ROMNEY, W.Va. — Hampshire responded to Keyser’s early runs to take a lead in the decider, but the Tornado’s final push proved too daunting to overcome.
In the end, No. 2 Keyser’s 1-2-1-1 press took its toll on Hampshire in the form of a 19-3 fourth-quarter run, as the Golden Tornado outmaneuvered Hampshire, 58-45, on Friday night behind a game-high 23 points from Bibs Felton.
“Effort and energy,” Keyser head coach Josh Blowe said of the difference in the fourth. “What we had in the first quarter, we did not have in the second quarter. For whatever reason, our energy level dipped way down. Credit to them. They hit some shots. … But I loved the way our energy was in the fourth quarter.”
The victory was Keyser’s fifth in a row and pushed the Tornado’s record to 6-1. Hampshire (5-4) saw its four-game winning streak end.
Felton was the lone Keyser player in double figures. Rooney Urice added nine points, and Abby Delsignore and Kiya Kesner added eight points apiece. Kesner hit two 3-pointers, and Delsignore was 6 for 6 from the line.
Keyser was 16 for 22 from the foul line as a team, and Hampshire made 6 of 11 tries.
It appeared as if Keyser was primed to run away with a lopsided triumph over the regional rival early. The Golden Tornado jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the second period, but Hampshire responded with an 11-0 run.
Keyser, leading 23-20 at the half, scored the first two buckets of the third quarter, and Hampshire again answered, this time with a 9-1 flurry.
A Bri Cosner old-fashioned three-point play gave Hampshire its first lead of the night up 33-31 with 2:19 left in the third.
The teams were tied at 37 going into the fourth, and Hampshire scored the first bucket of the period. Keyser scored the next nine points, which grew into a 13-1 run and maxed out at 19-3.
By the end of the scoring streak, Keyser’s lead stood at 56-42. Hampshire never got back within single digits.
“We played three-and-a-half quarters of basketball,” Hampshire head coach Jordan Richardson said. “Our youth got us, our inexperience got us in the fourth quarter. We were in a tied game.
“They swept us three times last year, and it wasn’t very close. We made this close, but we just couldn’t finish the job. You could tell we haven’t been in this position before with this team.”
Hampshire was paced by Della Knight’s 10 points, Cosner tallied eight and Kendyl Stewart added seven.
Keyser pressed throughout, but it was most effective in the decider. Over the first four minutes of the final period, Hampshire turned the ball over more often than it got over half court.
“I feel like you can wear teams down in the fourth quarter,” Blowe said. “That’s when it really pays off. When you’re pressing them all game, all game, they did a pretty good job for the most part, but the fourth quarter is when it really pays off.”
The road victory was Keyser’s first true road win of the year.
Hampshire won the middle quarters 28-21, but a 21-8 fourth period in favor of Keyser spelled doom.
“I think we looked up and saw a ‘4’ in the quarter spot, we knew things were getting tight, we knew it was a close game,” Richardson said of the Trojans’ struggles breaking the press. “We got in a situation where we wanted it too bad. Instead of resorting to the pass, which we talked about, they went back to the dribble. … You’re not going to beat a 1-2-1-1 press like that.”
Felton scored seven points in the fourth quarter, but Keyser’s offense took off when its supporting cast stepped up late.
Urice and Austyn Healy made important 3-pointers in the fourth, and Delsignore was a perfect 4 for 4 at the charity stripe.
“If you come to scout us or you come to watch us in the stands, we’re not just one player,” Blowe said. “Bibs, yes, she’s one of the best scorers in the area, maybe the best in the area, who knows? But we have multiple girls who start who can score, and multiple girls who come off the bench that can put the ball in the basket.”
Hampshire heads to No. 3 Allegany (6-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Keyser will look to extend its winning streak at home against Berkeley Springs on Monday at 7:30 p.m., weather permitting with a snow storm looming.
“They had great energy in the crowd tonight,” Blowe said. “(Hampshire) had great energy, and you could see it, they were feeding off the crowd. We had to go match that in the second half. It took a while, but we finally did.”