DEXTER -- Maycie Martin and the Dexter Bearcats opened their home schedule with a bang Monday night.
Martin scored a game-high 33 points, and the Bearcats rolled past the Kennett Indians 90-31 in their SEMO Conference opener at the Bearcat Event Center.
"I'm so happy we finally have a home game," Martin said. "They get me so pumped up."
The Bearcats (12-2, 1-0 SEMO) had already played 13 games before their home opener that remained competitive for most of the first quarter. Both teams struggled with turnovers early before and the Bearcats' defense took over.
"The girls were excited to be at home. They got to wear their new warmup pants. (They were white with vertical red stripes.) They looked sharp," Dexter assistant coach Eric Sitze said. "We looked a little jittery in the first quarter there just because they were excited to be at home. After that, it settled in a little bit."
Chaylea Mosby and Hannah Thurmon each made 3-pointers to give the Bearcats a 6-0 lead, but Kennett (3-9, 0-2) cut the lead in half on a 3-pointer by Janesha Hubbard.
The Bearcats' defense then fueled an 11-0 run that featured multiple fast-break baskets. Martin and Natalie Sitze were the spark plugs combining for all 11 points. Martin had six and Sitze had five including a 3-pointer.
"Defense is the most important factor in the game," Martin said. "If your defense is working, your offense just falls into place. Even if your shots aren't falling if you've got a good defense, your offense will still work out."
Rylee Allen scored inside, Kayton Harris, who paced Kennett with 10 points, and Tynesha Wilson each sank a free throw, and the Bearcats led 19-5 after one quarter.
The Bearcats opened the second with a 14-0 run. Mosby scored six points, and Martin and Thurmon had four each to extend their lead to 33-5.
Martin added six more points in the second, and the Bearcats' lead grew to 42-14 by halftime.
Mosby and Maci McBride each made two 3-pointers in the third. The Bearcats made 10 3-pointers overall.
Martin scored 13 of Dexter's 35 third-quarter points, and the Bearcats took a 77-23 lead into the final quarter where the clock ran continuously because of the 30-point mercy rule.
"We got the ball to her and she did a great job finishing," Sitze said of Martin.
Three Dexter players scored in double figures and three others finished within a field goal of achieving the same feat.
"We really moved the ball well tonight," Martin said. "We got a lot of high-low looks. That was good."
Besides Martin's 33 points, Mosby scored 19, Sitze had 12, McBride nine, Allen eight and Thurmon eight.
"We put up good offensive numbers most nights," Coach Sitze said, "but we really try to concentrate on our defense, especially these next two days with the three teams we've got coming up. We've really got to focus on our defense and try to fix a few of the things."
After the easy victory, the Bearcats' schedule steps up a notch or two over the next week. They host Neelyville on Thursday, face Pacific at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Jackson Shootout and host Park Hills Central on Monday.
The Bearcats held off Neelyville 66-58 to win the Lady Royals Christmas Classic in December, and Pacific (8-4) features a roster that should match up well height-wise with them.
"Pacific might've been ranked early in the year. They'll be good competition," Coach Sitze said. "Then we've got Park Hills who has only got one loss on the year."
Park Hills Central is 13-1 after beating Poplar Bluff 73-63 Monday night.