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The Lady Bearcats had a blast!
Ashlee Taylor scored a game-high 30 points and the Dexter Lady Bearcats lived up to there No. 1 state ranking in Class 4 with a 100-28 laugher over the visiting Donettes to improved to 23-0 on the season.
 Abbie Warren rips down a rebound |
Dexter will be at home tonight against the Twin Rivers Lady Royals looking to run the table and make it a perfect 24-0 regular season.
"I just told the girls at the beginning of the game just to come out here and have a lot of fun and get after it, push the ball up the floor, and boy, we looked great tonight how we ran the floor," Allen said after the game. "We got a lot of points in transition and defensively I thought we did a great job putting a lot of pressure on them and creating some turnovers. It was just a total team effort."
 Joyner goes up for two points during Dexter's, 100-28, win at home over Doniphan. |
Doniphan's Erin Pennington scored first to open the second, but Dexter proceeded to put together a 10-0 run before Kadie Civils dropped one in for the Donettes. Dexter finished the second on a 19-5 run to go into half-time up, 55-15.
It was more of the same in the third as Dexter out scored the Donettes, 22-12, to take a 77-27 lead into the fourth with the mercy clock in play.
 Cathryn Heil knocks the ball away to force one of 36 Donette turnovers. The Dexter team will be looking to make it 24-0 and wrap up a perfect regular season when they host the Twin Rivers Lady Royals tonight. |
An undefeated season is rare in any sport, and it's something new even for a veteran coach like Allen.
"No I haven't," Allen answered when asked if he had ever been apart of a perfect regular season. "Not even in my playing days or as a coach have I ever done it or seen it. But it just shows you what great players they are and how much they play as a team.
"Hopefully we'll get in here tomorrow night and get after it like we did tonight," Allen continued. "Because we definitely have to get focused on these districts coming up. If we do go undefeated regular season, it doesn't really matter, because when the playoffs get here, you have to show up every night.
"It's a new season starting next week, everyone is 0-0 and so we've got to be ready to play," he added. "We've been tested quite a bit this year. But we just have to keep on playing the way we play. And if we do that, we'll be fine. I know we have a big target on our backs and everybody is gunning for us, but you know, if we just play the way we play, we'll be all right. I think the girls have handled it well all year. They just come ready to play every game and get after it."
All eight players on the Dexter bench saw significant playing time and each of them scored.
Katelyn Heil finished with 23 points, while Cathryn Heil netted 12.
Doniphan didn't have a player in double figures but Hannah Netherland and Jessica Aren both scored eight. Doniphan entered the game missing two starters. Christin Ivy was out with a injury and Cassey Hart recently left the team.
The Donettes slipped to 5-11 on the year.
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Show some class. You have an outstanding team. You are up 55-15 at halftime....Game over. NO reason to pile on and beat any team this bad. This team plays the game the right way and should be taught how to use a 2nd half blowout as a way to show incredible class and sportsmanship. Hate seeing this at any level, in any sport.
I rarely agree with shannonhoon, but this time I do. Yes these ladies have a great team, and yes they play hard. But is it really that important to get 100 points!!! I dont think so. With districts coming up, its not worth the risk of the already SHORT bench getting hurt! These girls are great, I am so proud of them and I dont want to take anything away from them. It's the coach who is pushing them to do this. You can teach the sport of basketball and a little class at the same time.
"Ashlee Taylor scored a game-high 30 points and the Dexter Lady Bearcats lived up to there No. 1 state ranking in Class 4 with a 100-28 laugher over the visiting Donettes to improved to 23-0 on the season."
I guess it's not enough to humiliate these girls with a 72pt loss but we also have to call the game a "laugher". Very disrespectful!!! Shame on Coach Allen and shame on the writer for making such a comment!!
Ladies, I'm sorry, but you are wrong about this and the coach. One, you can't tell your players not to play. Two, Doniphan did nothing to try to slow down play or protect the ball. This was not meant as a slam against Doniphan or any other team Dexter has played. They just play hard and like to play fast paced if they have the opportunity. Three, coach Allen is one of the classiest guys you will ever meet
Did any of you actually attend the game? Did you see that Dexter didn't press after the first quarter. Played all eight girls and with districts next week what do you do, tell your girls to take the second half off! You have to play your hardest. Injuries more often occur when players are not playing their hardest or trying not to get hurt. These girls play hard for 32 minutes whether they are ahead, behind,or tied. You can't blame them for words printed in the paper and you can't talk bad about them because the competition level isn't there. If you don't have something positive to say then I would suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself.
These girls are not trying to win the sportsmanship award. They are trying to win a State Championship. Believe me they know what it takes. You obviously don't. If someone gets their feelings hurt along the way I guess that is too bad.
This should be motivation for Doniphan to work hard in the off season, these girls did. Not to reiterate, but if Doniphan would have slowed the ball down and not shot the ball immediately after crossing the timeline, they could have avoided this. If you play these girls you had better give it 100%. I dare to say that Doniphan did not.
If I have the ball behind the 3-point line with 2 seconds left and 97 points, I'm shooting. If I have 90 points and 15 seconds left I don't.
