Dexter girls reach Farmington championship, beat Jackson 47-42

FARMINGTON, Mo. - The Dexter Bearcats varsity girls basketball team outscored the Jackson Indians by 11 points in the first half and hung on for a 47-42 victory Monday night in a semifinal of the five-team Farmington Invitational.

"Jackson is definitely a tough matchup for us," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "They've got a lot of good guards that penetrate and get to the rim, and they've got great shooters that can kick it out as well. It's tough, defensively, trying to guard that. I thought our girls did a great job of moving in our matchup covering shooters, and also not letting them get to the rim."

The Bearcats enjoyed its fair share of success defensively in the first half as it limited the Jackson offense to just seven two-point field goals. Dexter outscored Jackson 14-4 in the second period after winning the first quarter 11-10 and entered halftime with a 25-14 lead.

"It was definitely good to have a good second quarter tonight," Allen said. "The other night against St. Joseph's Academy the one quarter we didn't play well was the second quarter. It's great to get off to a good start, but it's also great to have a good second quarter going into halftime."

Senior point guard Dakota Reynolds helped fuel Dexter's second-quarter surge from the perimeter. Reynolds knocked down two of her team-high four treys in the second period on her way to a 14-point performance.

"Dakota definitely knocked down the three, and did a good job of getting open tonight" Allen said.

Jackson erased nearly all of its deficit in the opening three minutes of the third quarter as it scored the first seven points of the second half to cut Dexter's lead to 25-22 with 5:46 left in the third quarter.

The Bearcats withstood the surge and padded its margin back to 35-28 by the start of the fourth quarter.

Dexter increased its lead to 45-34 by the 2:36 mark of regulation before Jackson ended the game on an 8-2 run to set the final score.

"Jackson made a good run to start the second half and we answered with a run of our own," Allen said. "It was good to see our girls fight back hard after Jackson made runs."

Dexter freshman guard Chaylea Mosby enjoyed her third straight double-digit performance. Mosby recorded 11 points in the first half and five more in the second half on her way to a team-high 16 points.

"Chaylea is great at penetrating," Allen said. "I thought her, and all the girls did a good job of penetrating and kicking. Offensively, it seems like we are getting better and more accustomed to the new offense we run. Hopefully, we will just continue improving."

Jackson junior Rylee Stafford recorded a field goal in every quarter. She hit two of her team's five treys and finished with a team-high 12 points.

Jackson senior Autumn Reid hit a team-high three treys. Reid finished with 11 points.

The Bearcats will play the winner of a semifinal between Saxony Lutheran and Notre Dame Thursday at about 7 p.m. Saxony Lutheran beat Dexter in the championship of the tournament last season.

"Either team will be a tough matchup," Allen said. "This tournament is a great tournament. All five teams are good teams in our area. Hopefully, we can get prepared Wednesday and be ready to play in the championship Thursday."

Dexter 47, Jackson 42

JHS 10 4 14 14 - 42

DHS 11 14 10 12 - 47

JACKSON (42) - Cassidi Tomsu 3, Autumn Reid 11, Nikki Sotak 2, Rylee Stafford 12, Mallorie Maintz 6, Kayla Keith 2, Alexis Allston 6. FG 17, FT 3/4, F 8. (3-pointers: Reid 3, Stafford 2. Fouled out: none).

DEXTER (47) - Dakota Reynolds 14, Melanie McKuin 8, Sydney Rogers 3, Krysten Garrison 6, Chaylea Mosby 16. FG 18, FT 4//5, F 9. (3-pointers: Reynolds 4, Rogers 1, Mosby 2. Fouled out: none).