Springbrook extinguishes the blaze

JAN 17, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

The Devils defeated the Blazers 52-47 tonight as Blair fell to 5-8 on the season, after winning five out of their last nine. Springbrook improved to 8-5, ending its four game losing streak.

Blair continues to struggle at home (0-5). Their 5-3 record away from home includes five consecutive road victories spanning from Dec 25 to Jan 13.

Coach William Lindsay cannot explain the Blazers difficulty at home, but has a simple solution. "Everyone should get on a bus and we should drive it around the block a couple of times before the game," he said.

Although Blair never had the lead but the game was competitive, as the Devils' largest lead was 12, after Springbrook went on a 12-1 run sending them into halftime with a 30-18 lead. The Blazers came out of halftime motivated, going on a 9-2 run of their own to start the third quarter. Down 37-31 going in to the fourth quarter the Blazers still had hope, but two quick Springbrook three-pointers nearly put the game out of reach.

Down by ten with 20 seconds left, Blair quickly scored five points, including senior shooting guard Jennifer Sindall's only two points of the game. Her lay-up with 12 seconds left came after she intercepted Springbrook's inbound pass for her team-high fifth steal. Losing 52-47, Blair elected to go for the steal and not to foul the Devils who, as a team, had shot poorly from the line. Springbrook proceeded to run out the clock.

The Blazers' star center, senior Allyson Swailes, led the team with 14 points and nine rebounds and junior shooting guard Kidesh Brown added 13 points and a team high-yes, a team high-three assists. Unfortunately, the number of Blazer turnovers was too high to count, and simple Blair passes turned into easy fast-break opportunities for Springbrook.

Swailes believes that if the team had played strongly at the end of the second quarter, it would have been victorious. "I think we played well," she said, "but like always we lost a little bit of intensity going in to halftime. We got it back in the second half. If we would have played another quarter, we would have won."

On Wednesday, Jan 15, Blair lost 57-54 to B-CC in OT, giving the Barons their first nondivisional victory in two years. Swailes led all scorers with 20 points and Brown netted 15 of her own. The B-CC game was an example of how Blair is better than their 5-8 record indicates. The Blazers have played competitively all season long, losing many heartbreakers such as this one, their second overtime loss of the season.

Blair's next game is at home against Einstein, on Jan 24 at 7:00.