Dexter girls roll past Piscataquis to post seventh win and take lead in Heal Points
Staff Writer
GUILFORD — The Dexter girls basketball team has set the standard in the Eastern Maine Class C basketball standings by leading the Heal Points with a 7-0 record. Dexter has set a frenetic pace in both the standings and on the court with their full court pressure man-to-man defense. Each opponent so far, whether its been the defending regional champion Orono or local rival Piscataquis, have all met with the same fate.
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| Observer photo/Bill Pearson TIGER REBOUND — Dexter forward Alison Pease looks to move past Piscataquis guard Alex Speed after securing a rebound in her team’s 58-35 Dec. 28 win in Guilford. Dexter has roared to the top spot in the Heal Point standing’s by posting a 7-0 record. |
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| Observer photo/Bill Pearson LOOSE BALL — Piscataquis guard Jordynne Littlefield looks to corral a loose ball on Dec. 28 before Dexter guard Lauren Crane can. Dexter improved their record to 7-0 with their 58-35 victory. Dexter’s unbeaten season has put them as the No. 1 team in Eastern Maine Class C as the season nears the midpoint. |
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| Observer photo/Bill Pearson PASSING THE BALL — Dexter guard Michaela White makes a pass during the Dec. 28 win over PCHS in Guilford. Dexter has dominated their opponents on both ends of the floor this season in posting a 7-0 record. Dexter defeated PCHS 58-35 and Stearns 75-49 last week to gain the top spot in the Eastern Maine Class C standings. |
| DEX (58) — Bell 0-3-3, Pease 1-0-2, Ritland 1-0-3, Pratt 2-0-4, Crane 10-2-26, Watson 2-2-4, Adam 1-0-2, White 4-4-12. PCHS (35) — Speed 3-0-7, Deane 0-2-2, Littlefield 1-0-2, Patterson 1-0-2, Dow 1-0-2, Bell 2-1-3, Fellows 2-0-4 and Bennett 5-1-11. 3-pointers: Crane 4, Ritland and Speed. 1 2 3 4 DEX 17 31 47 58 PCHS 7 13 26 35 |
All the opponents have felt the pressure imposed by an athletic and deep Dexter team which applies the full court pressure for the full 32 minutes.
The defensive pressure has forced numerous turnovers which has led to easy transition baskets. Dexter showed how good they could be on Dec. 22 by handing defending regional champion Orono their only loss of the season with a 51-42 victory. The Tigers followed up that performance last week with wins against PCHS, 58-35, on Dec. 28 and Stearns, 75-49, on Dec. 29.
Dexter coach Jody Grant has a deep bench with players whose strength is to play a fast-paced game which has helped the Tigers to wear down their opponents Grant has changed his team’s tempo from a more deliberate hallf-court game to a quicker full-court pressure strategy.
“I’ve changed it up bit because we are so deep and athletic,” Grant said. “We go out there and get right after it which definitely plays to our advantage. We just run, run and run and our opponents so far have had a tough time keeping up with us.”
In the victory over PCHS, the Tigers’ speed and aggressive play neutralized the Pirates size advantage to jump out to a 17-7 first-quarter lead. The Tigers extended their lead to 31-13 at the half and continued to expand their lead throughout the contest.
Dexter guard Lauren Crane lead all scorers with 26 points and four 3-pointers. She believes the Tigers pace of play has benefited the team on both ends of the court.
“It was another good game for us. Whether it’s on offense or defense we attack all the time,” Crane said. “We moved the ball well on offense which led to a lot of good shots for me. I think every time I scored it was off an assist.”
Dexter guard Michaela White was the only other Tiger who scored in double figures. She had 12 points.
For PCHS, the Pirates struggled to stop the Tigers with their zone defense and on offense they committed too many turnovers. PCHS was led by forward Delani Bennett with 11 points and guard Alex Speed had seven.
PCHS (3-2) is in ninth-place in the Heal Point standings. The Pirates have home games this week on Jan. 2 against Stearns and on Jan 4 against George Stevens Academy.
Dexter looks to continue their winning ways with a Jan 5 road game against Penquis.