Web posted
Friday, January 18, 2008
Dexter girls overcome slow start, defeat Caldwell
By MIKE JOSEPH
Traveler Correspondent
Freshman Alexis Hafenstein sparked the Dexter Lady Fightin' Cardinals in the second half, scoring nine of her 11 points as the Cardinals advanced to the championship finals of the Dale Misak/SCBL tournament with a 42-24 win over the Caldwell Lady Bluejays Thursday night.
Following a low scoring first half which saw Dexter clinging to a 13-10 lead at the half, Hafenstein opened the third quarter with back-to-back buckets. Amanda Defore's offensive rebound and shot from inside pushed the Dexter lead to 19-10 at the 4:51 mark.
Vicki Schmidt answered for the Lady Jays, hitting a three from the left wing and getting loose in the lane with a runner pulling Caldwell back within 19-15 with 3:56 left in the period.
Hafenstein's 17-foot jumper from the right corner and Defore's inside basket gave the Cardinals a 23-15 lead heading into the final quarter.
"We talked about pushing the tempo at halftime," Dexter coach Debbie Callison said. "We play better at a faster pace and we wanted to force them (Caldwell) to play our game."
Dexter extended its lead to 27-15 early in the final period on a baseline jumper from Allie Crow and a 15-footer from Hafenstein.
Camille Kahrs took charge in the fourth quarter, scoring six of her game-high 14 in the period, highlighted by a four-point-possession. With a little over a minute and a half remaining, Kahrs drove the baseline, scored, and was fouled.
Her free-throw attempt caromed long and she was able to grab the rebound and score from eight feet giving the Cardinals a commanding 38-21 lead.
It was a slow start for both teams to begin the game.
Dexter scored the first basket of the game, but the score was knotted at 2-2 with 2:37 remaining in the opening period. Caldwell turned the ball over nine times in the period, but Dexter was unable to take advantage as the teams went into the second period tied at 4-4.
"I thought we played a lot smarter tonight," said Callison. "We were able to stay out of foul trouble and I am very happy with the results."
The victory earns the top-seeded Cardinals a berth in Saturday's championship game against the second-seed Argonia Lady Raiders.
CALDWELL 4 6 5 9 -- 24
DEXTER 4 9 10 19 -- 42
Caldwell -- Schmidt 9, Bruey 6, Arnold 2, Thurman 2, Lebeda 2, Kendrick 2, York 1.
Dexter -- Kahrs 14, Hafenstein 11, Defore 10, Lawrence 3, Crow 2, Kill 2.
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