Hampshire’s Van Dorin rules 3A shootout
The old saying goes that experience is the best teacher.
And Hampshire senior Jessie Van Dorin has been a pretty good student when it comes to 3-point shooting, especially at Redbird Arena in Normal.
In her third appearance in the 3-point showdown prior to the start of the Class 3A and 4A state finals Van Dorin, the defending Class 3A champion, lit it up again Thursday night, making a Class 3A-high 11 of 15 from beyond the arc to advance to today’s Class 3A finals, which will be televised live at 1:30 p.m.
“I was a lot more comfortable this year,” said Van Dorin, who made 163 3-pointers in her two seasons on Hampshire’s varsity team. “I really wasn’t nervous at all.”
Van Dorin will be joined in today’s finals by Erin Behn of Illiana Christian, Kirstie Owen of Salem and Kendal Detweiler of Grayslake North, who made 10 each.
But it’s Van Dorin they’re chasing.
“It was nice to have the experience,” Van Dorin said. “It’s still different shooting on those hoops. I could tell everybody else was nervous so I just went out there and did my thing.”
Today’s action will be in front of live TV cameras and a bigger crowd, but that’s nothing new to Van Dorin who appeared on TV twice last season.
“There’ll be a lot more people here and that might make the other girls more nervous,” she said.
Van Dorin’s coach, Ed Haugens, couldn’t make the trip but was kept up to date via text messages. Haugens’ wife, Melissa, delivered the couple’s first child, a 9 pound, 3 ounce, 21.25 inch girl named Mia Diane, on Tuesday.
“It’s a very good week. I’m on Cloud Nine,” Haugens said Thursday night from the hospital. “If we can get (Mia Diane) to shoot 3s like Jessie Van Dorin we’ll be good to go.”
On a serious note, Haugens had great praise for his senior sharpshooter.
“She’s such a great kid and she puts so much time and effort into her shooting,” Haugens said of Van Dorin. “I’m just so proud of her.”
Streamwood’s Jessica Cerda and Cary-Grove’s Megan Straumann and Claire Jakubicek competed in the Class 4A showdown but failed to advance. West Chicago’s Claire Monroe, Moline’s Sanela Causevic, Naperville Central’s Emma Ondik, and Marian Catholic’s Jasmine Matthews advanced in Class 4A.
Women’s basketball
Dumoulin All-Region: Elgin Community College freshman Cassie Dumoulin, a Hampshire graduate, has been named to the NJCAA Region IV all-Region team, Spartans’ coach Jerry McLaughlin reported Thursday. Dumoulin was the second leading vote-getter in the region and will be nominated for all-American honors. She averaged 22.9 points per game this season, fourth in the nation for NJCAA Division II schools. She was also voted the Player of the Year in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference.