Girls' Basketball falls to Sherwood Warriors

The girls' varsity basketball team (10-5) fell Tuesday night to the Sherwood Warriors (6-8) in a low scoring game that finished 38-34.

Girls Basketball Sherwood .5

Photo: Somhomore Camille Estrin defends a Sherwood player near halfcourt.

Somhomore Camille Estrin defends a Sherwood player near halfcourt. Photo courtesy of Connor Smith.

A steal and score from senior captain Erica Adarkwa near the end the first quarter put the score at 9-4 in Blair's favor. Although they were winning, it was clear Blair's offense was lacking. "We were very passive offensively, we settled for a lot of jump shots instead of going to the basket," sophomore D'yonni Lebby said.

During the second quarter, it was more of the same for both teams. It took three and a half minutes, almost half the quarter, for a score from either team, which came from Sherwood free throws. Then Sherwood continued to make a run, eventually leading 13-12.

The lady Blazers, however, overcame some questionable foul calls to regain the lead right before halftime, 16-14.

During halftime, Head Coach Erin Conley made some offensive adjustments that seemed to work well in the third quarter. "We told them at halftime to try to attack the basket more," Conley said. "And since they were packing the zone so much, we told them to look for more mid-range shots and also to drive and kick the ball out."

In the third quarter, Blair went off to a flying start. Senior Debbie Olawuyi drew three straight fouls, leading to a five point Blair lead. Sherwood, however, was able to cut the lead to two before the end of the quarter with a late three pointer.

The fourth and final quarter was a very exciting, back and forth quarter. Blair fought to a 31-29 lead with two minutes remaining before Sherwood tied the game. Then with 1:03 left in the contest, controversy ensued. A questionable foul call on Olawuyi left coach Conley speechless and many Blazer fans voicing displeasure toward the referees. Following the foul, Sherwood had a two-point lead.

From that moment on Blair was forced to foul in an attempt to get the ball back for a last second shot, "If you're down by two points late in a game and you've got to get the ball back, the only way to stop the clock is to foul them and get them to the free throw line and hope that they miss," Conley explained.

In the end, although they came up four points short, the lady Blazer's made courageous effort.

The girls' varsity basketball team will play its next home game on Friday, February 14 at 7:00 pm against Walter Johnson High School.