Dixon edges Hampshire in final minute
In a matchup that featured so many purple jerseys it would have made Prince proud, Dixon outlasted Hampshire 35-31 Tuesday in the Class 3A Sycamore regional.
Dixon coach Luke Ravlin credited Hampshire's efforts, especially those of junior Kelby Bannerman.
"That's a great team (Hampshire) that's really well-coached," Ravlin said. "When you have a kid like number 24 (Bannerman), offensively and defensively, that changes things. She did a really nice job of being where she needed to be. We're happy to get it done."
Dixon (26-5) will play Sycamore for the regional title at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Dixon got out to an early 9-4 lead after the first quarter, but Bannerman's strong 9-point second quarter kept Hampshire (12-15) trailing only 18-13 at the half.
Dixon's sharpshooter Abby Guthrie was finding baskets hard to come by in the first half, despite scoring 7 points, but two key baskets in the third quarter put Dixon ahead 26-20 at the end of the third quarter.
Dixon led 24-15 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, but the Whip-Purs started a 14-3 run that bled into the fourth quarter. Junior Jessica Dumoulin canned a 3-pointer to start the rally and was soon followed by Bannerman's nifty backdoor layup.
Senior Katelyn Del Re started the Whip-Purs scoring in the fourth quarter draining a 3-pointer, and then teamed with Bannerman to finish off the run. Bannerman hit a 10-foot jumper to bring Hampshire back to within 29-25.
On Dixon's next possession, Del Re stole a pass and finished it off with a layup, and Bannerman's turnaround jumper in the paint their next possession tied the game at 29.
Dixon's Caylyn Kimmel converted a layup with just under one minute to play, which gave the Duchesses a lead they wouldn't relinquish - thanks to the solid free-throw shooting by Sam Tourtillott to close out the game.
"It wasn't my performance, it was my team's performance," Tourtillott said. "The reason I was able to get those rebounds and make those free throws was because my team put me in great position. I just had to breathe and block out what everyone else was saying. I'm just happy to be able to make those free throws for my team."
Bannerman finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds, which Hampshire coach Eric Samuelson said was her best game since he's been coaching her.
"That was Kelby's best game in three years, and I'm not talking just about points. I'm talking about determination to win," Samuelson said. "She passed the ball really well, rebounded well, she's a Division I athlete. I challenged her to kick it out when she was double-teamed and she did."
Samuelson credited Dixon's offensive effort.
"Let's give credit to Dixon," Samuelson said. "I thought they did a really good job on offense by just coming at us.
"I thought all of my kids left it all out on the floor, they really did," Samuelson said. "When they went up by nine, I really think we could have thought the season was over. But I'll tell you what, there was no quit in any of those kids tonight."