Hampshire bounces back with win over Grayslake Central
Hampshire's 46-29 girls basketball victory over Grayslake Central Thursday night was significant on multiple levels.
The Whip-Purs shook off the bad taste left from a meager 22-point output against Sycamore Tuesday and put themselves right back in the thick of the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division race.
Emma Benoit racked up a game-high 18 points and 8 rebounds while Nikki Dumoulin chipped in 11 points and 6 rebounds as host Hampshire (16-6, 7-2) dominated outside of a short stretch in the second quarter.
"It wasn't really about the conference race, it was about getting back to the basketball we should be playing," said Hampshire coach Mike Featherly. "There was a lot better energy and ball movement from the girls and just doing things within the system."
"We've been playing really well and you're going to have off nights, but we picked just picked a wrong night to have one," said Rams coach Steve Ikenn. "We were just very inconsistent at both ends of the floor tonight."
Benoit got the Whip-Purs off to a strong start with 9 first quarter points and Nikki Dumoulin added a pair of baskets for a 14-3 advantage as the Rams (10-11, 6-2) went 1-for-11 from the field.
"We missed some shots early and I think we let that get to us," Ikenn said.
Meagan Heine scored to extend the Whip-Purs' lead to 21-5 with four minutes left in the half before the Rams answered with a 10-0 run.
Kelly Moroney drained a 17-foot jumper and the Rams retained possession on a foul away from the ball. Amanda Larson promptly hit a 3-pointer from the corner and Moroney followed with another trifecta.
Lindsay Brust's basket brought the Rams within 21-15 before Benoit closed the half with a short jumper.
"My teammates did a really good job of getting the ball down to me," Benoit said. "It was tough the other night and knew I had to step up this game."
Hampshire regained control with a 9-1 run to open the third quarter as Rachel Dumoulin (8 points) and Allie Peters (4 points) scored on putbacks against the Rams' zone defense.
"They made a nice run, but the girls responded well," Featherly said.
Quin Garbett answered with a 3-point play for Grayslake Central, but the Whip-Purs ripped off 13 unanswered points in a 5-minute span to put the game out of reach.
"We went on a nice run in the second quarter, but we got off to a bad start in the third quarter. We missed some shots we needed to knock down and things just spiraled out of control at that point," Ikenn said.
Hampshire outworked the Rams inside and finished with a commanding 42-21 edge on the boards. Rachel Dumoulin and Heine grabbed 6 rebounds apiece.
"We did a really good job rebounding tonight," Benoit said. "We've been working a lot in practice on playing with more physicality, so it helped a lot."
Larson and Moroney tallied 5 points each for the Rams as they suffered through a 9-for-41 shooting performance. They hope to turn the tables in a home rematch February 3.
"We'll be ready. I told the girls a loss is a loss and it doesn't matter by how many. The little things in big games make the difference and we have to clean those things up," Ikenn said.