Colonels squeeze by Blazers

JAN. 29, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

The girls' basketball team came back from a 17-7 second quarter deficit to tie up the game late in the forth quarter, only to see Magruder sneak by with a 52-49 victory. Sophomore star Cate Rassman's 19 points, seven steals and six rebounds were not enough to put the Blazers over the skilled colonel team.

Blair committed a dreadful 39 turnovers which kept the team from keeping any kind of flow in the game. Early in the contest, Magruder's tough defense forced the Blazers to play very sloppy ball. It took the unorganized Blazers 13 minutes get into double figures against a systematic zone defense. In addition, several of bad Blazer passes turned into Colonel fast break points, digging Blair into an even bigger hole.

Blair came out of halftime down 28-17 but seemed determined to turn the game's momentum around. Rassman's three-pointer to open the second half sparked a major Blazer comeback. The Blazers went from shooting 24 percent from the field in the first half to a whopping 50 percent in final two quarters. Unfortunately, the team was only able to attempt seven foul shots while the Blazer reserves were unable to make a difference in the game.

Blair slowly picked at the second half Colonel lead until a short jumper by senior Caroline Kuttner tied the score at 39 with 5:49 left in the game. Magruder then began to pull away before senior Whitney Hamer drained a straight-away three-pointer with 1:34 to play to cut the Magruder lead to one at 50-49. After a pair of Magruder free-throws, she had a chance to tie up the game at the final buzzer, but this time her three-pointer was too strong.

Junior Brittney Higgins was able to consistently penetrate the Colonel D and finished with nine points, six steals and a season-high five assists. Senior Emily Ramsay may have had an off-night, but still finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Rassman's inside and outside domination and intensity has continued to stifle defenses. According to Rassman, the Blazers' heart and grit allowed them to make the late comeback. "We played with determination towards the end. We saw it was a close game within our grasps and that gave us the motivation to seize the opportunity," she said.

Blair hopes to turn its luck around when it goes on the road to face Springbrook on Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m.