JACKSON, Mo. --There were many moments that either side could fold, but programs the caliber of Dexter and Saxony Lutheran girls basketball don't fold.
In a game that saw both teams make serious claims for control, the second-seeded Bearcats made just enough adjustments down the stretch to slip past No. 1 Saxony on its home floor, 53-52, for the SEMO Conference Tournament championship on Thursday night.
Hannah Thurmon made back-to-back layups in the final minutes to give her team a 53-50 edge, and trailing by a point, Courtney Kester missed a 3-pointer for Saxony at the buzzer to coronate Dexter (4-1).
"Saxony Lutheran is an incredible team, and Sam Sides does a tremendous job. And he's one of the best," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "To come away with a win, you know, at their place in the SEMO Conference Tournament is huge for us."
The Crusaders (3-1) scrambled back from a 15-point hole in the second quarter to give themselves a shot to win, leading by as many as seven points early in the fourth quarter.
That wasn't enough, though, as Bearcats guard Chaylea Mosby hit a 3 with 4 minutes, 43 seconds remaining to give her side a lead and set up a stretch battle that Dexter was able to win.
"You know, you lose by one point, and you can find a thousand things that made the difference in the game," Saxony coach Sam Sides said. "I was real pleased with our effort. We just made a few more mistakes than they did. But I liked the way we battled back."
Mosby led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-21 shooting with eight rebounds and four steals.
Thurmon added 18 points for the Bearcats, who shot 21 of 52 (40.4 percent) from the field.
The Crusaders were paced by 11 points apiece from Laurel Mueller and Masyn McWilliams, who added four assists and three steals.
Addison Beussink, who played a large role in sparking her side's second-half rally, finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.
Saxony shot 21 of 55 (38.2 percent) from the field.
The two teams traded points through much of the first quarter, but Mosby got loose on ball screens on back-to-back possessions for 3-pointers that gave the Bearcats a 17-10 lead with just over a minute remaining in the opening quarter.
McWilliams splashed in a 3 from the right corner with 36 seconds remaining to cut Dexter's lead to 17-13 after 8 minutes.
The Bearcats asserted themselves early in the second, though, with Mosby hitting a wide-open 3 just 21 seconds in to spark a 12-1 run that was capped by a Rylee Allen layup at the 4:38 mark for a 29-14 lead.
Emma Brune took a steal in for a basket to end that swing, and the Crusaders held the second seed to just one field goal the rest of the half.
Mueller got a basket in transition with 27 seconds left and Brune stole the ball and found McWilliams for a bucket with 6 seconds on the clock as the Crusaders cut the deficit to single digits, 33-25, and carried momentum into halftime.
That continued out of the break, as Saxony played with a renewed energy, especially on the glass, and opened the half on an 8-0 run, capped by a Brune bucket in transition that tied things at 33-all at the 5:22 mark of the third quarter.
Thurmon and Makayla Mueller traded 3s for Dexter and Saxony, respectively, and the Crusaders took a 43-39 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Beussink opened the final period with an offensive rebound and a putback to draw a foul, converting the three-point play to put the hosts up 46-34 with 6:34 left in the game.
But after Dexter had managed just eight points in the third quarter, it began to find its offensive rhythm again.
Mosby hit a 3 with 6 minutes remaining -- her first field goal in nearly 14 minutes -- to begin a 10-0 Bearcat run that saw Mosby score seven points and push her team to a 49-46 lead with 4:43 left.
"Their press was really hurting us that second half, so we tried to do something a little differently against their press and it actually worked out real well," Allen said. "I know Chaylea Mosby got a couple of 3s off that back side, which was huge for us."
Saxony jumped back on top, 50-49, on a Gracie Price layup with 3:21 on the clock, but Thurmon responded with her buckets on the other end to slide Dexter into the lead for good, as the Crusaders' hopes clanged off the rim with Kester's last-second look.
"We had to make it more of a scrambling type game," Sides said. "We hustled. We had our chances. If we make that last shot, this is a whole different conversation."
For Saxony, the performance was a promising one against a quality Class 4 team.
"We learned a lot about ourselves these three games (in the tournament) and I hope we learned to compete, we learned to fight through adversity, all that stuff you want to be able to do by the end of the year," Sides said. " ... These games are to get better, to keep evolving as a team. It's good for you because I think they make you tougher. These kind of games help."
For Dexter, a little hardware to start the season is a nice way to begin what it hopes is a campaign featuring another deep run and a return trip to state.
"We figured Saxony would definitely come out trying to punch us and they did. They really took it at us," Allen said. "... I'm just proud of the girls that we kept our composure and kept playing hard and found a way to win there in the end."