Crossword Genius

As Ladies Champions announced, so the stars come out (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nightly

'so the stars come out' is the definition.
(the stars come out at night)

'as ladies champions announced' is the wordplay.
'as ladies champions' becomes 'knightly' (like knights - knights might rescue ladies).
'announced' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'knightly' is a homophone of 'NIGHTLY'.

(Other definitions for nightly that I've seen before include "When owls fly" , "(Done) every time it gets dark" , "Every day between sunset and sunrise" , "Regularly during the hours of darkness" , "Nocturnally" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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