Bears rout Concordia after celebrating seniors

Posted

The Blair girls basketball season rolled on Tuesday night with another lopsided victory — the team's third straight.
The Class B No. 9 Bears' 10th win of the season came by 40 points, 70-30 against an overmatched Omaha Concordia squad that fell to 2-11. The Mustangs were within 13-12 after one quarter, but were decimated over the next 12 minutes of game time as coach Matt Aschoff's team outscored them 31-1.
“We just had to lock it down, especially with our defense,” BHS senior Maicy Lourens said when asked what facilitated the devastating scoring run. “I think that helped.”
The Bears won the second period 19-1 before starting the third with 12 straight points. By the time Concordia took its first timeout of the second half, it trailed 44-13.
Blair's Ella Ross was a big reason why. She scored a team-high 16 points on a Senior Night celebrated alongside Lourens, who scored three, and Jenny Cej.
Junior Makayla Baughman added 13 Bear points and Kaitlyn Johnson had 10 off of the bench, but the evening was about the seniors' contributions to BHS hoops. All three players were honored before the game.
“Freshman and sophomore year were fun, and it was a lot different than anything I'd ever done, but I think these past two years have been a crazy experience,” Lourens said. “You get a whole other family of 12 and you just get the experience of winning on a team that you know is good.”
After varsity Blair teams won 16 combined games during the 2021 seniors' first two high school seasons, the Bears have already won 24 over the past two with plenty of games to go. Both Ross and Lourens have been major contributors as 11th- and, now, 12th-graders.
“It's been crazy,” said the latter, the Bears' lone 6-footer. “It's definitely changed a lot and it's gotten a lot more fun.”
BHS had fun Tuesday, winning by 40 as every player on Aschoff's bench logged minutes.

Blair Girls Basketball