CANTON — Dunlap senior forward Christina Britter is on a comeback of her own, and she completed a comeback win over Canton with a layup off an offensive rebound.
“I just kind of felt it (come off the rim),” said Britter after a 51-50 Mid-Illini Conference victory. “No one was there and the basket was open, so I just took the shot.”
The Eagles (13-4, 4-3) scored 21 fourth-quarter points, and escaped after Little Giants junior Cassidy Fawcett missed a shot at the buzzer.
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One year ago, it would have been hard to imagine Britter finishing with 18 points and 15 rebounds. In the first minute of her junior season, she tore an anterior cruciate ligament and missed the season.
“It was very frustrating sometimes,” Britter said. “But being around the team and getting the encouragement that I needed from them, and especially from my sister (Candace), it helped me get over the injury.”
Britter entered Tuesday’s game averaging 11.2 points and seven rebounds. The Northern Illinois recruit bested that in the second half alone with 12 points and nine rebounds.
“Christina’s kind of a dime-a-dozen ball player,” said Dunlap coach Heather Cassady. “She’s athletic, she can get rebounds, she can score when you want her to (and) she can rebound.”
It’s scary to think that Britter doesn’t feel at full strength yet. It took her a while to get going at Alice Ingersoll Gym on Tuesday. That’s a credit to Canton senior Brooke Henry's defense — and offense.
“Brooke has really stepped it up offensively this year,” said Canton coach Jessica Jones. “She was perfect in the first half with free throws, which she usually struggles with. She played a really good game.”
The Little Giants (14-4, 6-2) got a lift from Anna Plumer early, scoring 13 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. She was 5-of-8 and added four steals and five rebounds to help Canton build leads of 15-4, 21-6 and 26-10 in the first half.
“Anna’s been a key player for the Canton program now for a couple years and she’s stepped up so much for us this year,” said Jones. “Her knocking down those shots were huge for us.”
Dunlap opened the third quarter on a 13-0 run to tie the game at 30 as the Eagles used their length and quickness to force seven turnovers in the period.
Kai Koehler scored eight of her 16 points for Dunlap in a back-and-forth final period. She attributes her success to Britter’s post presence.
“It definitely helps having her on the floor because girls have to crash on her so then it opens up us shooters outside and if they don’t crash on her she has an open layup one-on-one,” said Koehler, who is averaging 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and three assists per game this season.
“Kai’s been our leader all year,” Cassady said. “She’s really worked on her game over the summer and so it’s been neat to see her blossom into a really good player and I think she’ll be even better at the next level.”
Aaron Ferguson can be reached at 686-3207 or aferguson@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Sports_Aaron.