Dixon takes control early, holds off Stillman Valley for third place at home tournament

Losing a late lead in the Dixon Christmas Classic semifinals Saturday left a bad taste in Dixon’s mouth during the tournament’s off day Sunday.

So the Duchesses were fired up for Monday’s third-place game against Stillman Valley.

Dixon used big runs in each of the first three quarters to build a huge lead, then burned time off the clock with every possession in the fourth to pick up a 52-43 victory over the Cardinals.

“We weren’t happy about our loss Saturday to Byron, so we knew we had to come out with a lot of energy and get ahead, get back out there and play our game,” Dixon’s Ahmyrie McGowan said.

The Duchesses (12-2) dominated on both ends of the court over the first 21 minutes, using runs of 11-0 in the first quarter, 19-4 in the second, and 16-3 in the third to build a 51-22 lead with 2:40 left in the third. Aggressiveness and tenacity were the calling cards, as tough defense led to balanced offense.

Morgan Hargrave’s 3-pointer and McGowan’s drive to the basket closed the first-quarter run, then Reese Dambman nailed a pair of 3s to start the second period and Addy Lohse hit from deep to end that surge for a 35-10 lead.

Stillman Valley (12-3) got the final two baskets of the first half from Lillian Green and Dailene Wade, then Emma Withers scored inside and Green converted a three-point play to start the second half.

But Kiley Gaither scored outside then inside, and Hargrave hit another 3 to kick-start the third-quarter spurt as Dixon built its biggest lead.

“It was definitely nice to see everybody hitting shots,” Hargrave said. “I love when we’re able to run the floor and Ahmyrie’s able to hit me and Reese on the fast break for some quick shots, and run our fast offense.”

The Duchesses also shut down Stillman on the defensive end, nabbing 18 steals and forcing 28 turnovers while holding the Cardinals to 37 percent shooting (17-for-46), including 21 percent from 3-point range (3-for-14).

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Dixon's Reese Dambman moves the ball through traffic.. The Dixon Duchesses played the Stillman Valley Cardinals in the third place game of the Dixon Holiday Tournament at Dixon High School on Monday, December 29th, 2025. (Brian Hurley)

That stat was skewed by a 21-1 Stillman run over the final 10 minutes; prior to the strong closing stretch, the Cardinals were just 9-for-30 from the floor (30 percent) and 1-for-9 from deep with 24 turnovers.

“We went through it in practice [Sunday], definitely just focusing on what we wanted to do in our zone defense, our rotations and movement,” Hargrave said. “We struggled a little in practice and we were kind of iffy about it, but I think we did a great job coming out strong and really focusing on our rotations and what each player needed to do in our zone.”

Dambman had 16 points, two assists and two steals, while McGowan finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block, and Hargrave added 11 points and four steals. Lohse (3 rebounds) and Gaither (4 rebounds, 4 steals) each scored five points, and Abby Hicks (3 rebounds) and Grace Ackert (2 steals, 1 block) added two points apiece.

“Defensively, I feel like we stopped the post game and were able to get out to the shooters really well. I feel like our ‘fire’ defense helped a lot, being able to crash down and double [team] the post,” McGowan said. “Then offensively, just working around their man [defense] and finding our open teammates, getting each other good shots and hitting open looks.”

Green scored a game-high 22 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Wade added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Stillman. Withers had seven points, six rebounds and three blocks, and Alyvia Bagg chipped in two points, five rebounds and two assists.

“Dixon’s a good team and they were just kind of milking some time [at the end]. When you go up that big on someone, the intensity changes,” Stillman coach Bobby Mellon said. “And finally we see a couple shots go through the basket and sure, that might give us a little bit more intensity, but we did not play even close to the caliber or energy-level that we should have.

“But we continued to fight. Coming out of halftime down that much, we focused on running our stuff, trying to chip away some, cut it as much as we could and see what happens. When it comes to that situation, we just tried to find ways to learn from the game.”