Kaneland's defense shuts down Hampshire
Kaneland's girls basketball team followed its usual formula for success: shutdown defense and just enough offense.
Allyson O'Herron scored 12 points, Ashley Prost added 11 and the Knights held Hampshire to 6 first-half points on the way to a 41-30 win in the semifinals of the Class 3A Sycamore sectional Monday night.
The Knights (20-9) will take on Belvidere North (22-9) at 7:30 p.m. for the sectional championship and a trip to next Monday's Elgin supersectional.
Hampshire, which got 10 points from Michelle Dumoulin, rallied in the second half. The Whip-Purs cut an 18-point deficit to 8 twice but could get no closer.
The Knights played with a kind of blue-collar work ethic.
"We've got a group of kids that works real hard in practice, they get after it, they want to have success," said Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe. "They're unselfish, they don't care who's having the success. We're not going to set any records on offense, but we can lock you down on defense when we feel like playing with the kind of intensity that we did tonight."
Hampshire coach Ed Haugens, however, felt the Knights had a little extra help.
"Their kids came out strong," he said. "They were able to grab, push, shove, and hand-check all over the place and our kids were flustered by it.
"But you know what, we tell the kids, 'You can't complain about it, you've got to fight through whatever they're calling.' In this case, it's nothing.
"I felt bad for my kids. The IHSA emphasizes every year hand-checking and grabbing shirts. It's frustrating as a coach because, if that's how we're allowed to play, then tell us that's how we're allowed to play. Because it seems as it goes on in the season, the officiating becomes less and less and they let more and more stuff happen."
Hampshire outscored Kaneland from the field, but the Knights shot 22 free throws to 3 for Hampshire. The Knights outscored the Whip-Purs, who were in a sectional for the fourth straight year, 15-0 from the foul line.
Sarah Grams added 7 points for Kaneland.
Emma Bradford had all 6 of her points in the first quarter as the Knights raced out to an 11-2 lead after 8 minutes. The Knights built the lead to 21-6 by halftime, with each Kaneland starter scoring 2 points in the second quarter.
Jennifer Dumoulin and Tiffany Bentley added 6 points apiece for Hampshire (17-15).
A putback by Sara Finn made it 39-31. A steal by Bentley gave the Whips a chance to get closer, but they misfired. Kaneland missed 2 free throws, but Hampshire turned it over, and Lauren Zick made one free throw for the final margin.