Tonight is senior night. The last game on this court for these girls. I think they will be motivated to play as hard as they can. If you don't want to see more of the same, then I suggest you stay home.
The comment by the paper about the game being a "laugher" was embarrassing, and in no way reflects the attitude of coach Allen or Sitze.
As was pointed out, the girls did not press in the second half, and since we do have a SHORT bench, we have no choice but to have at least 3 starters in the game at any given time. You do have to give your best to stay sharp, and that's all they did.
The term "laugher" has been a part of sports writing forever. It merely means the game was not close. It is not used as a disrespectful "laughing at the losing team." Just part of sports writing.
I recall a game many moons ago, Doniphan 107 Dexter 34.
I recall a game many moons ago, Doniphan 107 Dexter 34.
Will partly agree with Hoon on this one. These ladies are fun to watch and leave it all on the court the whole game. With that being said, I was disappointed to see our JV in a full court press up by 30 the whole fourth quarter. The old tough guy "get better or don't complain" just doesn't cut it with me. I hope the coaches of the teams we are beating have a short memory when our talent pool is down the next couple of years. We might be on the other end of some of these kickings....
A last second save and putting up a shot at the buzzer is running up the score. Teams with class hold the ball with a few seconds left and don't worry about scoring 100. Is 97 not enough? I have no problem playing hard the whole game, but is it necessary to throw up a last second shot to make sure you put triple digits up on a team? I don't think so.
Congratulations to our girls for a truly outstanding season. However, I cannot imagine our fans being anything less than bitter were the shoe on the other foot. There is no way our fans would be as understanding as some of us are expecting the Doniphan fans to be! Pressing, continuing to sprint up and down the floor, etc. against an inferior team "in no way" prepares us for a tougher foe!
Semocat, you are definitely showing your immaturity and ignorance of basketball. These girls have no idea what it takes to win a state championship because none of them have ever done it. And when you have 97 points and your opponent has 28, you don't shoot the ball at the buzzer to try and get 100. CLASSLESS!! Coach Allen is a good guy however, so I will give him a free pass.
I just got back from watching the Lady Cats play Twin Rivers. The final score was 90-something (low 90's) to 20-something (high 20's) and I can honestly say that I saw nothing that would indicate that they were running up the score. First off, the girls can play. They have 5 starters that can put the ball in the basket and all 8 on the team can play D. Plus, they are unselfish and play hard the whole game long.
I've gotten the pleasure of watching them hone their skills over the past several years. Coach Allen and Coach Sitze has worked these girls tails off and the girls have been rewarded with a perfect regular season.
While I understand that some of you may think that these girls (or coach) are running up the score, I just didn't see it tonight. They are preparing for the district tournament and hopefully a deep run in the playoffs. They have played at 90 m.p.h. the whole year. Why stop now?? It doesn't make sense to change your whole way of playing for the sole purpose of someone might get their feelings hurt.
Believe me, I've watched Lady Bearcat basketball for several years. Even the lean years when we got our butts handed to us on a regular basis. If I felt they were running up the score I would remain silent and let the bloggers have their way. I just don't see it.
To protect from beating your opponent by too many points does the player try to miss shots?, not play defense?, puposefully make turnovers? On the other hand Doniphan could have slowed the pace down with a zone defense and a delay game offense. They only have two seniors on their team, only one starts, so Doniphan is inexperienced as a whole. They will have a good program with further development. Dexter did not "run up the score", they played fundamentally sound ball and aren't in the stage of the season to "let up". Districts are next week and with eight players staying in the up tempo mode is excellent practice for upcoming games and helps keep them in the top shape their in. Lauren who made the quick catch and release of the final three pointer was good practice in a game situation that may be needed for a win at the higher level coming next week. If we had several bench players I'm sure they would have been played. That would have protected the better players from injury. Coach Allen doesn't have that luxury and as the note above states not playing full out is a good way to get a player injured and we don't have any to spare. Yes they pressed for half the game, good practice which you can't get against other varsity players unless its in a game. I just can't believe anyone who knows this team and coach thinks they set out to "run the score up" so they could embarass Doniphan. Not once did I see Dexter players celebrate any baskets; they gave respect before, during and after the game. I guess having the mercy rule where the clock continues to run with 30 point differential in the fourth quarter should be amended to half-time. The rules are what they are and the game was not over at half time. Remember the game we scored like 30 some points for the entire game and neather team including ours couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. Lastly, "a laugher" is an old sports term used frequently when one team wins easily. Used almost every night on ESPN.
Shooting a buzzer shot when your up by that many points is running the score up. Bottom line. You can't defend that. Scoring 97 doesn't bother me. It's the fact that they shot a buzzer shot to try and put triple digits up.
Will NOT take away from just how good this team is. NO question, a terrific team who is fun to watch. I guess this blog for me will take a generic take....in other words I am not talking about this team or any specifically.
