DEXTER -- Dexter junior Rylee Allen stuck the dagger in Jackson's hopes of winning the SEMO Conference championship Monday.
Allen, a 6-foot forward, made a wide-open 3 pointer with 5 seconds left to propel the Bearcats to a 59-56 win at the Bearcat Event Center.
The Indians were looking to clinch the conference title with a win but for a second straight year Saxony Lutheran was crowned champion thanks to Dexter.
Saxony Lutheran beat the Bearcats 71-54 on Jan. 30 to claim a tiebreaker.
Dexter (20-5, 6-1 SEMO) elected to run the clock for the final shot after Mik Liley's driving layup tied the score at 56-all with about 1:30 to play.
"We ran (the spread offense) because our set play didn't work," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "With about 10 seconds left, we ran this play called the loop where the post pops out. Rylee's man came out to help on the ball, and Rylee hit a huge 3 for us."
Coach Allen wasn't surprised that his daughter made the basket.
"She shoots a lot of 3s in practice. All of our players shoot from all over the floor," Coach Allen said. "It was like catching a ball in group practice and knocking it down. She really shoots a high percentage."
Jackson (19-6, 5-2) overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit to set up the exciting finish.
Jackson coach Tyler Abernathy credited a 3-pointer by Emma Masterson and two by Madison Lambert in the third quarter with fueling the Indians' comeback.
Masterson's 3-pointer cut the Indians' deficit 43-36, and Lambert's back-to-back 3-pointers cut Dexter's lead to 47-42 by the end of the third quarter.
Lambert's long-range shots sparked a 13-0 run that gave the Indians a 49-47 lead. Kalli Mayfield, who scored a game-high 24 points, made a pair of free throws to give them a two-point lead with 6:40 to play.
Hannah Thurmon, who returned to the lineup for the first time in eight games, tied the score with a hook shot, but Mayfield countered with a 3-pointer for a 52-49 lead.
Thurman was out with a fractured foot.
Natalie Sitze made a floater in the lane to cut Dexter's deficit to one, and Mayfield scored inside to extend Jackson's lead back to three.
Chaylea Mosby followed with a 3-pointer -- her only points in the fourth quarter -- to tie the score, and the Bearcats went ahead 56-54 on two free throws by Sitze, who finished with nine points.
"They really concentrated on Chaylea (in the fourth quarter). They did great job on her," Coach Allen said. "It was a great thing Chaylea's teammates stepped up and got some shots at key moments."
The lead changed hands five times in the first quarter. Thurmon, who finished with 11 points, scored the Bearcats' first two field goals, giving them 2-1 and 4-3 leads.
Sitze's 3-pointer put the Bearcats ahead 7-5, and they maintained the lead until the fourth quarter.
Mosby scored eight of her 22 points during an 8-0 first-quarter run that gave the Bearcats a 17-7 lead.
A basket by Mayfield and a steal and layup by Liley helped the Indians close their deficit to 17-11 at the end of the first.
Miley, who finished with 19 points, and Mayfield combined for all 11 Jackson points in the second quarter and 21 of its 22 points in the first half.
Mayfield's driving layup cut the Bearcats' lead to four to start the second quarter, but they scored five straight to stretch their lead to 22-13.
The two teams exchanged baskets and free throws for the rest of the quarter with the Bearcats taking a 32-22 lead into halftime.
After a layup and a baseline jumper by Liley cut the Bearcats' lead to six, Thurmon's putback, Sitze's layup off an assist from Mosby and Mosby's steal and layup give them a 38-26 lead, the largest by either team of the game.