Dumoulin's return helps Hampshire handle Jacobs
Hampshire junior guard Jessica Dumoulin is enjoying her return to the court.
Dumoulin's teammates are glad to have her back.
Dumoulin, who returned to action Jan. 9 after tearing her ACL in the summer, scored 14 points with a pair of 3-pointers to propel the Whip-Purs to a 61-42 win over District 300 rival Jacobs in a Fox Valley Conference encounter in Algonquin Friday night.
"It took a lot of work to come back but it has been worth it," said Dumoulin, "I have been able to play more minutes without getting tired. My teammates have been great. They been behind me the whole time during my rehab."
Assistant coach Michelle Bannerman, who took over for head coach Eric Samuelson who missed the game because of sickness, is glad to see Dumoulin back and contributing.
"Jessie (Jessica) is such a huge asset to this team," said Bannerman. "She can contribute to the team on offense and defense. She is a total team player. She had a great game tonight. She hit some 3s and ran the court well."
Hampshire (13-11, 7-4), used a balanced offensive attack in posting a 19-point win.
The Whip-Purs made 8-of-16 from 3-point range for 50 percent. Alyssa Cork collected four 3-pointers for 12 points while Katie Del Re and Kelby Bannerman each made a trey.
Hampshire, which made 24-of-44 shots for 54 percent, was led inside by Kelby Bannerman with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
"We had a very good inside-outside game tonight," said Michelle Bannerman. "With making the 3s we were able to loosen up the inside and get layups."
Hampshire, leading 26-18, seized control of the game in the third quarter.
Paced by 2 baskets from Veronica Walker, a 3 from Cork and a putback by Bannerman, the Whip-Purs scored the first 9 points of the third quarter and took a 35-18 lead with 4:11 left in the period.
The Golden Eagles (5-17, 2-10) scored their first basket of the half on a layup by Mackenzie Leahy with 3:11 remaining to make the score 35-20.
"The third quarter has been our Achilles' heel all season long," said Jacobs coach Jon Reibel. "Our opponent sets the tone in the third quarter. We have to try a different approach."
The Whip-Purs' biggest lead of the game was 57-35 after a layup by Celli Ramirez with 1:55 left.
Liz Schwartz (18 points) and Leahy (14) combined for 32 of the Eagles' 42 points,
"Liz and MacKenzie played very well," said Reibel. "Liz played a great overall game and has been playing well lately. Mackenzie has been averaging a double-double lately. As a sophomore, she is starting to adjust to the speed of the varsity game."