CLAREMONT – The Stevens girls started fast and with a purpose, but it was the visiting Kearsarge Cougars that played well down the stretch, holding the Cardinals to just eight second-half points as they picked up their first win of the season, 39-24.
“We got down early and fought back,” said Kearsarge head coach Keith Roberts. “The girls are giving everything they have.”
Stevens scored the first eight points of the game as their early pressure was forcing Kearsarge to play up-tempo and miss quick shots. Sydney Miller had seven of the Stevens’ first eight.
Kearsarge then put a press on and it paid dividends immediately, as they outscored the Cardinals 7-0 for the second half of the first frame.
“We started off with intensity and you could tell we were ready to play in the beginning… which was a good thing,” said Stevens head coach Ivy Condon. “Then after that, I think we started getting sloppy. It’s a bad habit of ours and it’s something that we are trying to work on erasing… but sometimes we have those moments, and tonight was one of those nights.”
Kearsarge had outscored Stevens 11-5 in the second quarter, until Miller banked in a deep three off of a broken play to close out the first half and keep the game close, 18-16 in favor of the Cougars.
Stevens continued to play the Cougars tightly, and even though they turned the ball over frequently, their defense was able to keep them in the game, as they trailed by just three points with 3:30 left in the third quarter, 23-20.
But, for the Cougars, it was only a matter of time before buckets started falling in the defensive slugfest, and they ended up going on a 16-4 run over the final quarter and a half to secure the road victory.
“Our defense is going to be what takes us where we want to go,” said coach Roberts. “We held them to eight second-half points. This was a complete team effort… I’m proud of the girls.”
For Stevens, coach Condon knew that their jump up to Division II would come with some speed bumps along the way.
“We just have to push through,” she said after the game. “… Every game, every quarter, every minute, every possession, every second… if we can do the little things… they will add up and hopefully we’ll get there. It’s going to be a tough road for us but our momentum, energy and body language cannot get down. Are we going to let going to a higher division put us down or are we going to get past it… we have goals in mind and I think those goals are reachable.”
Stevens falls to 1-1 as their tough schedule continues. They head to Laconia on Friday night and then host Lebanon on Tuesday.
Kearsarge improves to 1-1 and travels to Lebanon on Thursday night before returning home on Tuesday to face Merrimack Valley
Scoring:
Stevens: Sydney Miller 13 points, Carrie Faro 6 points, and Jenna Pond and Ellee Grenier 2 points apiece.
Kearsarge: Tori Andrewski 12 points, Caroline Camp 7 points, Rayna Tucker 6 points, and Livi Hernon 5 points.
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