Dexter senior guard Makenzie Svirha takes the ball up the floor in the first half of a state semifinal game against Grosse Pointe South Friday afternoon at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com
This file will be updated
EAST LANSING -- The Dexter girls basketball team finished the best season in program history with a strong second half. But it was undone by a dreadful first 16 minutes.
The Dreadnaughts fell to Grosse Pointe South, 48-29, in a Class A state semifinal game Friday afternoon at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Dexter finishes the season at 23-4 following the deepest state tournament run in program history.
Forward Emma Kill led Dexter with 12 points, followed by Kathryn Pisano with six. Dexter came out and kept the game close through the first four minutes, before Grosse Pointe South started to pull away. After taking an 11-4 lead following the first quarter, the Blue Devils started the second quarter on a 14-2 run, eventually going up 19-6.
A stingy GPS defense forced 12 Dexter turnovers in the first half, and GPS scored 18 points off those turnovers, leading 27-10 at halftime. The Dreadnaughts shot 4-for-20 from the field in the first 16 minutes.
After Dexter turned the ball over on its first possession after the break, Grosse Pointe South scored five points in less than a minute to go up by 20.
But Dexter recovered and doubled their point total in the third quarter. The Dreadnaughts were outscored by only two in the second half.
The Blue Devils were led by 21 points from sophomore guard Cierra Rice.
The loss concludes an unlikely run to the final four for Dexter, which included a win over Huron in the district final and an 18-point second-half comeback against Farmington Hills Harrison a week earlier in a regional final.
It also concludes the careers of the Dreadnaughts’ entire starting five, which won back-to-back SEC White titles and went 40-8 in the last two years.
Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.