Lets just say there is not a lot of difference in a 70,80,90, or 100 point win in my opinion. It is all classless and has NO place in high school athletics. Take an opportunity to save injury and show respect to a school who is down.
dukefan, imagine for a moment if you will, that you are a 15 years old freshman. You play on a team that plays as hard as they can for as long as they can. The clock is ticking down and your teammate make a great hustle play to save the ball from going out of bounds. Now, the player could very well have allowed to ball to go out of bounds and the game be over, but this isn't how this team plays. They go after loose balls and hustle the entire game.
Anyway, back to my scenario. Your teammate makes a great hustle play and you find yourself with the ball as the clock is ticking down. The crowd is yelling "SHOOT"! Now the ball is in your hands and you're telling me that, as a 15 year old freshman, you would have the presence of mind to pull the ball out and dribble out the clock. If you do, then you're mature beyond your years. She oould have just as easily missed the shot as made it. Then I guess this would have been a non-issue with you.
On another note. Scott Co. Central has routinely scored over 100 points in games this season. I've heard no outrage over coaching legend Ronnie Cooksons' talented group of athletes running up the score. When you have the horses, you let them run.
To shannonhoon and bonscott: How can you say generic statement, when previously you attacked the girls team for scoring the 100 point. Also, when is the last time you watched them play? Anytime this year? The girl that made the shot is an inexperienced freshman with a little varisty playing time. Any freshman, varsity or JV would have probably thrown up that shot, not even thinking about the consequences of making it. I totally agree with Robincrosby. Also, when Heather Galloway was playing for the ladycats about years ago, our girls were playing AT Doniphan before a packed house. When Doniphan hit 90 points the entire gym stood up and chanted "break a hundred", When they hit the 100th point, the crowd rushed the gym floor-don't remember seeing or hearing our crowd behave like that! Also, I am curious, we broke 100 against Sikeston early in the season (I believe Sikeston even had less points than Doniphan), so why wasn't this uprising started back then! No matter what ANY Bearcat team does, male or female, we are going to be critized, so what the heck does this matter? Sad to see comments like this coming from former bearcats. I am sure that as former and current coaches as some of you are, you would never do anything like this, but on the other hand, I guarentee you that Coach Allen and Coach Sitze would never lower themselves to post comments about your teams anoumously-have some guts, go call these coaches classless to their faces.....I resent these girls being called classless, and hope your children are never in the same position. I am sure that you will instruct your children to hold the basketball at all costs so that another team doesn't feel bad. Don't worry, we cats will get our butts spanked by 100 at some point in time, b/c all good things must come to an end.
Good luck ladies, and I for one do not consider you classless!!
First of all, who the hell is scotthooncruse and what does he have to do with this? Second, bballer99, if you don't like criticism, compliments, or opinions, stay off message boards and blogs. Third, docholiday, if you call a game that is 55-15 not over, you need to reevaluate your basketball knowledge. Especially a game in high school.
Don't mind constructive critism, but to call the ladycats CLASSLESS is attacking a group of HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS who do nothing but play the game that they love. I guess Chad should have told them at half time to hold the ball, he probably did, but you can only hold the ball so long is against a horrible team. I was on a horrible team and believe me, the other team could have made baskets for us and still be the pants off of us. As if you don't know who shannonhoon is-heck the whole town of Dexter knows who it is, made too many brags to the town folks. Sounds to me like you don't like critism, b/c I sure did hit a nerve.. Please comment on why it was okay to whip the pants off Sikeston, but not Doniphan..I am taking the critism, but sounds to me like some people don't mind dishing it out, but not take it. Any, see you at state Lady Cats!!
bballer99, I have broad shoulders and thick skin, so the criticism doesn't bother me. I find good fun in it, unless it goes overboard. To your point about the Sikeston and Doniphan games, I have no ties to Dexter or the girls basketball team and I did not see any scores or articles on the Sikeston game, just Doniphan. I stand by my comments and did not refer to the the PLAYERS as classless, just the act that they performed which is initiated by their coach. So bballer99, you didn't hit a nerve and definitely will not rattle me, especially on a topic such as this....Good luck Lady Cats.
I said the same thing about the Sikeston game this year....would say the same thing about R. Cookson or any other team not doing things to keep the scores reasonable. Just opinion and philosophy, that's all. I feel there is a BIG difference in winning a game by 30 or 40 or 50, as opposed to your 60-70-80-90 point wins.
Let me be even more clear. These girls and their coaches are NOT classless people. We all know them. These last two games are classless displays of sportsmanship, just the same as Doniphan's peeps were when they chanted, ran up the score and stormed the court....but they are not classless people. Everyone makes mistakes in judgement and we can't even get a consensus on if this was one indeed.
You want some good stuff on these girls and their coaches.....
Work amazingly hard, show NO emotion on the court, unbelievably businesslike, all out hustle, true sense of playing as a team, listen, support each other, selfless in who gets points or credit. Coaches coach and prepare, working to keep a program rolling that was resurrected by GMiller. Check out the crowds....all for a sport, girl's basketball, that is tough to watch when not played at a high level. This is a high level.
JUST a differing opinion on running up scores and sportsmanship. I don't like it, never have, never will and knew the discussion would be great, which it has been.