Girls basketball: Quick spurts send Dixon into BNC tourney semifinals

DIXON – Despite missing some shots early on in Saturday’s Big Northern Conference Tournament quarterfinal, the Dixon girls basketball team showed once again their “spurtability” later on.

The phrase coined by college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg seems to be especially fitting for the top-seeded Duchesses, who once again used multiple little runs to build a lead and eventually defeat Rockford Christian 44-28 at Lancaster Gym.

“It’s kind of like a pattern we’ve had, where we’re up by two or five and then catch fire a little bit,” said senior Abby Guthrie, who had 13 points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot. “Especially in the second half, it seems like we come out and get our offense going and get the job done.”

Dixon (11-2) used its first surge Saturday to build a lead in the second quarter. Guthrie took a pass from Caylyn Kimmel on a baseline cut and scored a layup on an up-and-under move while being fouled, and completed the three-point play with 9 seconds left in the first quarter.

Guthrie then opened the second quarter with another basket on a cut through the lane, this time off a pass from Sam Tourtillott, before Kimmel scored off a pass from Harvest Day and Guthrie stole the ball in the backcourt and hit another layup for a 16-6 lead with 6:26 left in the half.

“It’s all about energy,” said Kimmel, who had 13 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. “It comes a lot from our bench, too, and when we have that energy, it shows on the court. Once we get on a roll, we’re usually able to keep it going.”

A Tourtillott 3-pointer answered four straight points from the Royal Lions (4-11), then Ella Govig hit a free throw and Rylee Pfoutz hit two more for a 22-12 halftime lead.

Dixon came out of the locker room with five quick points. Guthrie took a steal coast-to-coast for layup, then found Kimmel in the post before a Kimmel free throw stretched the lead to 27-12. A Kimmel 3 later in the quarter made it 30-18, but Rockford Christian’s Kaitlin Park scored five points in the final 25 seconds of the third quarter to make it a 30-23 ballgame heading into the final period.

But the Duchesses again had the answer. Kimmel opened the fourth with a 3, then Govig scored on a putback to again stretch the lead to 15 at 38-23 with 4:36 to play.

“It’s comforting that we can win this way,” Guthrie said, “because we were missing layups and 3s early, we were having a few turnovers here and there, but it’s a good thing to know that even if we start off a little rough and slow, that we can still come back and pull out a big win that we really needed.”

Govig scored again in the post, then Day added two post buckets in the final 1:11 to seal the victory.

Dixon advances to the BNC Tournament semifinals, where it will host Rock Falls at 6 p.m. Monday at Lancaster Gym. The Rockets beat Stillman Valley 53-33 on Saturday in a quarterfinal at Tabor Gym.

Govig and Tourillott each scored six points, with Govig grabbing five rebounds and blocking a shot, and Tourtillott adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Day finished with four points, three rebounds and a block, and Pfoutz pulled down six rebounds and nabbed two steals.

As a team, the Duchesses had 10 assists on 15 baskets, and only turned the ball over nine times while forcing 20 turnovers. It was a 2-3 zone defense that forced the Royal Lions into tough shots all night long.

“We always prepare for each team and what they’re going to bring,” Kimmel said. “Defense has been a very strong asset of ours lately, and whatever defense Coach [Luke Ravlin] calls, we pretty much can go out and execute it.”

Kaitlin Park had nine points, six rebounds and two steals for Rockford Christian, and Avery Demo added six points and two steals. Emma Joiner scored five points, and Courtney Park and Mackenzie Park each had three points, with Courtney adding eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Tess Combs chipped in four rebounds and two assists.

But it was the defense holding Dixon to 22 first-half points in each half that pleased coach Ted Lawver the most.

“Defensively, I think that’s where we’ve made the most progress this year, is using the skills we have to play man-to-man and force teams to low scores,” he said. “Sometimes we dig ourselves a hole, though, that’s just a little bit too much for us climb back out of. But all in all, we’re a young team and have made a lot of really good progress this year, and I’m really pleased to see where we’re at against some of these top-tier teams.”

Girls basketball

Big Northern Conference Tournament quarterfinal

Dixon 44, Rockford Christian 28

Star of the game: Caylyn Kimmel, Dixon, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists

Key performers: Abby Guthrie, Dixon, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, 1 block; Ella Govig, Dixon, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block; Sam Tourtillott, Dixon, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Kaitlin Park, Rockford Christian, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist

Up next: BNC Tournament semifinal, Rock Falls at Dixon, 6 p.m. Monday