Maine South's 2nd-quarter surge sinks Hampshire

It was a second quarter to remember for Maine South.

It was one to forget for Hampshire.

With Hampshire nursing a slim 11-8 lead after one quarter, Maine South outscored the Whip-Purs 20-10 in the second quarter to lead 28-21 at intermission.

That explosion propelled the Hawks to a 59-38 win over Hampshire in quarterfinal action of Dundee-Crown's 39th annual Komaromy Classic Tuesday.

The Hawks (11-3) will play Huntley in the semifinals Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. while Hampshire (10-5) plays Lake Forest in the consolation bracket at 3:30 p.m.

"Hampshire hit us in the mouth in the first quarter," said Maine South coach Jeff Hamann. "They were the aggressor in the first quarter. We settled down in the second quarter and were more physical."

Ally Pape led the Hawks' second quarter surge with 8 points including a 3-pointer and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Pape was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all 3 free throws. The Maine South sophomore ended with 14 points.

"We played too frantic in the first quarter," said Pape. "We lacked focus. We ran our plays in the second quarter."

Julia Beck came off the Hawks bench and contributed 7 second-quarter points.

Starting the second half, Ashley Herzing drilled a long 3-pointer to slice the Hawks' lead to 28-24. That was as close as the Whip-Purs would get.

The Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to seize control of the game. Maine South got 5 points from Meegan Fahy including a 3-pointer and a trey from Ava Blagojevich which gave the Hawks a 36-24 advantage with 4:46 left in the third quarter.

Fahy backed Pape with 12 points.

"This game had a lot of ebbs and flows," said Hamann. "We were able to run our system and were the aggressor in the paint. Our defense was clicking."

Hampshire, hampered by 24 turnovers, was led by Herzing with 11 points including 3-pointer.

"We played two-and-a-half good quarters," said Hampshire coach Eric Samuelson. "You have to play four good quarters to beat a quality team like Maine South. We didn't do the small things well."