Hampshire snares DeKalb crown

Hampshire needed to be tough if it was going to win.

Michelle Dumoulin played the role perfectly, especially in the closing minutes as Hampshire downed DeKalb 46-38 to claim the championship at DeKalb's 8th Annual Turkey Toss-up girls basketball tournament Saturday.

“We knew they had big girls and they took up a lot of space on defense,” Michelle Dumoulin said. “If we rebounded and we got on the boards, good things will come.”

DeKalb had kept it close through the first 3 quarters by grabbing 11 offensive rebounds. Hampshire (6-0) cleaned the glass allowing just 1 offensive board in the final period. Michelle Dumoulin nabbed a rebound off a Rachel Torres miss and quickly drew a foul. She finished the second half with 4 rebounds as Hampshire held a 13-9 rebounding advantage in the second half.

She also sank a pair of free throws and came up with a key steal in the final minute.

“We preached to the kids all the time that we're not the tallest team in the world, but we play with a lot of heart,” said Whip-Purs' first-year coach Ed Haugens. “We knew we had a big challenge and it was going to come down to rebounding and defense.”

DeKalb (4-1) came within 35-33 with a Torres basket with 43 seconds left in the third quarter. Hampshire responded with baskets from Michelle Dumoulin and Karla Vietinghoff to go up 39-33 with 5:46 left in the fourth. DeKalb responded with a basket from Taylor White to come within 39-35 with 5:18 left.

The Barbs did not hit another field goal for the next 4 minutes, 56 seconds. Hampshire limited DeKalb to just 2 of 11 from the floor and 5 total points in the final period.

“We pressured the ball everywhere,” said Vietinghoff, who scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter. “I think we've come a long way since the first couple of games.”

With two players over 6-feet tall, DeKalb was able to take away Hampshire's main post threat in Alex Dumoulin. The senior finished with 6 points, but added 5 of her 6 rebounds in the second half.

“They had trees down there,” Alex Dumoulin said. “We had to come out strong. After the first half, we realized we had to come out and play tough too.”

Hampshire led 28-20 after closing out the first half of a 7-2 run.

Alex Dumoulin (2 assists), Vietinghoff (2 assists) and Jessica Van Dorin (13 points) were all named to the all-tournament team.