CLAREMONT — Down a key interior starter in Tara Sullivan, the Stevens High girls basketball team got a hot-shooting night from junior guard Kiley Bundy to get past Winnisquam, 52-32, in the NHIAA Division III quarterfinals on Saturday night.

Sullivan had injured her head trying to take a charge in the No. 3 seed Cardinals’ first-round victory over Campbell on Wednesday, and the senior post player was still out Saturday. Bundy, who knocked down seven 3-pointers in a 24-point night, more than made up for her absence. Senior Alyssa Paquette, who normally shares the post with Sullivan, added 15 points in the win over the sixth-seeded Bears.

“Everybody was locked in,” Stevens coach Steve Condon said. “Everybody was just positive and everybody was communicating. They had to fight through some adversity tonight, and it was nice to see them stick together and push through.”

Faced with an early 6-2 deficit, the Cardinals (18-2, 16-2 NHIAA) turned to Bundy, who nailed her first two 3-pointers to put Stevens in front. Bundy’s third triple, which constituted the first points of the second quarter, was from well beyond the arc in the left pocket — “from Newport,” Condon put it — and her fourth helped Stevens take an eight-point lead into the half.

The Cardinals utilized full-court press to hold the Cougars to a mere six points in their playoff opener, but Condon knew a different strategy was needed against Winnisquam, which likes to play fast and use long passes to break a press. Stevens had played the Bears just eight days prior, handing them a 57-43 loss in the regular-season finale.

“We could tell pretty early that they were a team that wanted to get out and try to run,” Condon said. “We actually got them set in a half-court offense and we were able to make sure we knew where everyone was. Just backing it off a little bit and making sure we were winning our matchups.”

Bundy’s fifth 3-pointer pushed the Stevens lead to 15 in the third quarter, but the Cardinals got a bit sloppy later in the period as Winnisquam reeled off six straight points to get back within single digits.

 The hosts were dominant as ever in the fourth, though, holding the Bears to just four points. Bundy was a big part of Stevens’ defensive effort as well, holding Winnisquam’s best player, Lauren MacDonald, in check despite giving up three inches. MacDonald scored 25 points in the Bears’ first-round victory over Newport but had just 11 on Saturday. Only three of those — all from the free throw line — came in the second half.

“We knew coming into this that (MacDonald) a great player, super athletic, can get up and down the floor fast,” Condon said. “We just talked about making sure we knew where she was as soon as she hit half-court every time down the floor.”

The Cardinals will take on No. 2 seed Concord Christian in the semifinals Thursday at Bow High. Stevens did not play the Kingswomen, whose only loss was a one-point defeat to top-seeded Conant in early January, during the regular season.

Concord Christian punched its ticket to the final four with an emphatic 68-30 win over Monadnock, which followed a 61-16 first-round beatdown of Belmont. Condon said he expects Sullivan to return as the Cardinals seek their first spot in a state title game since their lone championship in 1985.

“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Condon said. “It’s been awhile since any team from Stevens girls basketball has gone down for this. We’ve got our work cut out for us. It sounds like they want to run fast, get up and down and create havoc, so we’ll just have to try to use our size and control the pace.”

Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.

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