HAMPSHIRE – Elana Wells didn’t have many open looks early on, but her teammates did.
Burlington Central’s senior guard was content to be a facilitator for much of the night and the rest of the Rockets obliged by knocking down their shots. Eleven of the Rockets’ 19 made field goals were 3-pointers in winning a Fox Valley Conference matchup in Hampshire, 54-27.
Taylor Charles finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks and Wells added 11 for the Rockets (6-0).
Led by Jessica Dumoulin (12 points six rebounds), the Whip-Purs battled for awhile. But with Davidson-bound senior Kelby Bannerman sidelined by an ankle injury, they just didn’t have the firepower to stay with the Rockets.
“I think that they personally took me away from getting to the basket because they know that’s what I do,” Wells said. “But driving to the basket and kicking to my teammates worked well and we had some shooters that were able to knock it down. Overall we had a good shooting game tonight.”
Even with just a smattering of fans in the stands, it was still Hampshire-Burlington.
“This is a special rivalry these two programs have built over the years,” said Rockets coach Collin Kalamatas. “No matter who’s on the floor, no matter who is on the other side, it feels really great. It’s always a fun one.”
Central led just 16-12 late in the first quarter. But back-to-back buckets by Charles to close the first quarter scoring and a pair of free throws and a transition layup by Wells to start the second eventually turned into a 13-2 run, and the Rockets led by double digits the rest of the way.
“That first half, Hampshire really came out and battled us for awhile there,” Kalamatas said. “We got lucky enough to knock down a few more shots than they did.”
Rebecca Carani scored the Rockets’ first eight points and they quickly extended the lead to 13-4 on a 3-pointer by Rylie DuVal.
Defensively, the Rockets’ suffocating full court pressure gave the Whip-Purs fits. They turned it over 13 times in the first half and 22 for the game. Central limited the home team to a single third-quarter point and the final period was played with a running clock.
Ceili Ramirez added six points for Hampshire. DuVal and Samantha Origel scored six apiece for the Rockets, all on 3-pointers.