Defense, rebounding lift Dixon to win in BNC opener

DIXON – In the Big Northern Conference opener between a veteran Dixon team and a young Winnebago squad, experience won out.

Led by senior Hallie Williamson’s double-double, the Duchesses controlled the game from start to finish in a 47-22 victory over the Indians.

“We know the conference championship is what we want this year, because we haven’t gotten it the past couple of years, and this was the first step toward that,” Williamson said. “We just wanted to come out and play strong.”

Mission accomplished. Dixon (10-0, 1-0 BNC), ranked No. 2 in the latest Associated Press Class 3A poll, played tenacious defense and crashed the boards, nabbing 12 steals and forcing 22 Winnebago turnovers, while also scoring 14 points on 14 offensive rebounds.

“We’ve been working on some rebounding drills to get better at that, and it worked tonight,” Dixon’s Ahmyrie McGowan said. “We had a goal, we knew that we really wanted this ‘W’, and we knew that we needed to lock down on defense to set up our offense.

“We tend to get let down when our shots don’t fall, but we know that when we get the rebound, it’s a chance for us to get more points and we’re helping our team out. This win feels really good.”

The Duchesses struggled from the perimeter, shooting 2-for-15 from 3-point range, but about half of those misses seemed to get halfway through the hoop before rattling out. But Dixon pounded the ball to the 6-foot Williamson inside and let their senior co-captain go to work.

She scored 11 of Dixon’s 15 first-quarter points, had 18 points by halftime, and finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

“They found our soft spot there, what we were trying to do to take her away, and she took it away from us,” Winnebago coach T.J. Zambrovitz said. “She showed that she’s a D-II player for a reason, and good teams find their player.”

Dixon also got a strong floor game by the other starters. McGowan had eight points, three steals, an assist and a block, Reese Dambman added five points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Makenzie Toms chipped in two points, five rebounds, three steals and an assist.

Addy Lohse filled in as the fifth starter for an injured Morgan Hargrave and finished with four points and two rebounds.

“We just have a lot of confidence playing together,” Williamson said. “We work on everything in practice, and we have a lot of confidence in each other. Being able to attack anywhere on offense and knowing that your teammates are going to be there to help rebound or assist you is just amazing for us.”

The Duchesses jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but a 3-pointer by Avery Brule and a three-point play by Alyssa Zambrovitz got Winnebago (3-7, 0-1) within 7-6 with 5:50 left in the first quarter.

But Toms had a putback and then a pretty post feed to Williamson, who then added a putback of her own before another post bucket, this time off a Dambman pass, to close the quarter.

Dambman drove to the basket the first two possessions of the second period, then Williamson scored a layup on a give-and-go with McGowan before another pretty post move capped a 17-0 run. The Duchesses led 24-6 midway through the second quarter and 30-10 at halftime.

Williamson pointed to Dixon’s relentless attack of the glass as a key factor in the early surge.

“It’s really key for us, and we pride ourselves in that,” she said. “I know we’re really good with rebounding on the defensive end, but on the offensive end, it’s huge for us to get those rebounds to get shots back up, getting the second chance to score.”

Coach Zambrovitz agreed that the rebounding, combined with the Indians not taking advantage of their scoring opportunities – while the Duchesses were getting extra chances – made the difference.

“The score is a lot different than what it could have been if we just make some of the baskets that were there, but that’s kind of been our Achilles heel, just not finishing plays, not finishing shots – or finishing on the defensive side, either,” coach Zambrovitz said. “We’re getting too high, and they can battle us down low to get to where they want the position for the rebound. They’re battling for it while we’re watching and saying hi.”

Abby Hicks scored three points for Dixon, Presley Lappin added five rebounds, a steal and an assist, and Kiley Gaither chipped in three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.

Ida Fager’s seven points and four rebounds led Winnebago, and Alyssa Zambrovitz added six points and four rebounds. Brule chipped in three points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block for the Indians, who started three freshmen and two sophomores.

“The score was lopsided, but we played hard; we never have that issue. But they showed why they’re No. 2 in 3A; they’re a good team,” coach Zambrovitz said. “In the locker room after the game, we talked about what they were doing that worked against us, and we can learn from what a veteran team is doing and use that down the road. That’s something that we’ve got to do as a young team.”