Girls basketball: Dixon-Stillman goes down to the wire

The game Wednesday night started with the Dixon Duchesses and Stillman Valley Cardinals tied 6-6 before things really got underway.

It ended with Stillman sophomore Jenna Shelburne going the length of the court for a go-ahead basket with 10 seconds left, then Ella Govig’s turnaround jump shot off an inbounds play bouncing off the rim short as the Duchesses suffered their first Big Northern Conference loss of the season, 51-50 to the Cardinals.

“It was really nice to just come together at the end and pull it out,” said Shelburne, who was one of seven Stillman players to score at least four points in the game. “We basically just told each other that we were winning this game, there was no other choice.”

The Duchesses (7-2, 6-1 BNC) led 48-41 with 2:35 to play after Harvest Day and Abby Guthrie scored baskets in the lane on consecutive possessions. But that’s when the Cardinals (7-1, 6-1) closed with their final run.

Shelburne went hard to the hoop for a layup, then Payton Barger found Faith Fowler on the wing for a 3-pointer to get within 48-46 with 1:41 left. After four timeouts – three by Dixon as they tried to avoid turning it over on the offensive end – the teams traded turnovers.

Dixon guard Rylee Pfoutz missed the front end of a 1-and-1 after the Cardinals were forced to foul, then Maddy McCammond hit a 3-pointer to give Stillman a 49-48 lead with 22 seconds to go. Pfoutz then took it hard to the hoop and was fouled on the way in; this time, she calmly knocked down both free throws for a 50-49 Dixon lead.

Shelburne caught the inbounds pass and went all the way down for a layup at the other end for what turned out to be the game-winning basket.

“In my head, I just told myself that I had to go, I didn’t have any other choice,” Shelburne said. “I felt like it was either I drive to the basket or we lose.”

“I’m going to have to look at the film to see, I’m not really sure what happened,” Dixon coach Luke Ravlin said about the last basket. “But my guess right off would be that we just didn’t get to a good guarding position like we needed to as fast as we needed to – and the reality of that is when you’re playing really good teams, those details mean even more. That’s where any kind of breakdown in that type of a game is going to cost you.”

Dixon got the ball to halfcourt and called timeout with 4.4 seconds left. The inbounds pass went to Govig on the baseline, but her turnaround jumper was heavily contested and hit the rim short. Fowler secured the rebound as the final buzzer sounded.

“We just made small mistakes, and that can cost you against good teams,” Pfoutz said. “We’ll learn from them, correct them and move on – and the next time, we can win the game.”

In a battle of two of the top teams in the BNC standings, things went back and forth as one would expect. Dixon (7-2, 6-1) jumped out a 14-6 lead late in the first quarter, only to see Stillman (7-1, 6-1) use a big run to take a 26-18 lead with 1:49 left in the first half.

The Duchesses closed the first half with five quick points, then used a 12-0 run over the last minute of the third quarter and first two minutes of the fourth to take their biggest lead at 40-32.

“We just needed to calm down on offense and make sure we took care of the ball and took good shots,” Pfoutz said, “and then make sure we each know who we were guarding on defense. It’s fun to play games where you battle like that, because it makes you better.”

Stillman cut the deficit to 44-41 after a pair of 3-pointers from Barger, then Dixon responded with a couple of baskets in the lane from Harvest Day and Abby Guthrie to bump the lead back to 48-41 with 2:35 to play, setting up the final stretch.

“I think the thing with our team, with three seniors on the floor that have played varsity for four years now, time and time again we find ourselves in games where we might be down a little bit, then we go up a little bit, then back down, and they kind of just stay in it,” Stillman coach Bobby Mellon said. “We never think that we’re out of it, and it’s just that mindset to keep going.”

“That’s a really well-coached, really tough ballclub in Stillman Valley, and they had three seniors out there tonight that were prepared to do whatever it took to win the game,” Ravlin said. “We had that same thing with our senior group and everybody we put on the floor, and they just had a little more tonight.”

Pfoutz led the Duchesses with 12 points, all in the second half, and also had two steals, two assists and a blocked shot. Guthrie and Caylyn Kimmel scored 11 points apiece, with Kimmel adding four rebounds, four assists, five steals and a block, and Guthrie nabbing four steals. Govig had eight points, four rebounds, two steals and a block, and Day chipped in six points and four boards.

“I think we all are starting to play a lot better together as a team,” Pfoutz said. “We’re missing one of our players, and everyone is just adjusting. I think we’ll keep getting better.”

Barger, Fowler and Lexi Lichty each scored nine points to lead a balanced Cardinal attack, with Lichty leading the way with six rebounds. McCamond added eight points and three assists, and Shelburne scored six.

Senior Georgia Ballard also scored six points, reaching 1,000 for her career. She is missing her senior year with a foot injury suffered in the very first contact-drill practice of the season; she had surgery Tuesday and was on crutches.

At the very start of the game, Stillman threw the ball to Dixon three times for layups off of “turnovers.” The Duchesses then did the same on the other end, throwing the ball to Ballard three times on “turnovers” with inbounds passes, allowing Ballard to shoot three layups from the same spot so she didn’t have to move around without her crutches.

“We weren’t sure if she was going to be back or not, then she ended up having surgery Tuesday,” Mellon said. “Only being six points away and finding out that she wasn’t going to be back was tough.

“So Luke and I talked, and he suggested the idea, and we’re very appreciative to be able to give her that moment. She’s been a four-year starter, and to be six points short and not be able to play this year … it’s nice to get that for her, because she’s definitely earned it and deserves it.”

Girls basketball

Stillman Valley 51, Dixon 50

Star of the game: Jenna Shelburne, Stillman, 6 points, 2 steals, game-winning basket with 10 seconds left

Key performers: Rylee Pfoutz, Dixon, 12 points, 2 asists, 2 steals, 1 block; Caylyn Kimmel, Dixon, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, 1 block; Abby Guthrie, Dixon, 11 points, 4 steals; Lexi Lichty, SV, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, Payton Barger & Faith Fowler, SV, 9 points, 4 rebounds each

Up next: Dixon at Rockford Christian, 7 p.m. Friday