Lady Blazers conquer Barons

NELSON H. KOBREN GYMNASIUM, Feb. 24—

The girls' varsity basketball team destroyed the Bethesda-Chevy Chase (B-CC) Barons by a score of 60-40. Although the Blazers were down by five points at halftime, they were able to pull together as a team and get the win.

The Blazers started off the game strong, with senior Morgan Chase scoring a layup about one minute into the game. However, the Blazers missed many of their shots, and relied on free throws to score points. They finished the quarter barely ahead by a score of 8-7.

In the second quarter, things were not looking up for the Blazers. B-CC pulled ahead within the first two minutes of the quarter and held that lead for the rest of the quarter. Three minutes into the quarter, head coach Erin Conley put in forward Johanna Lopez, who was nursing an ankle injury. Although Lopez helped the Blazers keep pace with the B-CC scoring drive, the Blazers still finished the half down 18-23.

Going into the second half, the tension in the stands was rising and the Blazers did not disappoint. The Blazers dominated the court and were already about to reclaim a two point lead two and a half minutes into the second half. The Barons kept pace with the Blazers, responding to every Blazer basket, but after sophomore Erica Adarkwa sunk a fade away and increased the Blazer lead to four points, the Barons were unable to recover. The Blazers maintained their lead throughout the rest of the game.

Although the victory was not as smooth as Conley expected, she is proud of how the girls played. "They had a bit of a rough time in the first half, but they played like a team and they played a great game tonight," she said.

Chase was impressed with how the players handled themselves, even when they were down. "We haven't been in that situation much this year, but we had to keep our heads up and play how we know how to play," she said.

Lopez was impressed with the accuracy of the team's free throws. "Free throws have always been one of our biggest weaknesses, but today we stuck 21 out of 28 which is excellent," she said.

Going into Monday's game, Coach Conley thinks that the girls can go far if they keep up their intensity and drive. "We have some things to work on, but if we keep playing like we have been, we have a good shot this year," she said.

The girls' varsity basketball team will play its next playoff game on Monday, Feb. 27 at home at 7:15 p.m.