Blazers make the Bengals look like kittens

JAN. 12, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM—

The girls' basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 47-35 win over Blake tonight. Blair opened the game with a 19-6 advantage, and while the Bengals were never out of the game, they never claimed the lead. The Blazers improved to 3-7 for the season with two more games this week to up their record.

Sophomore center Cate Rassman directed the victory march with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists. She set the pace and made up for the many Blazers who had bad nights. Her assertive and aggressive play allowed her to take 16 foul shots, where she made nine. Senior power forward Caroline Kuttner also played well, adding nine points, seven rebounds and two key late game bocks.

Rassman believes that the players gave it their all and never let up. "We had some faith and played well under pressure. We had some low points but then we cleared our heads and we got back," she said.

Defensively, the Blazers did not play well early on, allowing Blake to have countless easy, inside looks at the basket. Fortunately, Blake was unable to capitalize unlike most of Blair's earlier opponents. However the Blazers proved that Tenacious D is not just the name of a band in the third quarter, holding Blake to just four points.

Late in the second half, the Bengals were down by two and attempting to go into break with the lead. Luckily, Rassman approached the line just before halftime and the made her first attempt. She missed her second but then stole the ball under the basket and made her lay-up in a play which reclaimed the Blazer momentum for the rest of the game.

However, when Blair was ahead 35-22 in the third quarter, they became cold and didn't score until the Bengals had cut the lead to three. The Blazers then closed the door with a three-pointer from junior Vicky Dean with little time on the clock.

Coach William Lindsey was not very pleased that his team did not blow out Blake, a weaker team, sighting excessive fouls and poor bench play. "We did everything that we could do to make it difficult. We got into foul difficulty. We can't just rely on five or six players; it has to be the whole team," he said.

The Blazers victory was rewarded with the appearance of former Maryland Terrapins and current Washington Wizards star Juan Dixon after the game.

The team will face Sherwood at home at 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 14.

Click here to stream the Blair Sports Network's highlights from this game.