Hampshire still unbeaten in FVC Fox

In the first half against Woodstock North, Hampshire's girls basketball team just couldn't seem to pass the ball down low. Any pass in the direction of the baseline was met by a tangle of long arms belonging to the Thunder. The Whip-Purs committed 15 turnovers in the first half, most coming on steals, but still managed to lead by a point at the break.

In the second half, the Whips eliminated those turnovers and pulled away to a relatively easy 40-26 win Friday in Fox Valley Conference Fox Division action in Woodstock.

"It was all them taking care of the ball," said Hampshire coach Mike Featherly. "We talked about making pass fakes, just doing the stuff we work on in practice. We made it a lot harder on ourselves with our turnovers."

Emma Benoit was unstoppable inside for Hampshire, leading all scorers with 23 points and pulling down 7 rebounds.

"When she's moving, she's dangerous," said Featherly. "She's gotten incredibly better at finishing around the hoop."

Hampshire (6-2, 3-0) made up for the turnovers with a 29-15 rebounding advantage with Benoit and Tricia Dumoulin, who also had 7.

Ashley Jones and Rhetta Bates had the longest of arms for Woodstock North. Jones had 5 steals by halftime. They were able to turn those take-aways into easy baskets at the other end, with the result that Jones and Bates were the Thunder's leading scorers with 11 points apiece.

Hampshire raced out to a 9-2 lead. Woodstock North answered with a 10-2 run to take its only lead at 12-11. Benoit then scored 6 straight points to restore the lead for Hampshire.

The second half was all Hampshire, as the Whips held the Thunder to 10 points after the break.