Girls Basketball: Kaneland gets past Hampshire

Calling Monday’s game between Kaneland and Hampshire a defensive struggle would be an understatement. Luckily for the Knights they were able to get a little more offense as Kaneland defeated Hampshire 40-31 in the semifinals of the Sycamore 3A sectional.

Kaneland (20-9) got off to a great start on defense in the first half. The Knights held the Whip-Purs (17-15) to 23 percent shooting and forced 11 Hampshire turnovers. On the flip side Kaneland shot an impressive 56 percent and held a 21-6 lead at the half.

Knights coach Ernie Colombe knew his team couldn’t relax on defense in the second half.

“I told the girls at halftime that Hampshire still has a run in them and we can’t relax on defense,” said Colombe. “Hampshire has too many good shooters to not put a run together.”

Hampshire did execute much better on both sides of the ball in the second half. The Whip-Purs closed to within eight points on a few separate occasions in the second half, but couldn’t get that crucial run when they needed. Hampshire did force 16 turnovers on defense in the second half, but Kaneland’s defense wouldn’t allow them to come back.

Hampshire coach Ed Haugens was happy with his team’s effort Monday in defeat.

“The kids played real hard in the second half, and it is tough when you need to fight through things out of your control,” said Haugens. “The kids had a great season and this was a tough way for it to end.”

Hampshire was led by Michelle Dumoulin with 10 points.

Kaneland was led by Allyson O’Herron who scored 12 points for the Knights.

“We’ve always been a good defensive team,” said O’Herron. “This team is so deep it helps to know you can go all out and if you get tired someone can replace you and not miss a beat. This was a sweet win.”

Kaneland will advance to the sectional final on Thursday and face Belvidere North who defeated Sterling in the early game on Monday.

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.