Hampshire tops Genoa-Kingston; Sycamore up next

Hampshire coach Mike Featherly said junior guard Nikki Dumoulin's contributions often "go under the radar."

That is partly because the 5-foot-8 junior plays on the same girls basketball team as junior Emma Benoit (6-0), a 1,000-point scorer, and 5-9 sophomore Peyton DeChant, a duo that combined for 29 points in No. 3 Hampshire's 49-30 Class 3A Sycamore regional quarterfinal victory over No. 6 Genoa-Kingston on Monday.

It was Dumoulin who often put those teammates in position to succeed. She scored 3 points, but her main contribution was 9 assists, split about evenly between fast-break setups and lobs into the post to Benoit, DeChant and Meagan Heine (4 points).

Dumoulin's first assist set the tone when she found DeChant in the low post for an early bucket and a 4-2 lead.

"It really helps when she's looking down in the post for us," DeChant said. "It's easier that way because we can get our inside-outside game going."

Later in the quarter she spotted Rachel Dumoulin open for a 3-pointer. The same combination produced a 3-pointer just before halftime to give Hampshire a 29-17 lead.

Nikki Dumoulin picked up in the second half right where she left off, finding Benoit on a lob over the defense of Genoa-Kingston (8-13) for the first points of the third quarter.

Benoit then blocked a shot at the other end of the floor and Nikki Dumoulin ran the floor until she dished to DeChant for a transition layup. On the Cogs' next possession, she stole the ball along the baseline and passed ahead to Rachel Dumoulin, who, in turn, passed to DeChant for another transition layup and a 35-17 Hampshire lead.

"It helps that all the girls do their job and get inside and get to the right spots," Nikki Dumoulin said modestly. "It makes it easier to pass to them, especially down low with Emma, Peyton and Meagan."

The victory advances Hampshire (21-7) to a semifinal against No. 2 Sycamore on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Spartans defeated the Whip-Purs 41-29 on Jan. 13.

Hampshire took a 36-22 lead through three quarters after controlling the glass 12-6 and forcing 15 G-K turnovers to its 10.

Hampshire also shot the ball well, sinking 18 of 34 field-goal attempts (53 percent), 3 of 8 from 3-point range.

Defensively, the Whips limited the Cogs to 31-percent shooting (10 of 32). Genoa-Kingston sophomore Julie Galauner scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half.

"We ran a lot of pick and roll, but we'd roll right into their (height)," Galauner said. "It's tough to score on them down low."

DeChant led all scorers with 15 points. Benoit, who came off the bench midway through the first quarter, scored 14 points to go with 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Rachel Dumoulin splashed a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 7 points.