BOW, N.H. — Nearly every player and coach for the Stevens High girls basketball team was in tears in the locker room postgame, which could mean only one thing: the Cardinals left everything they had out on the floor.

No. 3 Stevens led No. 2 Concord Christian for the entire first half and by as many as 12 early in the third quarter, but a 13-point run by the Kingswomen to close the period flipped the script, and the Cardinals came up short, 51-45, in the NHIAA Division III semifinals Friday evening.

“We got a little bit lost at times, with the high post areas in particular,” Stevens coach Steve Condon said. “They hit some big shots and they ramped up the pressure defensively, and unfortunately we didn’t read it quick enough. They forced some turnovers and made that big run in the third.”

The Cards could not have drawn up a much better start — junior guard Kiley Bundy hit a 3-pointer on the game’s first possession and had eight points in the first quarter, after which Stevens enjoyed a 13-5 lead.

Senior guard Stella Lavertue and sophomore guard Bella Bovell each had a steal leading to an easy fast-break layup in the opening quarter, and the Stevens defense stayed active in the second, holding Concord Christian to 5-for-23 shooting in the first half.

“I really liked the pace we played with,” Condon said. “We were controlling the tempo, we were getting the ball where we wanted to get it to, making some decent reads off of that. Defensively, we were flying all over the place, finishing possessions with rebounds. To hold a team like that to 12 points in the first half, that was an accomplishment in itself.”

Senior post player Alyssa Paquette began heating up after the break, with a pair of three-point plays keeping the Kingswomen at arm’s length. But Concord Christian unleashed a flurry for which the Cardinals had no answer, fueled by Sarah Muir’s up-tempo defense and Emma Smith’s shot-making ability. Smith finished with 26 points.

Stevens never let the game get out of hand, with tough shots from Lavertue and senior post player Tara Sullivan keeping the Cardinals within one possession. Smith’s free-throw shooting, though, helped ice the game for the Kingswomen once Stevens was forced to play the foul game. Bundy led the Cards with 14 points, and Paquette added 13.

Paquette, Sullivan, Lavertue and Sara Faro graduate from a Stevens team that finished 18-3 overall, leaving the backcourt of Bundy and Bovell to lead the Cardinals next season.

“They’re all so unique in their own way, but they’re really just a family,” Condon said. “Those four seniors in particular, they just love each other and they really helped us to build a culture of accountability, toughness, love, passion and just a big interest in basketball. It’s really nice to see, and it breaks my heart that we weren’t able to get over that hump for this group, because they earned it and they deserved it.”

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

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