Dixon took total control from the start of their Big Northern Conference game Thursday against Oregon.

Junior Ahmyrie McGowan recorded a quadruple-double, and the Duchesses shot 61.5% from the field before emptying the bench late in the third quarter of a 64-19 victory at Lancaster Gym.

McGowan stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 steals and three blocks, finishing off the career night with a rebound and full-court pass to Reese Dambman for a layup midway through the third quarter.

“My goal has always been to get a triple-double, and I got that at the beginning of the season. So to get a quadruple-double is a big thing,” McGowan said. “I’m just glad I was able to help my team and contribute to this win.”

The McGowan-to-Dambman full-court pass play – using both her right and left hands – led to 12 points on the night, and Dixon (17-2, 2-0 BNC) added four more points on McGowan-to-Morgan Hargrave long passes. The Duchesses also scored 21 points off of 17 steals and forced 26 Oregon turnovers.

“Ahmyrie was great tonight. She found me almost every single time I was open, so that was great for us,” said Dambman, who scored a game-high 27 points and dished three assists. “She just grabs the rebound or the steal and makes a football pass, honestly. I think she did great tonight, and I think everyone did great. We knew what we needed to do, and we love running [the court] and playing fast in transition, and that’s what we did tonight.”

Hargrave hit a pair of 3s in the first 2:16, and Avery Kitzmiller answered with two 3s for Oregon (11-9, 0-3 BNC) to make it 8-6.

But the Duchesses scored 11 of the final 12 points in the first quarter, then turned a 23-14 lead early in the second period into a 37-16 halftime margin with a 14-2 run over the final 4:45 of the first half.

Dixon scored the first 13 points of the third quarter and pulled away by allowing just three total points for the Hawks in the second half, all on free throws in the third. Oregon shot 0 of 15 from the field over the final 16 minutes, as its last field goal came with 4:10 left in the second quarter on an Abi Kalnins jump shot in the lane.

The Hawks played shorthanded, with three starters out with injuries. Coach Angela Reynolds was happy with her team’s effort with the deck stacked against it.

“One thing we never question is the hustle, the effort, the intensity and the attitude that the girls are going to give. That’s something we really pride ourselves in,” she said. “We’re down three starters right now, and the goal for tonight was, in the face of adversity, what are we going to do? And I was really proud of how we played even though we knew we were up against a big challenge against a great team knowing that we were not at full capacity.”

Fast starts are something Dixon has been inconsistent with this season, including in Saturday’s win over St. Francis. So there was a concerted effort to set the tone right from the start.

“Reflecting on Saturday’s game, we knew we had to come out a lot stronger, a lot faster, a lot better,” McGowan said. “We played more aggressive, looked for open teammates, and came out with big energy to get that quick lead.”

“Morgan hitting those first couple shots for us, it set us up with the momentum right away,” Dambman added. “We felt like, ‘OK, this is going to be good,’ and we carried that confidence for everybody else on the team.”

Hargrave had 12 points and two steals, and Addy Lohse, Abby Hicks (three assists, two steals) and Addy Johnson (three rebounds) scored three points apiece for Dixon. Laney Reinhold added a pair of fourth-quarter free throws, and the Duchesses assisted on 19 of their 24 field goals and committed just seven turnovers.

Kitzmiller had six points and two steals, Addi Rufer (four rebounds, two steals) and Kalnins each scored four points, and Lola Schwarz added three points for Oregon. Noelle Girton chipped in a free throw, four rebounds and two assists.

“We have a lot of young athletes right now with little to zero varsity experience, and they did amazing,” Reynolds said. “We have a lot of girls that have had to step up into roles and do things they’re not normally used to doing – and I thought they did it without fear, they did it without hesitation, and they did it with a smile on their face. So at the end of the day, you’ve got to be happy with that.”