Hampshire tops McHenry to open FVC play
Hampshire coach Mike Featherly glanced at the halftime stat sheet and saw that sophomore center Kelby Bannerman had only 1 basket, 3 shot attempts and 4 points.
Down to reigning Fox Valley Conference champion McHenry 27-24, Featherly realized Bannerman had to be more of an integral part of the offense.
The Hampshire coach's strategy work as Bannerman scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half as the host Whip-Purs opened Fox Valley Conference play with a 62-55 win over McHenry in Hampshire Tuesday night.
"We told Kelby at halftime she had to be more available in the post," said Featherly. "She was more aggressive in the post and got some easier shots going to the basket. Our guards did a great job of getting her the ball in good position."
Bannerman, who connected on 6-of-8 shots from the floor in the second half, grabbed 9 rebounds.
"Coach (Featherly) wanted me to be more available to get the ball in the post and be more aggressive in the second half taking the ball to the basket," Bannerman said. "My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in great position to score."
Ally Cermak added 11 points with 2 crucial 3's in the pivotal third quarter.
"We really moved the ball better in the second half and I got some open 3-pointers and was able to make them," said Cermak. "McHenry is the defending conference champs and they beat us twice last year. This is a big win for us."
Hampshire (5-1, 1-0) seized control of the game in the third quarter.
Trailing by 3 at intermission, the Whip-Purs took the lead for good at 36-34 on a trey by Cermak with 3:44 left in the third quarter. Cermak's 3 propelled Hampshire to a 10-0 run. Cermak added another 3 and Bannerman scored 2 inside baskets as the hosts led 43-34 with 2:11 left in the quarter.
McHenry got to within 56-53 on a 3 by Ashley Wachter with 1:46 left. The Warriors couldn't get any closer.
Six free throws in the final minute - 4 by Jessie Dumoulin and 2 from Bannerman - sealed the win.
"This is a great win to start conference play and a great win psychologically for us," said Featherly. "We did a better job of getting out on their shooters in the second half and flat-out had a better defensive effort. We got more loose balls and rebounded better offensively.'
Ava Interrante led the Warriors with 18 points. Isabel Gscheidle scored 15 and Wachter 10.
"We won 3 quarters but they really outscrapped us in the third quarter and that was the game." said McHenry coach Rob Niemic. "That's on me. That won't happen again. Credit Hampshire they out-hustled us and played harder. They took the ball to the basket and we settled for jump shots. This was an eye-opener for us."