Nerves weren’t an issue for long on Monday night for Dixon.

The Duchesses started strong and never looked back in a 55-10 win over Rockford East in their Class 3A Dixon Regional semifinal at Lancaster Gym. Dixon advances to Thursday’s title game against Geneva, a 38-36 winner over Kaneland in the other semifinal.

“We were super nervous, so getting a big start got us amped up and gave us a lot of energy,” Ahmyrie McGowan said. “We had to just get locked in and get out to a big lead.”

Reese Dambman was a big reason, as she hit three 3-pointers in the first 2:14 to stake Dixon to a 10-0 lead. A 3 by Morgan Hargrave and two buckets by Addy Lohse made it 20-0 in the final minute of the first quarter.

“We wanted to start really fast, get ahead of them early and show that we weren’t here to play around,” Dambman said. “And I think that our defense was really good. We knew exactly the rotations to be in at every single point in time, so it made it easier.

“Everybody was so locked in that we were right where we needed to be and it was falling right into our hands, and we just used that to pull away.”

The Duchesses led 20-1 after the first quarter, 37-4 by halftime, and 48-6 through three periods. After the opening 20-0 run, Dixon added a 32-5 run through the second and third quarters and into the fourth.

Ten different Duchesses scored, and 14 players recorded a stat of some kind. Dixon turned 21 offensive rebounds into a 22-0 edge in second-chance points and also nabbed 16 steals and forced 28 turnovers defensively.

“It really opens up our offense when we can hit those 3s early. It gets us open looks all over the court, and passing lanes and cutting lanes. Puts us in a good spot, gives us energy, and we were even able to rebound missed shots for putbacks,” McGowan said. “And just picking up the defense, putting pressure on is a really big thing for us. That gets us turnovers, and that gets us hyped, and that gets us going on offense.”

The 28 turnovers matched the total number of field-goal attempts by Rockford East, and the E-Rabs had more turnovers than shots through most of the game while finishing 4 of 28 (14.3%) from the field.

Dambman hit five 3s and finished with 16 points and three assists, while McGowan stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, eight steals, two assists and two blocks. Hargrave and Lohse each had seven points, five rebounds and two assists.

“Our team chemistry has really bonded us so well, and we’re so bound together right now that it’s just great,” Dambman said. “We know what we need from each other and how each of us can contribute, and that’s what we try and home in on.”

Faith Williams’ four points led Rockford East (6-22). J’Lynn Sims added three points, eight rebounds and six blocks, and Nina Herbig hit a 3. Jasmine Fruland pulled down eight rebounds.