Dixon takes control, pulls away from Byron

DIXON – The first time Dixon played Byron at Lancaster Gym this season, the Duchesses fell behind early and never found their rhythm.

But they turned the tables on the Tigers on Saturday night, using smothering defense and controlled offense to pick up a 47-36 Big Northern Conference win.

“We wanted our get-back game, and we did what we had to do,” sophomore Ahmyrie McGowan said. “We played them in the Christmas tournament and we didn’t do so well [in a 50-33 loss], and we knew what we had to do different this time. We had a game plan, and we stuck to it.”

[ Photos from Dixon vs. Byron girls basketball ]

That game plan involved junior Morgan Hargrave following Byron catalyst Macy Groharing all over the court, while her teammates switched defenses between man-to-man, a 2-3 zone, a box-and-1 and even a triangle-and-2 on a few possessions to stifle the Tigers’ offense.

Groharing finished with five points on 1-of-4 shooting and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line; she facilitated in other ways with five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. But after Byron (22-2, 4-1 BNC) hit three straight shots midway through the first quarter to take a 10-5 lead, it hit just eight more until both teams emptied their benches.

“Coming in, we had four different defenses that we were ready to play, and we worked on them all in practice. I knew my role tonight was to defend Macy, and I think I did an excellent job on her, but we cannot defend her with one person, and my team was right behind me,” Hargrave said.

“You can’t play defense without all five people working together. We figured out a way to stop them, made them work hard to get shots, forced them into shots they didn’t want to take, and all around, it was just great work by all five of us.”

“Give Luke [Ravlin, Dixon’s coach] credit, he had a good defensive game plan. They took away the things that we’ve had success with lately, so give credit to him and give credit to his kids for executing very well,” Byron coach Eric Yerly said.

Offensively, poise proved to be key. After struggling against Byron’s pressure defense the first time they played, the Duchesses (19-4, 5-0 BNC) kept their composure and controlled things on both ends of the court.

The Duchesses assisted on 13 of their 17 baskets – including all seven in the second half – and also outrebounded Byron 33-24.

McGowan was the spark plug for Dixon, scoring 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first half while also leading her team with nine rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocked shots. Hargrave (8 points, 4 rebounds) and Dambman (11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) each hit a pair of 3-pointers to highlight second-half surges, and Hallie Williamson added eight points and two blocks.

Makenzie Toms was effective on both ends of the court, finishing with six rebounds and four assists to go with a first-quarter free throw, and Kiley Gaither also knocked down a 3 for the Duchesses.

“We really just wanted to show them that we had more to offer [than the last game] and it wasn’t going to be a walk-in-the-park game. ...” Dambman said. “We knew they were going to push and fight back, work for good shots, but we tried to get better ones.”

Dixon used a trio of runs to take control after falling behind 10-5 midway through the first quarter.

McGowan had a drive and a putback to spark a 12-1 run over the next 4:29, then her jumper and runner in the lane ignited a 15-2 run as Dixon took a 32-17 lead with 4:15 left in the third quarter after two 3s by Hargrave and another by McGowan.

Williamson scored inside on a McGowan drive-and-dish to end the third quarter, then Dambman hit back-to-back 3s in transition to open the fourth as an 8-0 run stretched the lead to 42-23 with 5:41 to play.

“Once somebody hits a shot, we’re really hyped and it makes everyone else just want to keep the momentum,” Dambman said. “Once we figured out that our defense was solid, we had a lot of great stops that converted into our offense, and I think that gave us the confidence to just feel good and do what we needed to do on offense.”

Malia Morton led Byron with 11 points, three steals and a block, and Brynn Green added seven points and three rebounds. Aubrie Fuller and Layni Marchini (3 rebounds) scored four points, Kenzie Lemke scored the Tigers’ final five points, and Karsyn Bielskis added three rebounds and three assists.