Delta's Jade Berry "the best player in Southeast Missouri”

JACKSON – The Dexter High School varsity girl’s basketball squad hasn’t faced its counterpart from Delta High School in at least two decades, and given Saturday’s affair with the Ladycats, the Bearcats may want to wait that long again before competing with the MSHSAA Class 1 program.

Delta methodically, at first, and then overwhelmingly, in the end, dominated Dexter 77-46 in the Jackson Lady Indians Showcase at Jackson High School.

“I thought that we came out and played hard,” veteran Ladycat coach David Heeb said following the rout. “Both teams, in that first half, played really hard.”

Delta (10-2) raced out to a 20-13 first-quarter lead, but the Bearcats (5-8) managed to handle the Delta defensive pressure – somewhat – and remain within a long view of its opponent until halftime.

With the Ladycats pressuring Dexter ballhandlers over the length of the court, as well as jumping passing lanes regardless of where the Ladycat defenders were on the floor, Bearcat senior guard Kate Nichols continually got through and/or behind the Delta defense for lay-up after lay-up.

Nichols scored 16 points in the first half, but Delta, who had senior guard Jade Berry at its disposal, still took a 40-29 margin into the third quarter.

With Nichols scoring at the rim, Berry countered from long range.

The Delta standout sank eight 3-pointers, including five in the first half to keep Dexter at bay.

“Jade is the best player in Southeast Missouri,” Heeb said emphatically. “Period. End of discussion.”

It would be hard to argue that point after watching Berry score a game-high 36 points while also assisting on many of the other 13 made shots by Heeb’s team.

“The thing that makes Jade so special is she gets everybody involved every night.”

Or Saturday mornings, in this case.

“That is just what she does,” Heeb continued on Berry. “But she can go nuclear, too.”

Berry had 21 points by halftime and added seven more in the third quarter, as Delta stretched its lead to 22 points (61-39).

The Ladycats’ relentless pressure for 32 minutes wears opponents down. That showed on Saturday, as Dexter tired as the game went on, its passes got lazier, and loose balls were pursued with less ferocity. However, the ever-demanding Heeb still wasn’t satisfied, despite rolling the MSHSAA Class 4 program over the final 16 minutes of play.

“Basketball is a game that rewards finishers,” Heeb said. “You can do everything right, and if you don’t finish that shot, or you play great defense and don’t finish (that possession) with a great rebound, we’re still not finishing plays at a championship level.”

Delta has won five consecutive MSHSAA Class 1 District titles and Heeb has his sights set on a third trip to the Final Four in the past three seasons in March.

“We’ve got to get (to that level),” Heeb said. “We’ve shown flashes. In the past two or three games, we’ve rebounded awesome.

“We’re good right now but we’re not at that (championship) level.”

Ladycat junior Lilli Boitnott added 17 points while freshman Raelin Nanney and senior Jolie Scherer each scored seven points in the victory.

Nichols finished with 23 points while the Bearcats got 10 points from sophomore forward Mauriona Menley and eight from senior center Febe Worley.