Dexter girls basketball pushes past slow start, holds on to edge Notre Dame

Things couldn't have gone much better for the Notre Dame girls basketball team through the first 10 minutes of Monday night's game. On Homecoming in front of a good crowd the Bulldogs found themselves up 13-6 in the second quarter on Class 4 state-ranked Dexter, holding the visitors without a field goal in that opening stretch. But the Bearcats put a damper on the feel-good vibe.

Dexter dominated at the free-throw line, found its shooting touch and roared back with a 23-point second quarter, never trailing in the game's final 19 minutes, 39 seconds as it soured Notre Dame's night with a 56-49 victory at Notre Dame High School.

The Bearcats (16-4) rebounded from opening the game 0 of 17 from the floor to go 14 of 29 the rest of the way, and was 26 of 33 at the charity stripe.

Notre Dame's Allie Ziegler defends against Dexter during the second quarter Monday, Feb. 8, 2016 at Notre Dame Regional High School.Fred Lynch

Notre Dame (9-12) concocted a rally of its own in the fourth quarter, coming from as many as 12 points down with less than 7 minutes to play and drawing within one possession, 49-46, with 1:43 left on the clock.

The Bulldogs came out of a timeout and immediately began fouling, but couldn't cut into the deficit as Dexter's veteran experience shined down the stretch.

"Our foul tally was a little off from what the scoreboard said, so we were in a little different position than we thought. But we just wanted to give our girls a chance," Notre Dame coach Renee Peters said. "At that point we knew they were probably going into some prevent, so we just wanted to give ourselves a chance. "I think down the stretch -- in the last two or three minutes -- their poise and experience showed and we turned the ball over at inopportune times, and that [changed] the score.

"For us, [the first 10 minutes] was a moral victory in itself. But they went on to hit 26 free throws to our six, so that was definitely a big factor in this game."

Notre Dame shot 20 of 49 on the night and was 6 of 10 at the line.

Dexter shifted the game with a swing that began with a pair of free throws, as a 13-2 run midway through the second quarter turned a 15-9 Notre Dame advantage into a 20-17 Bearcat lead when Dakota Reynolds hit a floater at 2:34 of the second period.

Reynolds finished with 13 points for the visitors, while Krysten Garrison led all scorers with 17 points. Chaylea Mosby added 14.

"Shooting, we definitely struggled," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "I think we were 0 for 17 from the field to start the game. It's tough to do that [and win], especially in an environment like this at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's Maddie Urhahn takes a shot between Dexter's Cheyenne Mosby, left, and Krysten Garrison during the first quarter Monday, Feb. 8, 2016 at Notre Dame Regional High School.Fred Lynch

"Definitely not our best night, but just getting to the free-throw line early and eventually knocking down some shots late definitely helped. I thought Notre Dame did an excellent job of executing their offense early and they stretched out a pretty good lead there. We adjusted pretty well defensively and made it tougher on them, but making free-throws early and knocking down shots at the end was what won it for us."

The Bearcats got more aggressive on both sides of the basketball, which led not only to the offensive bounce-back in the second quarter, but also to a strong defensive third quarter. The Bulldogs shot just 30 percent for just eight points in the third, and an 11-0 run saw Dexter take a tie game and turn it into an 11-point gap, 38-27 at the 4:33 mark of the period.

Mosby scored eight points in the quarter as the Bearcats took a 40-32 advantage into the final eight minutes.

"They changed their half-court setup on us," Peters said. "They pulled out that trap and did a good job. They coaxed us into the corner. We got trapped a couple of times and they attacked and you could see them getting more aggressive."

Reynolds scored on the fast break and Garrison knocked down a pair of free throws to start the fourth quarter as Dexter took its biggest lead of the night, 44-32, with 6:48 left on the clock.

Notre Dame, however, kept hope alive, swinging back within three points thanks to a 10-2 run sparked by Allie Ziegler. The big Bulldog forward hit a baseline jumper and then again from the elbow before capping the swing a minute and a half later with a basket that pulled the hosts within six points.

Then, with 1:43 left, Faith Essner sank a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 49-46. It wasn't enough to win, but it was enough for Notre Dame to walk away with a lot of positives to draw from.

"I was pleased. There was a good crowd tonight and there was a lot of energy, and I told the girls, 'Use this energy,' and we did," Peters said. "Once these kids play with some confidence ... Dexter is a very good team -- a well-coached team and a disciplined team. They have a very good chance to be the No. 1 seed in our district. But I think the girls saw that on any given night, if you execute the game plan, good things can happen."

Ziegler finished with a double-double for the Bulldogs with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Essner added 11 points and Maddie Urhahn posted 10 points and eight boards.

"Allie has a golden heart. She came off the floor and was apologizing for the bunnies she missed," Peters said. "You know what? It's true -- we may have left eight or 10 points on the board -- but she made up for it with her defense and rebounding. She stepped up tonight and hit some big shots that kind of kept our foothold in the game."

Dexter will now host Cape Central on Thursday.

Notre Dame is back on the floor Saturday hosting John Burroughs.

Dexter 4 23 13 16 -- 56

Notre Dame 10 14 8 17 -- 49

DEXTER (56) -- Dakota Reynolds 13, Melanie Mckuin 11, Krysten Garrison 17, Chaylea Mosby 14, Natalie Sitze 1. FG 14-46, FT 26-33, F 9. (3-pointers: Reynolds 2. Fouled out: None.)

NOTRE DAME (49) -- Sam Brennan 9, Faith Essner 11, Maddie Urhahn 10, Hayli Chapman 6, Allie Ziegler 11, Maggie Heisserer 2. FG 20-49, FT 6-10, F 21. (3-pointers: Chapman 2, Essner. Fouled out: None.)