Hampshire battles back to drop Kaneland

The late third-quarter Kaneland lead vanished in a hurry.

The host Knights welcomed Hampshire for the girls basketball teams' season opener on Tuesday evening, and 15 seconds proved to be a lifetime for the Whips to make their move.

The Knights' hard-earned 7-point lead was reduced to a mere field goal entering the fourth quarter as Jaclyn Clai, fresh off the state volleyball tournament floor, capped the 5-point flourish as part of her game-high 21-point effort for the Whip-Purs.

The unanswered run in the waning seconds of the quarter carried over into the decisive fourth; the Whips proceeded to end the game in Maple Park with a 21-4 blitz to seal their 56-42 nonconference victory.

"(The end of the third quarter) kind of put some air back in our balloon," said Hampshire coach Sue Ellett.

Kaneland (0-1) nursed its tenuous lead into the early stretches of the fourth, but the Whips (1-0) took the lead for good when Mallory Koster converted a 3-point play with 5 minutes, 26 seconds to play.

The Knights fought back and reduced their deficit to 46-42 on two Katie Hatch free throws as money-time approached.

Clai was cited for an over-and-back violation moments later, but the Knights' attempts to make further inroads were quickly extinguished by the Whips' senior leader.

Clai had the last of her 8 steals on back-to-back Knights' possessions to set up Cassie Domoulin for one deuce and added another of her own seconds later to double the lead to 50-42.

The Knights failed to score again over the final two-plus minutes, and Clai, coming off only two days' practice in the aftermath of the Whips' Class 2A runner-up finish at state volleyball over the weekend, was the main reason.

"It was first-game jitters for some of us," said Clai, responding to the Whips' slow start. "I just was looking for some openings. I didn't practice at all during volleyball (season) This (basketball) is my main sport."

The Whips' three-year starting point guard received able support from Koster and Chrissy Heine.

Koster scored all 14 of her points after the intermission, and Heine was a force at both ends with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

"(Heine) is a super soph," said Ellett. "She is very seasoned (for her age)."

Hatch led Kaneland with 12 points, and Mallory Huml, who had consecutive field goals during the Knights' 18-7 third-quarter run, finished with nine.