Dundee-Crown completes perfect 1st half of FVC play
Dundee-Crown certainly has proved to be the best team in the Fox Valley Conference during the first round.
Finishing 9-0 and leading the conference, the Chargers led by 15 points from Cassidy Randl and a stifling defensive effort posted a 33-26 conference win over Hampshire Friday night in Carpentersville.
"This was a revenge game for us," said Randl. "They (Hampshire) beat us in our gym last year so we were really ready for this one. We had a rough start offensively but I was encouraged by our defense the whole game. It was a good win and it was great to finish the first half undefeated."
To say the first half was an offensive struggle for both teams would be an understatement.
Led by Randl's 9 points, the Chargers (15-3, 9-0) carved out an 11-4 advantage after 16 minutes.
Scoring 2 points in each quarter, the Whip-Purs (10-12, 5-4) made only 2-of-20 from the field for 10 percent and were 0-of-10 from 3-point range. Kelby Bannerman and Roni Walker each had baskets for Hampshire.
"Our defense was phenomenal in the first half," said D-C coach Sarah Miller. "We did a great job of pressuring and helping on Bannerman. Alyssa (Crenshaw) mainly guarded her but we gave her great help. We missed some easy shots but our defense was outstanding in the first half."
The Chargers' biggest lead of the contest was 22-11 after a layup from Payton Schmidt with 6:55 left.
The Whip-Purs, 10-of-38 from the floor for 26 percent and 2-of-15 from 3-point range, despite a cold night shooting, didn't quit.
Hampshire climbed within 27-23 on a driving layup by Bannerman 1:38 left but couldn't get any closer.
The Chargers closed the deal at the charity stripe as Crenshaw connected on 6-of-6 during the final minute.
Walker, with help from her teammates, held Crenshaw without a field goal.
The high-scoring junior for the Chargers scored all 8 of her points from the free-throw line. Crenshaw added 10 rebounds with 3 assists.
"Roni again did a great job on the opponent's main scorer," said Hampshire coach Eric Samuelson. "We prepared for two days to stop her (Crenshaw). She is a great player. We did a great job of doubling her and we gave Roni plenty of help. We played very hard defensively."
Bannerman paced the Whips with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.
"I thought Kelby played a solid game," said Samuelson. "Sarah (Miller) had a great game plan for her. Give them a lot of credit. We made it a game in the last two minutes. We missed a lot of layups. We made 20-of-80 shots this week. We have to shoot better."