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Stevenson turns up pressure, tops Hampshire

It wasn't exactly a tale of two halves. Maybe more like a quarter-and-a-half and the rest of the game.

Stevenson quickly erased a second-half deficit and then ran past Hampshire, 51-40, on the opening night of the Komaromy Classic at Dundee-Crown.

Avery King scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Patriots (8-3).

Hampshire led from the first possession, building the margin to 18-11 after 2 free throws by Jessica Heine. But then the Patriots extended their defense and the Whip-Purs couldn't hold on to the ball. They turned it over on 5 straight possessions and Stevenson took advantage.

The Patriots tied it when Nicole Ware (10 points) stole a pass and fed King for a breakaway. Hampshire briefly regained the lead on Kelby Bannerman's bucket, but Ware's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer put Stevenson ahead to stay.

The Patriots continued to build the advantage by outscoring Hampshire 16-7 in the third quarter.

"We called a timeout, we regrouped a little bit and we hit some good shots," said Stevenson coach Ashley Graham of the second-quarter momentum shift. "We got some defensive stops. We switched up our defense a little bit and our kids really responded well."

"We turned the ball over way too often," said Hampshire coach Mike Featherly. "It was simple taking care of the basketball."

Ally Cermak scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half for Hampshire. Bannerman finished with 10 points and 10 boards, while Veronica Walker added 7 points for the Whips (9-3).

Ava Bardic added 11 points and Simone Sawyer 7 for Stevenson.

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