Elgin women rout Harper
It was a one-sided affair at the Spartan Events Center at Elgin Community College Friday night.
The ECC women’s basketball team defeated Harper 77-23 in a nonconference matchup. The Spartans went on a 16-0 run early with the help of some big points by sophomore guard Cassie Dumoulin and some key free-throws by sophomore center DiJon Smith.
Harper forward/center Sancha Ogden broke up the Spartans’ initial run, but nobody would stop them again for a long time as they put up 33 unanswered points after that with 6 straight points from Dumoulin and 7 straight from freshman guard Gianina Estocado. The first half would close out with the Spartans ahead 57-7.
Harper first-year head coach Nicole Jones has a small team that is required to play more minutes than normal, but her game plan is to have that not be a disadvantage.
“(Having a small team) kind of has an effect on things,” said Jones. “But what we do defensively and offensively is designed to keep things simple and keep people fresh. If you’re not doing that, then you’re working a little harder than you would any other time, and that’s what’s happening.”
Harper (0-2) hung tough in the second half, but the Spartans (2-0) were still dominant overall. ECC’s biggest run was 4-0 midway through the second half, but its defense kept Harper in check. Harper guards Mitshi Ishioka and Sarah Eschenbaum put up points as the clock was winding down, but the Spartans got the easy victory.
“I think Harper made some adjustments at halftime,” said Dumoulin. “I’m really proud of our team in that it was a team effort. The girls really bought into the fact that we are a classy program and that we played with the uptost respect. It was a really good team effort tonight, and that was the focus of it.”
“In the second half we got to work our plays and allowed other girls on the team to get more playing time,” said sophomore forward Bridget Dumoulin. “All around, it was a lot of fun.”
Cassie Dumoulin finished the night with 25 points. Freshman forward Alex Dumoulin had 5 assists, while Carly Saraceno finished with 3 assists. For Harper, Ishioka led the team with 12 points while guard Jimielle Brown grabbed 4 rebounds and forward/center Stephanie Weekly had 3 steals.