2A power Rockford Lutheran whips Hampshire

This is the kind of loss that will stay with Hampshire for a while.

The Whip-Purs struggled on both ends of the floor against Rockford Lutheran, which entered the game ranked No. 3 in the AP Class 2A girls basketball poll.

Despite their struggles, the Whips managed to come within 51-45 with 5:08 left to play. Hampshire then turned the ball over on its next 4 possessions and managed just 1 shot in the final 5 minutes, dropping a 56-47 Big Northern Conference crossover game in Rockford.

"It's going to stick for a while," Hampshire forward Alex Dumoulin said. "They did a good job forcing us into turnovers. We couldn't pass the ball and they took our passes."

Hampshire turned the ball over 24 times in the game. Making matters worse, point guard Grace Jakubowski picked up her fourth foul early in the second half limiting her time on the floor.

With Jakubowski out, Hampshire (15-2) finished the third quarter going 1 of 8 from the floor and committing 8 turnovers. The Whips were outscored 12-7 in the period.

Whips coach Ed Haugens was whistled for a pair of technical fouls and then ejected from the game at the end of the first half. The Whips trailed 25-22 before the technicals, which stemmed from a foul call under the basket.

Laura Rushing (15 points) split a pair of free throws on the initial foul and then Callie Rezin (14 points) went 3 of 4 on the technical foul shots to put the Crusaders (18-0) ahead 29-22. Rachel Konieczki (15 points) nailed a 3-pointer to put Lutheran up 32-22 with 1:06 left in the first half.

"We have to eliminate the turnovers," Haugens said. "We need to go back to the fundamentals. This is something that we're going to have to grow from."

Lutheran made its main defensive focus taking Dumoulin out of the game. The senior was limited to just 3 of 9 from the floor, but did finish with 14 points by making 8 of 10 free throws. She also added 10 rebounds in the loss.

"We tried to front her as much as possible," Crusaders' coach Joni Carlson said. "If she gets her hands on the ball, she's deadly."

Dumoulin finished off a 3-point play 6 seconds before halftime to cut Lutheran's lead to 32-27, The Whips got three 3-pointers from Jessie Van Dorin (12 points) and shot 10 of 17 as a team in the first half. Hampshire finished the second half going 4 of 13 with 13 turnovers.

Lutheran made its first 3 shots of the second half and built a 40-27 lead.

Westminster Christian 42, Alden-Hebron 37: Hannah Graves had 12 points and Whitney VandenBos and Claire Speweik made 2 free throws each in the last minute of the game to lead the Warriors (8-6, 2-2) to a Northeast Athletic Conference win.

Women's basketball

ECC 57, MCC 23: Cassie Dumoulin had 24 points and 7 rebounds to lead Elgin Community College to an ISCC win over McHenry County College. Gen Johnson and Dijon Smith added 9 points each for the Spartans and Smith had 15 rebounds.