The Dexter Lady Bearcats are led by their five seniors, from left, Jill Temples, Cathryn Heil, Ashlee Taylor, Katelyn Heil and Kayla Joyner. (Alex Abate/DAR)

By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

DEXTER -- After winning a district title last season, the Lady Bearcats are even hungrier to go to deep into the playoffs.

Dexter has five seniors returning, all of whom were at the top of the scoring list with Katelyn Heil averaging 18.5 points per game.

"I think we have a good chance to go a long way, we have a lot of potential," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "We still have a lot (to do) to get there."

The Lady Bearcats should be solid on the offensive end as they have 86.3 percent of their points returning, including Ashlee Taylor who averaged 15.3 points per game and Jill Temples who helped out with a 9.8 average.

"I think more of the girls have gotten more confident this year," senior Katelyn Heil said. "We have four girls that are veterans this year, we are not going to be shy about shooting it at all."

Although the bar for expectations may have been raised for this season, the Lady Bearcats put most of the pressure on themselves.

"I think we are putting more of the pressure on ourselves with our goals this year as a team," Katelyn said. "I really don't feel it from the outside, I feel it more just in our group, we have high expectations for ourselves."

Dexter has a tough schedule this season, starting out with the Farmington Tournament on Monday. The Lady Bearcats are the top seed in the eightteam tournament, which also features Poplar Bluff, Notre Dame and Jackson.

"We are really starting to push them a little harder right now, trying to get them in good shape especially coming up with this Farmington Tournament," Allen said. "This tournament coming up will probably be our toughest tournament of the year. There is some really tough teams in that so we will have to be in very good condition to compete at that level."

Cathryn Heil, who averaged 5.2 points per game last season and 4.3 rebounds per game, is one of the Lady Bearcats that has been improving and should be more confident on the floor this season.

"I worked a lot over the summer with (the coaches) and got in the gym and shot," Cathryn said. "I feel a little bit more comfortable with my shot this year so hopefully, things will work out better on the floor."

The Lady Bearcats have just seven players on the varsity roster and the lack of depth will force every individual to be more conditioned for every game throughout the long season.

"We did a lot more before the season started this year with conditioning outside the gym," Katelyn Heil said. "That, I think, has helped us with practices."

Allen is doing is best to prepare his team for the long season.

"Coach Allen has been doing everything in his power to make sure we are in good shape," Cathryn said. "I am hoping it won't be as big a factor as everybody is thinking."

Last season, the Lady Bearcats held their opponents to a shooting percentage of just 32 percent from inside the 3-point line. They have a fast pace up-and-down the court offense while throwing in various presses to confuse and stifle the offense. This team wouldn't want it any other way, Katelyn said.

"This group of girls loves that style of game where it is all fast paced up and down the court," Katelyn said. "We love to be right in your face on defense so I think we will be excited and that is the game we want to play."

After their 22-5 finish last season, the expectations may be a bit higher for this year's group, but Cathryn sees that as a good thing.

"It is really exciting to know that everyone is anticipating the season and everyone is really excited," Cathryn said. "It helps us get pumped up and excited."

Even though Katelyn and Taylor are the top scorers from last season, Allen feels every senior contributes.

"I feel like all five (seniors) are leaders by example," Allen said. "They all go extremely hard and work off each other so they all work good together."