Hampshire tops Sycamore to move on
Hampshire did everything it needed to do on defense.
It just took a little while for the Whip-Purs’ offense to catch up.
Hampshire forced 13 second-quarter turnovers and limited Sycamore to just 4 points, but did not start pouring on points of its own until the second half.
The Whips put up 20 points in the third quarter and finished off Sycamore 57-41 in semifinal action at the Class 3A Sycamore regional. Hampshire looks for its third-straight regional crown when its faces off against Rochelle at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Rochelle ousted Crystal Lake Central 27-25 in Wednesday’s second semifinal.
“They did a nice job of pressuring the ball,” Hampshire guard Michelle Dumoulin said of Sycamore. “They were making us feel uncomfortable.”
Despite 11 first-quarter turnovers, Hampshire (26-2) and No. 5 seeded Sycamore (14-13) were tied at 9 after the first quarter. Sycamore even led 9-5 with 1 minute, 52 seconds left in the first quarter.
Then the Whips, who beat Sycamore 45-44 three weeks ago in Hampshire, decided to take control. Hampshire would go on a 15-0 run and not allow the Spartans a field goal for 8 minutes, 40 seconds.
Sycamore was 1 of 7 from the floor in the second quarter and did not convert a field goal until Lake Kwaza connected on a layup with 36 seconds left in the half. Kwaza (10 points, 3 steals) had stopped the Whips’ scoring run when she nailed a pair of free throws to cut the Hampshire lead to 20-11 with 1:12 remaining.
Michelle Dumoulin put up half of her 12 points in the second period. The junior finished the game with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. Hampshire owned the boards 33-16 and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. Alex Dumoulin finished with a double-double nabbing 10 rebounds to go along with a team-high 16 points
“The thing I was most proud of was our rebounding,” first-year Hampshire coach Ed Haugens said. “Our rebounding was excellent. Our kids worked hard.”
The hard work started to show up on the scoreboard in the second half.
The Whips ignited the second half going 8 of 13 from the floor in the third quarter. Guard Jessica Van Dorin nailed a pair of 3-pointers, one to open the quarter and the other as time expired, to give Hampshire a 44-29 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Point guard Grace Jakubowski (4 steals, 2 assists) put up 5 of her 6 points in the period. The hot offensive spark was enough to balance Sycamore’s 6 of 9 shooting effort from the floor, by far the Spartans’ best showing. Sycamore was 8 of 28 in the other 3 quarters.
“We started off slow, but by halftime, we picked it up,” said Alex Dumoulin, who added 4 assists in the second half. “The second half was much better.”
Sycamore’s Ashley Berlinski finished with a game-high 17 points in the loss.