HAMPDEN – With a stable-full of tall, fast Broncos at the ready, Hampden Academy coach Mike Webb’s defensive strategy often comes down to the three words he barks over and over, all game long.

“Get into it.”

The “It” is a swarming, wall-to-wall zone press that the Hampden girls unleash after virtually every made basket or free throw. And the result can be downright scary. Just ask John Bapst.

Webb’s Hampden girls tormented Bapst to the tune of 31 turnovers – many off the press – on Friday night, held the Crusaders to 20 percent shooting night (and a scoreless third quarter), and cruised to a 58-20 win.

Hampden is 2-0 while John Bapst dropped to 1-2.

Most frightening: The Broncos didn’t really play that well.

“We should have scored 100 points,” Webb said. “We should have had 50 at halftime. We’ve just got to finish.”

The Broncos, who had spent just three hours in the gym since a win last Friday over Bangor, worked off the rust while connecting on just 32 percent of their attempts from the floor and 44 percent (15-for-34) from the line.

Thanks to the defensive effort, it didn’t matter much: Hampden led by just four after one period but blew open the game over the middle two periods en route to the victory. The Broncos outscored Bapst 19-0 over a crucial 10-minute stretch that lasted from the end of the second quarter until the beginning of the fourth.

Hampden senior Megan Magoon, who tied for team scoring honors with 11 points (Megan Robinson also had 11 to go with nine rebounds and three steals), said everything starts on the defensive end.

“That’s what fuels our offense,” Magoon said. “We hope to trap in the corners, and we hope that teams will get flustered enough so that they basically throw it right to us. Tonight that happened a lot.”

Emmy Russell pitched in with seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Broncos.

Bapst received nine points from Meghan Sekera and 11 rebounds from Lauren Hunter.

Hampden’s deep bench was obvious: Webb removed his starters late in the third quarter, and the second unit outscored the Crusaders 13-5 in the fourth.

“It’s great to have so many people who can fill so many roles very well, and it’s really a lifesaver in a lot of instances,” Russell said.

John Bapst coach Jen Curtis said that while the press presented a problem at times, her team struggled more on the backboards.

“We definitely had some unlucky breaks in the third quarter, but all in all, what really killed us is we didn’t box out underneath and they got some easy layups.

Hampden outrebounded John Bapst 50-37, including a 28-13 margin in the second half. More telling: the Broncos garnered a whopping 32 offensive rebounds.

One concern for Hampden is the health of Magoon, who banged her head on the floor in the first half and suffered an apparent concussion, according to the trainer.

Magoon said she felt sick at halftime, but did play for much of the third quarter. She suffered another concussion during soccer season, she said. She was alert and smiling after the game.

BRONCOS 58, CRUSADERS 20

John Bapst (1-2) Hampden (2-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Sturgeon 0 1 0 3 0 Webb 0 0 0

Crotty 0 6 0 0 0 Shaw 0 2 1

Sekera 3 9 0 0 9 Caron 1 5 3

Miller 0 5 2 2 2 Magoon 5 11 11

Andrle 0 2 0 2 0 K. Wilson 0 0

Mitchell-Storer 0 2 0 0 0 H. Wilson 2

Zitaner 0 1 0 3 0 Campbell 1 3

Hunter 2 7 0 1 4 Bragg 2 9 4

Ryder 1 1 1 4 3 Martin 0 1 2

Ginn 0 0 0 0 0 Russell 3 9 1 7

Picard 1 1 0 0 2 Robinson 4 11

Ireland 1 2 2 4

Spaulding 0 3 2

Hessert 1 1 2 4

McBee 2 7 0 4

Totals 7 35 3 15 20 Totals 21 64 15 34 58

John Bapst 8 15 15 20

Hampden 12 28 45 58

3-pt. goals: John Bapst (3-7): Crotty 0-2, Sekera 3-4, Mitchell-Storer 0-1; Hampden (1-6): Caron 1-3, Magoon 0-2, Bragg 0-1

Attendance: 200 (est.)

Preliminary: Hampden JV 52-20