Dexter rolls Fredericktown, moves on in district tournament

The Dexter Bearcats girls basketball team defeated the Fredericktown Blackcats 56-37 in the first round of the Class 4 District 1 tournament on Monday at Notre Dame Regional High School. Kate Nichols led the offense of the Bearcats who finished with 23 points, followed by Abbie Lloyd and Mauriona Menley with 13 and 11, respectively.

Dexter opened the first quarter on an 8-0 run with back-to-back threes and forced Fredericktown to use an early timeout. Out of the timeout, Fredericktown figured out their offense but could not stop Dexter on the defensive end as the Bearcats led 16-9 after one.

Through much of the first half, Dexter used quick hands on defense to turnover Fredericktown and got easy buckets on the other end. Dexter outscored Fredericktown 21-10 in the second quarter and took a 37-19 lead into the locker room.

Dexter head coach Eric Sitze said his team’s ability to rebound helped them perform well in this game.

“We’ve been a pretty decent rebounding team this year for as small as we are. We’ve really done well offensively on the boards and we’re typically active going after the rebound,” Sitze said. “They really surprised me this year rebounding, in the games that we've done well we've shown up on the boards.”

The two teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter, scoring 15 points a piece. Fredericktown could not chisel away at the lead as the Bearcats still led 52-34 entering the final quarter.

In the fourth, Dexter was content to pass the ball around to chew the clock on nearly all of their possessions. The Bearcats put in a few reserve players early and cruised into the semi-finals of the district tournament.

Dexter will face an undefeated and #1 ranked team in Class 4 Doniphan on Wednesday at 6 p.m. While this game will be a challenge for the Bearcats, Sitze said his team is looking forward to it.

“Doniphan is a really good team, they're undefeated and are ranked number one in the state, and they deserve all that,” Sitze said. “We have nothing to lose. We're gonna come out here and try to play as hard as we can play and try to execute and do things right. It'll take a great game on our part, but we're looking forward to it, we're ready for it.”