Dixon, Johnsburg topple Dundee-Crown

When Carlin Faulkner canned a 3-pointer Dundee-Crown held a 3-2 lead with 6:42 left in the first quarter.

That was the highlight of the day for the Chargers.

During the next 14 minutes and 24 seconds, Johnsburg outscored D-C 22-0. Thus, the Skyhawks cruised to a 51-23 victory over Dundee-Crown in the 13th place game of the 28th Annual Charger Classic Christmas Tournament held at Dundee-Crown High School Thursday.

“I was really disappointed with the way we stepped out on the floor and played in the first half,” said Dundee-Crown coach Michelle Russell. “We weren't ready to play and you can't do that against a quality team like Johnsburg.”

During Johnsburg's 22-0 run, the Skyhawks connected on 8-of-12 shots from the field and were a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Iowa recruit Melissa Dixon scored 9 points including a 3 pointer while Susan Conroy, Mary Kate Wright and Stephanie Cherwin also connected on shots from beyond the arc as Johnsburg (11-6) held a comfortable 24-3 lead with 33 seconds left before intermission.

D-C (5-10), which missed 20 straight shots and committed 11 turnovers during the scoring drought, finally scored with 18 seconds left on a 12-footer in the lane by Klaudia Tabor to make the score 24-5. That was the score after 16 minutes.

“Our press was very effective,” said Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint. “It was an awesome effort on defense for us. We did a good job of not letting Dundee-Crown get it in any type of rhythm offensively.”

The Chargers played with renewed spirits in the third quarter. Led by 6 points from Diamond Williams, the Chargers were able to whittle the Skyhawks' lead to 14, 29-15, after a putback by Williams with 4:12 left in the third quarter.

That was as close as the Chargers would get as Johnsburg scored the final 9 points of the quarter to seize control of the game. A layup by Dixon at the buzzer gave the Skyhawks a 38-15 lead after 3 quarters.

Dixon paced Johnsburg with 22 points and 4 assists.

Dundee-Crown, which made 8-of-16 shots in the second half for 50 percent, was led by Williams with 10 points, all in the second half. The junior center also grabbed 8 rebounds.

“We played much better and much harder in the second half,” said Russell. “I was really happy with the way Diamond played. She was very aggressive on both ends of the floor.”