Fouled out: none.)