Girls soar above Kennedy, cruise to victory

JAN 14, 2002, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM -

For eleven and a half minutes of the girls' basketball game tonight, Kennedy High School was speechless. They were also scoreless.

Midway through the regular season, the Blazers looked to be in top form, winning big against a weak Kennedy High School team, 45-18. The win was their second in a row and improved their overall record to 5-7.

Blair started the game out with six consecutive points by sophomore Caroline Kuttner. From there, the team went on a 16-0 streak before Kennedy could manage to put their first two points on the board.

And the boards were where Blair dominated. Led by senior Erin Ivey and sophomore Emily Ramsay, the Blazers grabbed 38 rebounds. Senior Ashley Moorefield, who had three steals, set an example for her teammates by playing pressure defense that shut down Kennedy's offensive attack and forced them to put up ill-advised shots.

While the Blazers were not flawless handling the ball, they amassed only 14 turnovers, far lower than their season average. Blair's rotation of guards consisted of juniors Lara Dean and Jen Sindall, who led the team with five assists, and sophomore Mackenzie Robinson, who hit the team's only three pointer.

Blair's large lead early on provided an opportunity for some of the team's reserves to rack up playing time. The most impressive performance was by junior Lily Hamburger, who has had virtually no minutes this season. In the second quarter, Hamburger hit back-to-back mid-range jumpers, her only points of the season.

Kennedy had many shot opportunities and managed to penetrate the Blair defense numerous times. But the pressure was too much for them, as they missed from inside the paint, beyond the three-point arc and almost everywhere else imaginable on the court.

Leading the team in scoring was Kuttner with 10 points. Also making big offensive contributions were Ivey and Robinson with eight and six points, respectively.