Dixon rolls to 7-0 with win over Kaneland

MAPLE PARK – Dixon is having fun. That the Duchesses are winning certainly has something to do with it, as they won their seventh straight to open the girls basketball season with a 47-38 nonconference win Monday night at Kaneland.

“We’ve been together since my freshman year, and really just being together and knowing how we play together, it’s just so much fun,” Dixon junior Morgan Hargrave said. “We’re having a good time. It’s another part of the game a lot of teams out there don’t have, but we do, which I think is awesome.”

Hargrave had five points. She also had a beautiful pass to Hallie Williamson that led to a layup with 1:15 remaining to extend Dixon’s lead to 44-36.

“We work on those in practice and do this drill, and that is literally why we have connected as post guards,” Williamson said. “It’s so nice when we have situations in games like that, and it also hyped us up and helped us finish the game.”

Williamson led the Duchesses with 18 points.

“We pride ourselves on that unselfishness,” she said. “When I think I might have the best shot, sometimes someone else might have a better one. Team chemistry has always been like that.”

Reese Dambman made a pair of 3-pointers in each half to finish with 12 points for the Duchesses.

“I think the pressure was definitely different at different times, so we had to adapt,” she said. “I have to thank my teammates for finding me when I was open. They really gave me confidence. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves and to pick up our teammates really helps.”

Dambman also brought up connections.

“We take pride in all the stuff that we do, especially our teammates and working together,” she said. “We just really try to encourage each other, and it’s been really great because everybody has this really good connection.”

Single plays can get lost in a victory, which is unfortunate since they’re difference making yet barely in the scoring column, if at all.

Addy Lohse had one that gave the Duchesses the lead for good midway through the second quarter. Her 3-pointer made it 19-17. Kaneland’s Kendra Brown answered with 3:13 left before the half to tie the game at 19-19. The Duchesses then took the lead for good on a strong offensive rebound from Williamson that earned her the putback.

Makenzie Toms had another for the Duchesses. She split two free throws with 1:51 left to make it 42-36 when she was fouled after an offensive rebound.

“It’s important to have contributions from everybody, and we got that tonight,” Dixon coach Luke Ravlin said. “We’re fortunate to have a well-rounded group with a bunch of kids who work hard and prepare. And Kaneland played a really good game, so hat’s off to them.”

Brown’s basket with 3:22 left pulled the Knights to within 39-35. They couldn’t get any closer. Brown led the Knights with 13 points, Sam Kerry had 10, and Amani Meeks had eight.

“If we play with intensity like that, we’ll be pretty good,” Kaneland coach Brian Claesson said. “They had some shooters hit some big shots and had some offensive rebounds down the stretch that really hurt us. We did a pretty good job with their size but had some lapses down the stretch for easy cutbacks. I think their size made us lose some focus on layups we normally make.”