Pressure free throw shooting drill helped Dexter girls claim C title

By Larry Mahoney, Bangor Daily News Staff

Shooting free throws in a close game can be nerve-wracking.

Factor in that you are playing in a state championship game and it can make those foul shots even more pressure-packed.

But the Dexter Regional High School girls came through on the free throw line in their 48-41 victory over Hall-Dale of Farmingdale in their state Class C title game on Saturday, March 2 at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Tigers went 19-for-24 from the foul line (79.2 percent) including a 10-for-14 showing in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.

“That’s fantastic,” said Dexter head coach Jody Grant, who just concluded his 19th season at the helm.

Senior guard Cally Gudroe said Grant is a stickler when it comes to free throw shooting and they have a pressure free throw shooting drill in practice.

“We all line up and he calls out a name. That person goes to the free throw line and shoots two free throws. If she misses one, we all have to sprint up to the end of the court and back. If she misses two, we have to go up-and-back twice,” said Gudroe.

“That definitely helped us,” she added.

The state title was Dexter’s first since 2006 and will take the sting off last year’s 35-24 loss to Old Orchard Beach in the state game.

“We were a little more hungry for it this year. Last year was a huge motivation factor for us,” said Gudroe. “Being a senior, this is the last time I was going to be on the court so I had to put all my skill, effort and heart out there.

“This was something I had been looking forward to since I was just a little girl,” Gudroe added. “It’s amazing.”

Gudroe scored a team-high 15 points for the Tigers, who had four different players score at least eight points. Senior center Mazie Peach had 13 points, senior forward Hannah Dean had 12 and junior guard Abby Corson had eight including four clutch free throws in the fourth quarter.

“It’s so good to have a team like that. When one of us is having a bad night, four others can  take the (weight) off her shoulders,” said Gudroe.

The Tigers’ disciplined trademark man-to-man defense held a Bulldogs team that had scored 60 or more points in 13 of 18 regular season games to just 41 points and outrebounded them 35-23 behind Peach’s 13 rebounds and Dean’s nine.

“We had to have a collective effort on defense and in rebounding,” said Grant, who received exactly that from his team.

The pregame message was to “play as hard as you can and empty the tank for 32 minutes and we’ll see where that leaves us,” said Grant.

“I’m really proud of them. They handled themselves with a tremendous amount of class and they showed some resiliency,” said Grant.

It was the eighth time since 2003 that Dexter had played in a state championship game.

They had also won it in 2004 along with 2006.

Grant said it feels good because it was a “long time coming.

“I want all of my teams to get to the top of the mountain but, for different reasons, that hadn’t happened,” said the 48-year-old Grant. “This makes me appreciate the first one even more.

“This is a credit to all the players who have helped create our culture over the years. They all had a part in this,” said Grant. “They have laid the foundation for what it means to play in our basketball program.

“I have been very fortunate to have coached so many fantastic young ladies,” said Grant.

Gudroe said having so many former players supporting them is special.

“Tiger basketball continues to evolve and have an everlasting impact on girls’ lives,” said Gudore who added that it is a tight-knit family-like environment on and around the team.

The Tigers will graduate three starters in Gudroe and Class C North All-Tourney selections Peach and Dean. Peach was also chosen the Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.

Standout junior point guard Corson, who was also an all-tourney choice and had an exceptional state title game according to Grant, and sophomore guard Desiree Adams will be the two returning starters. Grant said Adams made tremendous progress over the course of the season.

Juniors Carley Coffman and Lillian Cooley and sophomores Annabelle Peakes and Kallie Stone will be among the returnees who will have more prominent roles next season.