Girls basketball: Dixon finds steady rhythm to clinch share of BNC crown

DIXON – It took a few minutes for the Dixon girls basketball team to get going on Senior Night at Lancaster Gym on Wednesday.

But once they got into the groove, it was another solid all-around performance by the Duchesses – and with it, a second straight Big Northern Conference title.

Dixon turned a close game 6 minutes into the contest into a 57-29 win over Oregon to share the regular-season conference crown with Winnebago, and earn the No. 1 seed in the BNC Tournament which starts Friday.

“For us to get two first-place finishes in a row, it’s just a great feeling,” said senior Abby Guthrie, who had 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. “We got second my sophomore year, but three out of the four years [I’ve been here] we got first, and that’s something we’re so proud of.”

“It’s just an awesome feeling being conference champs again,” added fellow four-year varsity player Caylyn Kimmel, who scored a game-high 17 points to go with four rebounds, four steals and two assists. “Everybody played a very good game tonight, especially the seniors. Everyone was on their game, shots were falling, and our defense was strong.”

The Duchesses (10-2, 9-1 BNC) led 10-8 after Oregon’s Liz Mois scored off a pass from Hadley Lutz with 1:44 to play in the first quarter. But just nine seconds later, Sam Tourtillott found Kimmel for a wide-open jumper, and Dixon never looked back.

Rylee Pfoutz then nabbed a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup, and Tourtillott fed Guthrie for a fast-break layup as the final buzzer sounded for the first quarter.

Dixon then opened the second with a coast-to-coast layup from Tourtillott for an 18-8 lead, and proceeded to hit five 3-pointers – three from Kimmel and one each from Guthrie and Pfoutz – the rest of the quarter to take a 33-17 lead into halftime.

“You’re making a two-point bucket and they’re climbing back and hitting a 3 – and they’ve got a lot of firepower,” Oregon coach Wendy Lambrigtsen said. “Kudos to them.”

Over the final 1:35 of the first quarter and first 2:35 of the second, Dixon went on a 14-0 run, and extended it to 20-2 over a 7:47 span.

“Once we get going, the rhythm just keeps flowing for us,” said Guthrie, who opened the game with a layup off a lob pass from Pfoutz for the second straight game. “We just played really good basketball, there’s no other way to put it. We had a slow start. but as soon as we got some good shots, we got out of that instantly and worked hard to get our specials in and run our offense.”

The Duchesses outscored the Hawks (4-9, 2-8) 12-3 in the third quarter, with Oregon hitting three of six free throws in the period. Pfoutz added the last of Dixon’s six 3-pointers in that stretch, with Ella Govig assisting on that shot right after scoring off a post-to-post pass from Guthrie.

Senior Abbie Provo scored three points early in the fourth quarter, and Kimmel and Guthrie also scored before coach Luke Ravlin pulled out his four seniors – Guthrie, Kimmel, Provo and Molly Stitzel – one at a time to loud applause from the limited crowd.

“We get our energy from the team, and that helped so much tonight,” Kimmel said. “It’s awesome being able to rely on teammates and having so many players who can score and pass and play defense.”

The Duchesses assisted on 18 of their 23 baskets, after assisting on 21-of-27 in Monday’s win. Tourtillott dished six, and eight different players had at least one.

“That’s just good teamwork again,” Guthrie said. “We’re always willing to make another pass, and if we think it’s a good shot, then our teammates trust in us that we’re going to make it. No one is selfish, we always are happy for each other, and especially on Senior Night, it’s just a good feeling.”

Pfoutz finished with 10 points and three steals, Govig had six points and two blocked shots, and Harvest Day added three points, five rebounds and a block. Tourtillott added four points, three rebounds and two steals to her game-high assist total, and Provo finished with three points and a team-high seven rebounds.

And defensively, the Duchesses once again complemented their quick-strike attack. They held Oregon to single digits in all four quarters, forced 22 turnovers while committing just 11, and limited the Hawks to just three field goals after halftime.

“Defense is the most important part of basketball, stopping your opponent from scoring,” Kimmel said. “We’re lucky enough to have an awesome coach who teaches that in practice, and whatever defense he wants us to play, we’re strong enough to do that.”

Mariah Drake led Oregon with 12 points, nine rebounds and six steals, and Mois added seven points and six rebounds. Hadley Lutz and Ella Martin both dished a pair of assists, and Martin and Lily Gillingham both blocked a shot.

“We have few numbers, so we’ve got horses running thirsty – that’s a light way to put it – and we’re very beat up after an extremely physical overtime loss Monday,” Lambrigtsen said. “No excuses, obviously; it’s an odd season, and we’ve got a young team that’s getting a lot of great experience, and we’ve got some wonderful senior leadership that is helping them through all of that. We lost eight seniors last year and will lose six more this year, so we have to get our younger girls as much experience as fast as possible. So we’re going to make mistakes, and it’s OK, because that’s the only way that you learn.”

Girls basketball

Dixon 57, Oregon 29

Star of the game: Abby Guthrie, Dixon, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

Key performers: Caylyn Kimmel, Dixon, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists; Rylee Pfoutz, Dixon, 10 points, 3 steals; Sam Tourtillott, Dixon, 4 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; Abbie Provo, Dixon, 3 points, 7 rebounds; Mariah Drake, Oregon, 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals; Liz Mois, Oregon, 7 points, 6 rebounds

Up next: Dixon, Oregon at Big Northern Conference tournament, TBD