Dumoulin, Heine have every reason to stand proud
DeKALB - Somehow you knew Hampshire wasn't going to play the whole game as poorly as it did the first half.
Somehow you knew the Whip-Purs were going to put up a fight until the very end, no matter what.
But not a lot of people in DeKalb's Chuck Dayton Gymnasium Thursday night - except for the Whip-Purs - thought the Class 3A girls basketball sectional championship game against Oswego would come down to the final buzzer.
Oswego led 23-9 at halftime in what was easily the worst first half Hampshire has played in, well, a long time. There were 11 Hampshire turnovers and 4 of 15 shooting in the first 16 minutes.
Not good.
But one thing we learned a long time ago about Hampshire's girls basketball teams is that you never, ever count the Whips out.
Oswego might have. The Panthers came out of the locker room from halftime with a look on their collective faces like they had this one in the bag.
Wrong thing to do against Hampshire. The Whips fought and they fought and they fought some more. One more minute on the clock and they may very well be playing at Elgin's Chesbrough Field House Monday night in the supersectional.
But one team wins and one team doesn't, and on this night Hampshire didn't.
But it wasn't for a lack of effort, especially from the Whips' two senior standouts, Chrissy Heine and Cassie Dumoulin. Every time Hampshire came back and inched closer to the lead, Heine and Dumoulin were in the middle of the action, which is what you'd expect from two four-year varsity players who accounted for right around 2,000 points in their purple and white careers.
"I'm really happy with the way we came back," said Dumoulin, who finished with 9 points and had a 3-point attempt to tie at the buzzer blocked by Oswego's Division I-bound star Samiya Wright. "If we could have converted in the first half like we did in the second half we might have pulled it out."
Dumoulin, one of the most personable and hardest working players I've had the privilege to write about, didn't make any excuses. She was 1-for-7 at the free throw line and took that performance squarely on her own shoulders.
"I didn't do my job at the line," she said. "I'm disappointed with myself."
But one game won't define the careers of Dumoulin and Heine, who played four years of varsity basketball at Hampshire and leave behind a benchmark for future Whip-Purs to strive for.
"It was a real gift to play with these girls," said Dumoulin, who indicated she will continue her career at Elgin Community College. "It's been a great four years. I've met great people, I've had great teammates and great coaches. If you had told me when I was a freshman these four years would be this much fun I wouldn't have believed you. It's been fantastic."
Dumoulin appreciated more than anything the opportunity to play with Heine and lead the Whips with her.
"We've been playing together since seventh grade," Dumoulin said. "It'll be weird next year not being on the same team. Chrissy is a gifted athlete and I know she'll do well in college."
Heine, whose work ethic and personality match Dumoulin's, said that when she and Dumoulin entered high school they competed against each other, but they soon found out what being teammates is all about.
"You realize that you play better together and we found that out quickly," said Heine, who scored 1,278 points in her Hampshire career and will now move on to play at Saint Xavier University. "It's been a fantastic four years. You build that relationship and know that it will go farther than basketball. It's a great friendship for life."
Hampshire coach Sue Ellett knew when Dumoulin and Heine were in seventh grade they were the future of Hampshire girls basketball.
"I targeted those two sweethearts when they were seventh graders," Ellett said. "In a nurturing and loving way I knew they were my future. I brought them up as freshmen and we were patient with them. I knew when Chrissy and Cassie were in seventh grade they would end up being the barometer of whether I knew what I was doing or not."
Despite the tough loss, and the tears that were shed afterward, Hampshire has every reason to be proud. The Whip-Purs went 29-2 and reached the Sweet Sixteen. There's no reason to dwell on the what ifs. Life is much too short for that.
What the Whip-Purs need to remember is the two seniors who gave them over 100 games and countless practices of blood, sweat and tears to put Hampshire girls basketball back on the map.
And for that, Cassie Dumoulin and Chrissy Heine can take great pride - forever.
<div id="infoBox">
<h1>More Coverage</h1>
<div class="infoBoxContent">
<div class="infoArea">
<h2>Related stories</h2>
<ul class="links">
<li><a href="/story/?id=362104">Hampshire's comeback falls short <span class="date">[02/25/10]</span></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>