Dexter snaps two-game losing streak against Twin Rivers despite cold shooting night

BROSELEY — The Dexter Bearcats beat the Twin Rivers girls basketball team for the first time in almost six years Tuesday night.

The Bearcats held Twin Rivers to a season-low 20 points and took control in the second quarter for a 34-20 victory at Twin Rivers High School.

Dexter’s last victory over the Royals occurred Feb. 18, 2016, in a 67-49 win at Broseley. The teams only met twice between Dexter’s wins with Twin Rivers winning last year’s regular-season meeting 58-45 and a 2019 Lady Royals Christmas Classic matchup 58-55 .

The Bearcats held Twin Rivers to 16% shooting (5 for 31), although the host squad never trailed in the first quarter and led past the midway point of the second.

“We couldn't throw it in the ocean tonight,” Twin Rivers coach David Crockett said. “We shot (16%) from the field. You're not gonna win. (We) scored 20 points. You're not gonna beat anybody scoring 20 points. We missed 12 free throws and it's a 14-point game. That's huge. No telling how many layups we missed. We’ve just got to figure it out.”

Dexter coach Eric Sitze said his players lacked energy in their first game back from the Christmas break.

“I thought the fourth quarter we came alive a little bit. We played good in a couple spurts in the second quarter,” Sitze said. “But again, that was when we played with the most energy and that's when we did our best defensively (and) offensively.”

The Bearcats began converting turnovers into points and grabbing offensive rebounds in the second quarter.

Twin Rivers committed seven turnovers, which Dexter turned into eight points, and the Bearcats snared 10 offensive rebounds, including seven on two early possessions. They scored seven points on second-chance opportunities.

Taylor Watson, who led Twin Rivers with 10 points, sank a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and extend her team’s lead to 11-4. However, the Bearcats scored six straight points to cut the lead to one (11-10) on a fast-break basket by Magi McBride, who finished with 11 points.

Watson made two free throws with 4:32 to play to push the lead to 13-10, Dulcie Pullen scored on a drive inside, the Royals missed two free throws and McBride sank a jumper to give Dexter a 14-13 advantage, their first lead of the game.

Pullen, who produced a game-high 14 points, scored inside and McBride converted a Twin Rivers turnover into a layup to increase the lead to 18-13.

McBride added a late 3-pointer, and the Bearcats took a 21-15 lead into halftime.

“The first quarter we were attacking. I thought the second quarter, which is the quarter that really decided it, we let them attack us,” Crockett said. “On the defensive (end), they were a little more aggressive and we got passive. That's the story of the game.”

Neither team shot the ball well. Dexter made only 23% (15 of 66) of its shots in the victory.

“Man, we struggled tonight to get going,” Sitze said. “We struggled energy-wise. They outplayed us on the boards. I thought our decision-making wasn't great at times. I felt like we didn't play with a lot of energy. When you don't play with a lot of energy, you can really struggle at certain parts of the game.”

Twin Rivers led 8-4 after one quarter, and the Bearcats took a 27-18 lead into the fourth.

Dexter (8-3) will hit the road to face Farmington on Thursday night. Tipoff for the varsity game will be around 7:30.

Twin Rivers (6-6) will face Campbell in a road matchup Thursday night at Campbell High School. The junior varsity game will start at 6.

Dexter 4 17 6 7 — 34

Twin Rivers 8 7 3 2 — 20

DEXTER — Dulcie Pullen 14, Magi McBride 11, Kate Nichols 5, Caitlin Giles 2, Allison Turnbo 2, Avery Neely 0. FG 15 FT 2-11 F 19. (3-pointers: McBride, Pullen. Fouled out: none.)

TWIN RIVERS — Taylor Watson 10, Haylyn Crockett 2, Amelia Douglas 2, Maci Hockersmith 2, Brianna South 2, Reece Crismon 1, Charly Johnson 1. FG 5 FT 9-21 F 11. (3-pointers: Watson. Fouled out: none)