Richard Montgomery Rockets best Blair girls’ basketball

Getting open

Photo: Senior guard Natalie Frost uses a pick to get open.

Senior guard Natalie Frost uses a pick to get open. Photo courtesy of Lillian Paterson and Sudhish Swain.

On Jan 24, the Blair Blazers (5-8) lost to the Richard Montgomery Rockets (4-3) in a hard-fought contest by a score of 26-50. The Rockets established dominance early on, scoring three back to back three pointers within the first few minutes of the game. Blair retaliated, earning four points of their own, but their efforts were in vain as Richard Montgomery had the early upper hand. 

The Blazers' inability to take advantage of offensive opportunities coupled with their lackluster free throws ultimately led to their demise. By the end of the first quarter, the score sat at 4-15.

Despite the score, the Blazer defense had several key shining moments. They were able to shut down several of the Rockets' offensive attempts and successfully grabbed numerous rebounds. However, Blair was unable to convert these defensive movements into offensive plays. 

They scored ten more points by the end of the first half. Unfortunately, they couldn't make up ground against Richard Montgomery, who scored ten points of their own, setting the score to 14-25 after the first half.

Richard Montgomery's nine point lead was not an impossible deficit. Though the first half was disappointing, there was still a glimmer of hope for the Blazers going into the second half. 

Blair continued its defensive success with rebounding but conceded a 5-point run by the Rockets. However, sophomore guard Nia Asmerom was able to rejuvenate the crowd with a brilliant and-1 play. After a quick RM timeout, the scoring went back and forth. 

Blair established a full-court press, but Richard Montgomery had the speed and skill to break through the cracks and find their way to the bucket. 

Blair had an unfortunate shock when senior shooting guard Natalie Frost went down with what looked like a head injury just after hitting a three. Fortunately, with the help of Blair's medical staff, she was able to get the help she needed and the game continued with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter. She did not return. 

Thanks to aggressive work in the paint, the Rockets were able to close out the game with a score of 26-50. 

Despite the loss, the Blazer girls remained in good spirits after the game. When sophomore guard Natalie Berfalk was asked about the season so far, she was content with the performance of the majority sophomore team. “I think it’s been going pretty good. We’re a majority sophomore team so playing on a varsity level is new, but I think it’s going pretty well and we’re trying.” Sophomore forward Alegria Martins, when asked about what the team could improve on, said the Blazers had the most room for improvement on offense. “Shooting, like, not hesitating on the shooting and taking the shots.”

The girls will take on Sherwood (away) on Thursday, 1/26. Tickets can be found here.