January 30, 2015
Dexter topples state-ranked St. James
sports@standard-democrat.com DEXTER -- State-ranked or across Missouri's state lines, Dexter's schedule has been loaded with tough games. Specific games are designed to put the Lady Bearcats through a grind in hopes of preparing them for a long playoff run and, so far this season, they've come up empty-handed...
By Chris Pobst - Standard Democrat
sports@standard-democrat.com
DEXTER -- State-ranked or across Missouri's state lines, Dexter's schedule has been loaded with tough games.
Specific games are designed to put the Lady Bearcats through a grind in hopes of preparing them for a long playoff run and, so far this season, they've come up empty-handed.
That changed Thursday at the Bearcat Event Center.
Krysten Garrison and Melanie McKuin led Dexter to a 74-63 win over Class 3's previously undefeated and top-ranked team St. James.
"I've talked to the girls about getting a signature win and this is definitely a signature win," Dexter head coach Chad Allen said. "We've played some really tough teams and played them pretty close. To finally get over that hump tonight, I'm just proud of the girls on how they keep on playing and getting better each game."
St. James is one of four Missouri state-ranked teams Dexter has played this season and before Thursday the Lady Bearcats were 0-4 in those games.
They lost two games to Class 2's No. 6 team Neelyville and one each to Class 3's Saxony Lutheran (No. 2) and Park Hills Central (No. 4).
Krysten Garrison led Dexter with 25 points on 9 of 11 shooting and added eight rebounds. Melanie McKuin scored 23 points, which included three 3-pointers.
St. James (18-1) was paced by Alexis Uffmann's 18 points and four steals. Shauna Rinehart added 15 and Ashlee Marlatt chipped in with 14 points.
"I think tonight came down to effort," St. James head coach Terry Wells said. "That's a word I tell my kids that I don't use. If I use that word it's going to be pretty serious and tonight was about effort. Dexter wanted to beat us worse than we wanted to beat them."
Dexter (10-7) shot 56 percent (23 of 41) from the floor as a team while holding a usually efficient St. James team to 33 percent (21 of 63) which included 5 of 23 from 3-point range.
"We talked about (how well they can shoot) and I thought the girls did a great job of covering their shooters," said Allen. "We had a few overloads that we had to try and get to but I thought the girls did a great job of adjusting in their matchup and doing a good job defensively."
Hannah Thurmon set Dexter's tone early with five-straight points to begin the first quarter. After two free throws by Uffmann, Thurmon, who finished with six points and a team-high 12 rebounds, sank a 3-pointer to give Dexter a 5-2 lead. The Lady Bearcats did not trail or tie again.
A 9-3 run and eight points from McKuin put Dexter ahead 20-13 at the end of the first quarter.
St. James, which is located 11 miles east of Rolla, began the second with a 10-3 run that was capped by a 3-pointer by Rinehart cutting Dexter's lead to 26-23 with 3:10 left in the half.
Dexter got three-straight buckets from Garrison to extend its lead back to seven, 32-25, with 1:25 remaining. St. James answered again by finishing the half with an 8-4 run and trailed Dexter 36-33 at the half.
Part of St. James' early struggles was its percentage from the floor. They shot 9 of 29 and were 3 of 11 from 3-point range. Dexter shot 50 percent in the first half.
"It took us a while to get out of our cars," said Wells. "By the time we fired up we had dug a hole and then soon as we started playing well halftime came and we got down and tired again."
Garrison opened the second half with a flurry of eight-straight points, including a 3-pointer for the first bucket of the third quarter. Her personal run gave Dexter a 44-33 lead -- their biggest since the first quarter.
"Krysten, she's definitely great off the dribble and she can also post up well," Allen said.
It wasn't long, however, before St. James climbed back into the game with a 15-5 run by taking advantage of the absence of Dakota Reynolds -- Dexter's top ball handler -- who picked up her fourth foul midway through the period. Dexter committed five turnovers in the third quarter and 12 total in the second half.
The rally was capped by a conventional 3-point play by Kenzie Guese to cut Dexter's advantage to 49-48 with 45 seconds remaining in the quarter.
"When Dakota went out it got a little hairy," said Allen. "Dakota is such a great ballhandler, she's our floor general and does such a great job for us. She gets us in our offense."
McKuin made sure Dexter finished the quarter strong, however, with two free throws and a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Bearcats a 54-48 lead heading into the fourth.
"Melanie got to the rim and hit some big threes," Allen said. "It got a little scary there but I thought the girls kept their composure and did a great job."
St. James came as close as six points but Dexter outscored them 20-15 in the fourth including an 8 of 12 performance from the foul line to secure the win.
"Their matchup zone created some problems. That's something we haven't seen," Wells said. "We've seen it on film but they're a little longer and taller than I thought they were.
"I really can't explain it," Wells added. "I know Dexter played harder than we did and they deserved to win."
Dexter will play Saturday at 3 p.m. against Charleston during the 2015 Coaches vs Cancer Shootout at Charleston High School.
St. James 13 20 15 15 -- 63
Dexter 20 16 18 20 -- 74
ST. JAMES (63) -- Alexis Uffmann 18, Devin Fuhring 11, Kenzie Guese 5, Ashlee Marlatt 14, Shauna Rinehart 15. FG 21, FT 16-20, F 21. (3-pointers: Fuhring 1, Marlatt 2, Rinehart 2. Fouled out: none.)
DEXTER (74) -- Dakota Reynolds 12, Melanie McKuin 23, Sydney Rogers 3, Cheyenne Mosby 2, Hannah Thurmon 6, Krysten Garrison 25, Harley Allen 3. FG 23, FT 18-25, F 14. (3-pointers: Reynolds 2, McKuin 3, Rogers 1, Thurmon 1, Garrison 1, Allen 1. Fouled out: none.)
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