Defense powers Hampshire to victory
Hampshire turned up the defensive intensity late in the game, and the "D" carried the Whip-Purs to a 48-36 win against Peru St. Bede in the first game of the DeKalb Turkey Toss-up girls basketball tournament Friday.
The game was tied at 30-30 late in the third quarter, but Hampshire proceeded to hold the Bruins to one basket in a span of nearly 10 minutes. By that time they led 45-32 and the game was all but over.
Alex Dumoulin scored half of Hampshire's points and added 7 rebounds and 2 assists, but everybody wanted to talk about the defensive pressure.
"Our defense stepped up when they were pressuring," said Dumoulin, who now has 922 career points. "Karla (Vietinghoff) played a significant role in our defense along with Michelle (Dumoulin). They just did a phenomenal job."
"We did a great job with our defensive pressure," said Hampshire coach Ed Haugens. "It caused some problems."
Alex Dumoulin scored all 8 of Hampshire's first-quarter points. She had 12 by halftime, when the Whip-Purs (2-0) led 20-16 after exchanging 10-0 runs with the Bruins.
When Alex Dumoulin got in foul trouble in the fourth quarter, Vietinghoff picked up the slack. She scored 5 of her 9 points in the fourth quarter and added 6 rebounds.
Five other players added between 2 and 4 points for Hampshire.
Haugens is trying to install a fast-break offense, but still emphasizes the need for patience at times.
"You try to explain, 'Do you want to play defense all the time, or do you want to take a break once in awhile?,' " he said. "This group likes to play defense."
After St. Bede tied the game at 30 on a 3-pointer by Brittany Burgess, the Whips reeled off the next 9 points. Vietinghoff had 5 during the spurt, capping it with a 3-pointer from the corner.
After the Bruins scored, Hampshire got 6 more in a row. St. Bede got a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left for the final margin.
Taylor Miller led the Bruins with 10 points.
Alex Dumoulin went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line as the Whips made their first 10 free throws before finishing 12-for-14.
Hampshire faces Freeport today at 12:30 p.m. in the round-robin tournament. The Whips beat the Pretzels in last year's sectional semifinals on the same floor.