JV girls' basketball outpaced by Sherwood

By Avi Wolfman-Arent, Sportswriter

FEB. 11, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM—

The junior varsity girls' basketball team continued their pattern of disappointing play on Feb. 11, 2004, losing to the Sherwood Warriors, 60-37, and dropping their record on the season to 2-14. The loss, Blair's 14th in a row, was characterized by uninspired defense and sloppy ball handling. Despite a promising start for the Blazers, the Warriors soon opened up a sizable lead by keeping an upbeat tempo with which Blair could not keep pace.

Both teams came out shooting and after one quarter of play the score was tied at 17. After that, however, the Blazers' offense faltered, and Blair mustered only two points in the second quarter, totaling to just 20 through the final three quarters of the game. As the game dragged on, the Blazers' fatigue led to easy points for the Warriors, who feasted on the team's countless turnovers.

As the mistakes piled up for Blair, a competitive game—one that was just 30-19 at the half—slowly developed into an overwhelming victory for Sherwood.

The team was clearly frustrated and the sentiment was spelled out by freshman guard Jessica Hallberlin. "We have players with a lot of potential, but we're not working well as a team," she remarked.

On a positive note, Blair had a balanced scoring attack that included nine points from sophomore co-captain Monique Eldridge, eight points from freshman guard Helen Denbow, and an additional eight from freshman guard Christina Hymes. Blair continues to be forced to dig deep into its bench because of missing starters Sarah Kenney and Krista Byrd who are now said to be out for the rest of the season.

Blair's next game, their last at home, is Friday, Feb. 13 at home against Gaithersburg.