By Matthew Bartow / WLD
Before tipoff, Dexter’s regular season finale against first-place Chelsea seemed to be a great measuring stick for the Dreadnaughts moving forward.
Instead, Dexter turned in a performance that head coach Lauren Thompson called “disappointing” in a 53-37 loss to its rival Friday.
“It’s disappointing. This is a rivalry game that we love to play. Our girls really wanted to play well, we just couldn’t make a bucket, and we allowed them to speed us up a little bit,” Thompson said. “We’re disappointed, but they’re a good team, and now we have to move on and get ready to play in districts.”
Chelsea improves to 11-2 on the season with the victory, and finishes undefeated in the Southeastern Conference White division (8-0). Dexter falls to 11-4 on the season, and 7-3 in the SEC White.
Dexter was barely 24 hours removed from a 56-35 win over SEC White opponent Jackson (6-4, 6-3 SEC White). Thompson said this was a factor in Dexter’s loss on Friday.
“It’s hard to play back-to-back,” Thompson said. “We played a tough game yesterday, and the way things are during COVID, you don’t get days to prepare for a game. I think we might’ve been a little tired from yesterday and just weren’t mentally dialed in as much as we needed to be.”
For the Dreads, the struggles started from the opening tip. Despite baskets from seniors Kylee Niswonger and Shannon Schoch, Dexter only managed four points in a turnover-ridden first quarter.
Chelsea, in contrast, got off to a blazing start in the opening quarter. Senior Jessica Emmert made two 3’s for the Bulldogs in the quarter, propelling the Bulldogs to a 12-4 lead at the quarter’s end.
Emmert, along with sophomore Megan McCalla, led Chelsea with 11 points for the game.
Dexter’s turnovers persisted into the second quarter. The Dreads began the quarter with three straight turnovers, and Chelsea converted two for layups at the offensive end, stretching its lead to 16-4.
Trailing 28-11 late in the second quarter, Dexter seized a small bit of momentum before halftime. Sydney Pnacek and Schoch each scored for the Dreads, and Dexter’s defense held Chelsea scoreless in the final two minutes of the first half.
Chelsea led 28-15 at halftime.
Dexter played its best basketball of the game during the third quarter, which saw it outscore Chelsea 10-9. Senior Kayla Rivers gave the Dreads a spark off the bench, draining two 3s and scoring eight points in the quarter.
Rivers was a bright spot in defeat for Dexter, leading all players with 14 points.
“Kayla [Rivers] is just a super-consistent shooter and an unbelievable worker,” Thompson said. “She’s such an incredible teammate. She’s an impressive senior, a great leader, and a beautiful shooter.”
Dexter was able to pull to within 10 points late in the third quarter’s final minute, but a spectacular layup from Chelsea senior Emily McCalla in the quarter’s final seconds seemingly crushed any momentum the Dreads had. Chelsea led 37-25 after three quarters.
Dexter once again pulled within 10 as senior Alayna Babut gathered an offensive rebound and scored for the Dreads, but Chelsea sealed the game with two straight 3’s and a three-point play to boot, opening up a 48-27 lead.
