Blazers play well but lose to Hornets

DEC. 19, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM—

The girls' basketball team played very competitively against Damascus, the county's top team, but still suffered a 53-50 loss. The momentum swung back and forth as neither team had a lead of more than six points in a game that yielded 13 ties and seven lead changes.

Damascus, currently ranked eighth in the area by The Washington Post, was unable to pull away against a determined group of Blazers who were still searching for their second win. Blair's three captains, junior point guard Brittany Higgins, senior center Emily Ramsay and senior power forward Caroline Kuttner, led Blair's attempt to upset the undefeated Hornets.

Higgins led the Blazers with 16 points and three steals, and was a game-long threat to slash to the hoop when the team's outside shots weren't falling. Ramsay added six rebounds and 13 points from several key inside buckets and good foul shooting. Kuttner had her best game of the year, dropping eight points and a team-high nine rebounds and six assists.

The Blazers were ahead 37-36 late in the third quarter when the Hornets scored seven unanswered points and kept the lead for the remainder of the game. However the Blazers never gave up. With 2:00 left in the game and the Blazers trailing by four, Higgins stole the ball under the Damascus basket, and made a lay-up as part of a three-point play. Unfortunately, several key Hornet free-throws down the stretch led to Blair's defeat.

The Blazers made many bad passes in the second half and committed 23 turnovers in the game, eight by Higgins. However, when they were able to get shots off they were successful; Blair made an impressive 54.2 percent of its second half field goals, most of which came from the inside. The Blazers also played swarming defensive ball which kept the Hornets in check and the game close.

Although the Blazers are 1-3 this season, they have played tough and Coach William Lindsey still feels that the Blazers deserve respect. "I have been very pleased every night that we've played," he said. "We let [Damascus] know that we are a team to be reckoned with."

Kuttner believes that the team performed nicely and could have won. "We played well. It could have gone either way, a couple of missed free throws and a couple of unforced turnovers cost us the game," she said.

Blair's next game is at Magruder on Dec. 22 at 5:15 p.m.