Whip-Purs pull away from Tigers after halftime

Hampshire’s Michelle Dumoulin (left) looks to pass while Crystal Lake Central’s Maddie Dagley guards her Tuesday in Crystal Lake. Hampshire won the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division matchup, 35-27. (Lance Booth - lbooth@shawmedia.com)

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CRYSTAL LAKE – Hampshire senior guard Michelle Dumoulin didn’t know what type of team the Whip-Purs would be after losing their top three scorers from last year.

As they showed in their game against Crystal Lake Central on Tuesday night, the Whips are proving to be a second-half squad.

Hampshire broke away from Central after halftime for a 35-27 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division win. The win gave the Whips six victories in their past seven games and moved them to 6-2 since the holiday break.

“I think we’re finally starting to believe that we can do this,” Dumoulin said. “We’ve got girls stepping up at every position and doing a nice job.”

Playing its fifth game in four days, Hampshire (11-10 overall, 4-2 FVC Fox) struggled in the first half, shooting only 3 of 14 from the field. But their defense kept the Whips in the game, only allowing 13 points to the Tigers (9-10, 2-4).

After Central sophomore guard Paige Celestin gave the Tigers a one-point lead with 29 seconds remaining in the half, Dumoulin converted 1 of 2 free throws to tie the score at 13-13 going into halftime.

“Give credit to [the Tigers], they played great defense and they caused a lot of problems,” Hampshire coach Ed Haugens said. “They only get better as the year goes through, especially on the defensive side.”

Hampshire settled in during the third quarter and got an unexpected boost when Central coach Matt LePage was called for a technical foul early in the third quarter. Senior guard Grace Jakubowski knocked down the two free throws, sparking a 10-1 run that gave Hampshire a seven-point lead.

Hampshire’s defense held the Tigers scoreless for a five-minute stretch during the fourth quarter and extended its lead to 13 points when Jakubowski found Dumoulin for an easy transition layup with two minutes to go.

“We cut down on our turnovers and were a little more patient on offense,” Dumoulin said. “When we’re patient, we work the ball around and get the shots that we want.”

Dumoulin led all scorers with 14 points and also had six steals. Celestin had 12 points and six rebounds for the Tigers.

Hampshire’s NBA-like schedule continues Friday with another difficult stretch of three games in four days, including FVC matchups against division-leading Grayslake Central and Woodstock.

“The girls are starting to mesh a little bit better; they’re starting to learn each other,” Haugens said. “We have some youngsters that are starting to learn their new roles, and they’re coming together. It’s been nice.”