Blazers can't clinch a win

JAN. 19, NELSON H. KORBEN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM–

This year has been a difficult one for the Lady Blazers, but tonight it looked like all that futility would finally come to an end and they would get their second win of the year, this time against the Magruder Colonels. Unfortunately, the team could not hold on to the Colonels and despite the girls' teamwork and the 32 points they got from sophomore Jenny Williams, lost 51-60.

The team got off to a promising start in the first quarter behind Williams and junior Meghan Cadigan. Williams scored the first six points of the game for Blair and they jumped to an early lead. Magruder employed a full court press throughout the game, but Blair managed to break the press and stay in the lead. Blair continued to dominate throughout the first quarter and looked to be in good shape with a 12-6 lead with only a few seconds left in the quarter. However, Magruder hit a three pointer, ending the quarter at 12-9.

The full court pressure finally got to the Blazers during the second quarter and they started to make the same mistakes they have made throughout the year. The Blazers gave up the ball constantly, leading to fast shots by Magruder, and their first quarter lead soon disappeared. The Blazers fought to get the lead, and with only four minutes left in the first half, Cadigan made a short jumper to put Blair back into the lead. After that point, the defense was unable to maintain their intensity. At the buzzer, the Blazers were behind 22-29.

The third quarter began the same way the second quarter ended, with tough Magruder defense that the Blazers could not overcome. The Colonels went on an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the quarter and took the lead 22-40 with only two minutes left in the quarter. Bad communication plagued Blair's players and led to open shots for Magruder. The Colonels' full court pressure stumped the Blazers and led to many turnovers. The Blazers were unable to get the ball and Magruder broke the game wide open. With two minutes left in the third quarter, Blair finally got their first baskets. Williams and Junior Kalisha Holmes tried to stage a comeback and within a minute scored nine points between them. The quarter ended with the Blazers still behind, 31-44.

The fourth quarter started shakily for the Blazers as the Colonel lead grew to 15 points;. With five minutes left in the game, the Blazers started to chip away at Magruder's lead. After an acrobatic lay-up by Holmes and a three pointer by Williams, the girls brought the score to 40-50. Williams hit a three pointer at the final buzzer to score a game-high 32 points. The game ended as yet another frustrating loss for this young team with a final score of 51-60.

Many of the girls were also proud of themselves and their performance throughout the game. Cadigan commented that she and the other players knew the areas where they had to improve, and said, "We played really well, but the score was 22-29 by halftime, and we were stuck at that 22 for a while." After the game, Coach James Mogge praised the girls for their improvement, and noted, "They've really come together as a team, which is something we've been waiting for all season."