It took a little time for Dixon to figure out the Genoa-Kingston defense in their Big Northern Conference game Tuesday night.

But once the Duchesses started finding their rhythm on both ends of the court, the Cogs couldn’t keep up.

Dixon built a double-digit lead less than a minute into the second quarter and pulled away for a 51-23 victory at Lancaster Gym.

“Definitely just getting in the groove of it. They were pushed up a little bit, so we knew we could hit that diagonal pass down low. We just wanted to find the flow and keep the ball moving,” Morgan Hargrave said. “We always want to get the ball inside, attack first and if it’s not there, hit those kick-outs, which we did a great job with tonight. Taking those 3s opens the middle a little bit more for everyone.”

The defensive game plan for G-K was to play a box-and-one with the one defender guarding Reese Dambman. But the Dixon senior sat out the game with an ankle injury, so the Cogs adapted the plan to try and keep the Duchesses guessing.

“When we saw she was out, we still wanted to run it, so we decided to play box-and-one against a different player every time down the court. We thought maybe it would confuse them,” G-K coach Doug Brewington said. “The plan was to make them beat us from the outside, and sure enough, they did. A team as aggressive and as long as Dixon is, our only hope is they have an off night from the perimeter and we can keep it close. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”

Hargrave was the main shooter from outside, and she hit a 3-pointer to end the first quarter and added two more in the final two minutes of the second. The first pushed the Dixon lead to 14-5, and the next two stretched it to 26-9 at halftime.

Dixon (22-3, 4-1 BNC) opened the second half with a Hargrave lob to Ahmyrie McGowan for a reverse layup, then McGowan dished to Addy Lohse for a basket on the next possession before hitting a turnaround jumper a minute later. Lohse then found Kiley Gaither for a layup on a baseline cut to make it 34-9 midway through the third quarter.

“It took us a minute to try to figure out what we wanted to do [against their defense]. We saw that the high post was open, so we put a player in there and started looking at the short corner. That opened up the offense,” McGowan said. “When we see a hand, we just throw it there and try to get other people points. Everybody looking for everybody else really helped tonight.”

While the Duchesses assisted on 15 of their 21 baskets, the defense was equally on point. Genoa-Kingston (12-12, 1-5) shot just 4 of 9 in the first half and committed 18 turnovers, finishing with 27 for the game. Fortunately for the Cogs, most were of the dead-ball variety and didn’t lead to Dixon fast breaks.

But full-court pressure and a half-court zone took the Cogs out of their offense and forced a lot of scrambling possessions.

“We wanted to come in and make sure our press was hitting them strong in the beginning,” Hargrave said. “I think we did a great job of that, and definitely just keeping the pressure on them that whole game.”

“Just picking up the pressure was the key,” McGowan added. “Just sticking to our defense and forcing turnovers and tough shots.”

Hargrave had 16 points and two assists, and McGowan added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Duchesses. Abby Hicks nailed a 3 and finished with nine points, three rebounds, two steals and a block, and Lohse had six points, four rebounds and three assists. Gaither swatted a game-high four blocks – all on one second-half possession that saw G-K corral six offensive rebounds.

Presley Meyer led the Cogs with 15 points, including a pair of 3s, and nabbed two steals. Arielle Rich had eight points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block, while Regan Creadon (nine rebounds, two blocks) and Zoe Boylen (seven rebounds) led the way on the glass.

“These kids never quit. That’s our M.O., no matter what, and it’s kept us in some games,” Brewington said. “As far as the basketball background and skill, we’re getting there. We’ve got kids willing to lay it on the line, and that’s step one. We’ve got that, so we build from there. I’m happy with our effort, I’m proud of what we’ve got out there.”