ROMNEY, W.Va. — Like a prize fighter waiting for a knockout punch, Hampshire’s Della Knight bided her time until the moment presented itself.
Hampshire led by as many as 10 points midway through the third quarter before Allegany’s stingy defense, the area’s best allowing 29 points per game, helped the Campers chip away.
The Trojans’ lead dwindled to 32-31 with under two minutes to play. Allegany held Hampshire without a point for nearly six minutes.
Knight rose for a 3-pointer on the left side of the arc and buried what proved to be the winning triple to end the drought with 1:11 remaining, and fourth-ranked Hampshire hung on for a 36-35 victory Wednesday, handing No. 3 Allegany its first loss of the season.
Hampshire started four sophomores for the first time this season, and its lone senior in the lineup finished the job.
“We weren’t sure what it was about to look like, and the young kids stepped up,” Hampshire head coach Jordan Richardson said. “Della took us home. It was an all-around team win. The bench was electric. It was a good environment. Just really felt like a unity win tonight. Real proud of everybody.”
Hampshire (6-3) was experiencing some deja vu late in the game when Allegany (8-1), trailing 32-25 with seven minutes left, was within a point following a pull-up jumper by Braylin Bosley with 2:27 to play.
In the Trojans’ last time out, University erased a late deficit to pull off a 77-71 win.
Richardson called a timeout to rally the troops, Hampshire got a stop after an Allegany go-ahead lay-up rolled off the rim, and Knight sunk the game’s biggest shot for the final of her team-high 12 points.
Trailing 36-33 with 3.6 seconds left, Allegany stole Hampshire’s inbounds pass, but Bosley was only in position to make a layup as the buzzer sounded.
Allegany allowed just 18 points over the final three quarters; however, an 18-8 deficit following a turnover-laden opening period proved to be too steep a hill to summit.
“I thought our kids played incredibly hard,” Allegany head coach Jim O’Neal said. “It’s easy to play when you front run. We faced adversity, we competed, played hard, gave ourself a chance to get back in the game late and had a chance to win. Just came up a little short.”
Knight was joined in double figures on Hampshire by Kendyl Stewart, who finished with 10 points.
Bosley scored a game-high 14 points for Allegany, Amanda Vizza added 12 and Savannah Walton scored eight.
The game felt like an all-out war after Hampshire’s favorable start, and both teams were well-prepared.
Hampshire aggressively shaded to Bosley’s right hand in an effort to force her left. On the other end, Allegany’s Myia Miller tenaciously denied Knight the ball in the paint, and Knight was double- or triple-teamed when the ball did make it there.
“You know coach O’Neal is going to be ready to play and his squad’s going to be ready to play, but we were too,” Richardson said. “He does a great job with them. … I thought it was a battle. Thought it was a chess match all game, and it was fun to be a part of.
“It’s always fun when they come over because they have such high expectations. He’s done it really well for a long time, so anytime you can get one over them, especially when you’re undefeated, you know it’s going to feel good.”
All four quarters followed a similar track. Hampshire started well, Allegany ground the deficit down in the middle part of each period, and the Trojans found a late bucket to regain some momentum.
Knight hit a 3 in the final minute of the first period and had a put-back at the buzzer late in the first half, in addition to her late-game heroics, and Lila Eversole beat the buzzer with an interior shot at the end of the third quarter.
Hampshire, which led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, held a 25-16 edge at the half and a 30-25 advantage after three periods.
The Trojans now head to Bridgeport on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Allegany will look to wipe the slate clean before heading to rival Fort Hill on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Win or lose, O’Neal was pleased with his team’s fight. As he always is.
“We don’t mind grinding,” he said. “We work hard, we’ll never fold. That’s how we do it. We practice too hard to ever fold in the game.”