HAMPDEN – Steady offense has been characteristic of the Hampden Academy girls basketball team this season, and when the Broncos needed a boost against John Bapst Friday evening, that’s where they turned.

A third-quarter run, plus tough post defense and a well-rounded offensive effort helped Hampden roll to a 65-23 win.

The Broncos, now 4-1, held the Crusaders of Bangor (1-3) to five points in the entire second half while surging to a 20-point lead at the end of the third quarter.

Jamie Wells and Megan Magoon were key in the third, with six points apiece. The Broncs went 8-for-10 from the floor in the quarter.

“We wanted to work on our offense a lot more,” Wells said. “We weren’t making their defense work as hard as they were making ours work so we wanted to work the ball around, get the ball inside, make them foul us.”

Magoon led Hampden with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

Bapst had rallied in the second quarter for a 23-18 halftime Hampden lead. Lena Caron made two free throws to open the third quarter and it was (almost) all Magoon and Wells from there. Wells tossed in two baskets, followed by a Magoon score and Wells’ final hoop of the period. Magoon made two more baskets on ensuing possessions to make it 37-20.

Jen Hessert scored the Broncos’ last five points of the third quarter with a jumper for a 39-22 lead.

“We had four or five layups right at the beginning [of the second half] that we missed and I think that really hurt us,” John Bapst coach Matt Clark said. “[The game] got away from us after 10 or 12 [points], I think.”

The Broncos were ahead 14-4 at the end of the first quarter, but the Crusaders rallied got within four points near the end of the second.

After a Magoon jumper, Bapst’s Meghan Sekera hit a 3-pointer, Sockbeson made two free throws and Nikki Novak scored on a fast-break layup off a pass from Christina Rich to make it 16-11.

Later in the period the Broncos had a 21-13 lead when Rich tossed in a jump shot and Sockbeson added two more free throws to cut the lead to 21-17.

Sockbeson’s free throws were the result of the Crusaders’ attempts to get the ball inside to the 5-foot-10 center, a strategy which paid off with those trips to the line and two first-half baskets.

Other times, however, Bapst forced the ball inside while Sockbeson was closely guarded. That resulted in turnovers and fast-break points for Hampden. Sockbeson, who finished with a team-high 12 points, got into foul trouble in the third quarter.

“It didn’t work very well because we didn’t execute very well,” Clark said. “We made a lot of poor decisions, but we’re learning.”

Magoon said pressuring Bapst’s perimeter players was key to controlling the Crusaders.

“We were just trying to deny the inside and pressure out on the guards so they wouldn’t be able to get it inside,” she said. “We wanted to force the guards to shoot from the outside.”

The Crusaders struggled from the floor, making just eight of their 43 field-goal attempts.

Magoon was the only Bronco to score in double figures. Hessert and Wells each added eight points, Laura Martin chipped in with six points and Erin Campbell had five.

Robinson led the Broncos with seven rebounds. Caron and Wells each had four assists.

Novak finished with six points and a team-high six rebounds.

Broncos 65, Crusaders 23

John Bapst (1-3) Hampden (4-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Rich 1 4 0 0 2 Caron 0 2 2 3 2

Crotty 0 2 0 0 0 Magoon 8 11 3 4 20

Sekera 1 10 0 0 3 Wells 3 6 2 3 8

Yeo 0 2 0 0 0 Wilson 0 3 0 0 0

Novak 2 8 2 4 6 Bragg 2 5 0 1 4

Mitchell-Stover 0 2 0 0 0 Martin 3 3 0 2 6

Wakeling 0 1 0 0 0 Russell 1 2 2 2 4

Cluff 0 2 0 0 0 Robinson 1 4 0 0 2

Hunter 0 1 0 0 0 Campbell 2 3 1 4 5

Sockbeson 4 8 4 5 12 Butler 1 3 0 0 2

Ginn 0 0 0 0 0 Hessert 2 5 4 5 8

Sargent 0 1 0 0 0 Ireland 2 3 0 1 4

Keogan 0 2 0 0 0

Totals 8 43 6 9 23 Totals 25 50 14 25 65

John Bapst 4 18 22 23

Hampden 14 23 42 65

3-pt. goals: John Bapst (1-11): Sekera 1-8, Rich 0-1, Mitchell-Stover 0-1, Cluff 0-1; Hampden (1-6): Magoon 1-2, Wells 0-1, Bragg 0-1, Wilson 0-2

Attendance: 250 (est.)

Preliminary: Hampden JVs 53-28