Hampshire beats Dundee-Crown on senior night
Great defense and just enough offense.
That recipe produced a 38-33 victory for Hampshire over Dundee-Crown in Fox Valley Conference action in Hampshire Wednesday night.
It was the last regular season home game for seniors McKenzie Rasmussen, Nicole Jachec, Lauren Hermann and Samantha Johnson.
"It was a great night for the seniors to get the win on Senior Night," said Hampshire coach Mike Featherly. "They are not only good basketball players but are great kids and great examples for the younger kids."
Hermann scored 8 points and sealed the win with 2 free throws with 3 seconds left.
"It was a great night for the 4 seniors and a great win against a very good Dundee-Crown team," said Hermann. "We played very good defense and were able to make enough shots to win. We feel good going into the final regular season game against McHenry Friday and then we are ready for the regionals at home next week. We like the way we are playing especially on the defensive end."
D-C (16-9, 10-5) was able to only connect on 15-of-50 shots from the field for 30 percent while committing 23 turnovers.
"Our defense was very good all night," said Featherly. "We contested shots and our defense has carried us all season."
With Hampshire (14-12, 9-6) leading 31-26 after 3 quarters, DC sliced the deficit to 31-29 on a 3-pointer by Katelyn Skibinski with 6:52 left in the game.
Despite making only 12-of-24 shots from the free throw line for the game and 4-of-12 in the fourth quarter, the Whip-Purs connected on 4-of-4 in the last 28 seconds. Ally Cermak and Hermann made 2 each from the line in the waning moments.
"We have struggled from the free throw line all season long," said Featherly. "We work on free throws every day in practice now we need to make them. I like the fact we are drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line."
Cermak off the bench led the Whip-Purs with 9 points, 6 in the third quarter. The junior connected on a 3-pointer and dealt out 3 assists.
Kendall Kieltyka paced the Chargers with 8 points, 4 in each half while Skibinski scored 7. Maddie Tripp, before fouling out with 1:47 left in the game, scored 4 points with 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
"I am very proud of my team's effort," said Dundee-Crown coach Sarah Miller. "We played with plenty of heart and took a lot of steps forward tonight. I liked the way we attacked the baskets but we missed some opportunities and some easy shots."