Dexter girls basketball team beats Saxony Lutheran 76-40

DEXTER, Mo. - The Dexter Bearcats and Saxony Lutheran Crusaders entered Wednesday night's varsity girls basketball showdown with near matching records.

The Crusaders, which have eight sophomores and a senior on its varsity squad, entered Wednesday with a record of 17-3. Dexter, which is ranked No. 9 in the latest Class 4 state poll, was just one win behind at 16-3.

For the first six minutes the Crusaders played the Bearcats to a 7-7 stalemate.

Dexter took control after as it outscored Saxony Lutheran in every quarter on its way to a 76-40 win at the Bearcat Event Center.

"Saxony is definitely a really good team," Allen said. "They are No. 1 in their district and have played some tough teams pretty close this year. I know they played Notre Dame to single digits both times they played them. I felt like the second half we really picked up the pressure and got after them and that's when we started making that huge run."

The Bearcats led 29-22 at halftime before a 9-0 run padded the margin to 38-22 less than 90 seconds into the second half. Dexter maintained at least a 14-point advantage the rest of the way.

"Offensively, we were a little stagnant that first quarter," Allen said. "Then that second quarter I thought we did a much better job offensively. That sort of set the tone once we made that big run."

The Bearcats had the luxury of hitting 29 of the 50 shots it attempted including eight of 12 treys.

"A lot of those 3's were well defended with someone right in our face," Allen said. "The girls definitely stepped up and knocked down a lot of big shots tonight."

Four Dexter players finished with at least 12 points.

Dexter's Hannah Noe tallied eight points in the first half and 19 in the second half on her way to a team-high 27 points.

Alison Jarrell hit a 3-pointer in every quarter. She hit five of the Bearcats' treys which accounted for all 15 of her points.

Dexter's Erika Cob and Paige Patterson both had five 2-pointers. Cobb tallied 15 points and Patterson calculated 12.

"Offensively, we've definitely got a lot of scoring threats and it's hard for teams to concentrate on just one or two players," Allen said. "All of our girls can score and any given night they can have a big game. As long as we keep playing good defense and getting after it I definitely feel good."

Brianna Mueller paced Saxony with 12 points.

Dexter returns to action Thursday when it hosts Cape Central at 7:15 p.m.

DUSTIN WARD - dward@dailystatesman.com Dexter's Erika Cobb takes a contested jumper Wednesday night at Dexter.

Varsity Girls: Dexter 76, Saxony Lutheran 40

SLS 7 15 7 11 - 40

DHS 10 19 18 29 - 76

SAXONY LUTHERAN (40) - Grace Mirly 8, Jordan Hecht 2, Ali Galemmo 2, Brianna Mueller 12, Tess Daniel 4, Ashlynn Collier 2, Raegan Wieser 2, Maddie Brune 8. FG 16, FT 5/12, F 11. (3-pointers: Mueller 2, Mirly 1. Fouled out: none)

DEXTER (76) - Dakota Reynolds 3, Hannah Noe 27, Alison Jarrell 15, Erika Cobb 15, Paige Patterson 12, Makayla Waldner 4. FG 29, FT 10/12, F 13. (3-pointers: Noe 2, Jarrell 5, Cobb 1. Fouled out: none)