DEXTER—- There are a lot of new faces playing for Dexter Tigers girls basketball coach Jody Grant this season. It has been the same formula for Grant and the Tigers in starting the 2015/2016 season with five wins.
The Tigers held Penobscot Valley High School (PVHS) to 22.9 percent shooting and forced 19 Howlers turnovers in a 37-28 victory at Ed Guiski Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
With all the new faces, it was two familiar ones who led the way for Grant and the Tigers. Kayli Cunningham came off the bench to record 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
“Kayli (Cunningham) comes in and gives us great energy,”Grant said. “She was fantastic tonight.”
Cunningham added, “I just work as hard as I can.”
Junior standout Megan Peach dominated the inside game for the Tigers. She recorded 10 points, 15 rebounds, and nine blocks. She also helped shut down the Howlers. The Tigers held Samantha Ireland and Mikayla Roy to a combined 0-24 from the field. Peach played all 32 minutes.
Grant said, “Megan (Peach) has given us a lot on both ends of the floor, even though she is drawing a tremendous amount of attention from other teams when we are on offense.”
Slowing down Ireland is not easy for any team, including a dominant defensive team like the Tigers. Ireland is a four year player for the Howlers, she scored her 1000 career point in a win over Penquis on Saturday.
“In practice, coach talks about playing as hard as we can on defense. We tried to do as much as we could to slow her (Ireland) down.”Cunningham said. “We work on getting to the spots we need to, and that is what we do in the game.”
Amy Hallett scored the first basket of the game. That was the last lead of the first half for the Howlers. Cunningham made an immediate impact, as she sparked a 6-0 run. The Tigers built the lead to 12-5 late in the first quarter.
PVHS cut the deficit to 12-9, before the Tigers went on another 6-0 run in the second quarter to get their advantage to 18-9. The Howlers scored the final eight points of the first half and the first two points of the second half to take their last lead (19-18) of the game. The Tigers went on an 8-0 run to take a 26-19 lead when Skyler Theodore nailed a jumper with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter to cap the run. PVHS would not cut the deficit closer then five the rest of the way.
Katie Batron recorded six points, seven rebounds, and two steals for the Tigers, while Theodore added five points. Cidney Pratt recorded five rebounds and two assists, while playing a solid game at point guard for the Tigers. Ashley Reynolds came off the bench to play 21 solid minutes. Dexter (5-0) will play at Orono on Friday night.
Hallett led the Howlers with 15 points, nine rebounds, and eight steals. Arianna McKinnon added seven points, three rebounds, and two steals. Abby Davis scored four points, while Elizabeth McKinnon chipped in with two points. PVHS (4-1) will travel to Guilford for a game with PCHS on Friday night.
