The Blair High School girls basketball team earned double-digit halftime leads during each of its last two games.
Against Plattsmouth on Jan. 9, it lost in the end. On Tuesday, the Bears (6-5 overall) beat Gretna (5-7) by double-digits at home, 45-33.
How?
“We just had to keep talking positive to each other,” freshman Beau Wendt said.
Coach Matt Aschoff's team did have to traverse a third-period scoring drought, though. After Kate Wulf's 3-point make to open the quarter at 31-16, BHS didn't score again until Wendt hit another 3 with just 1:48 left before the fourth on an Ally Sullivan assist.
Cadence Field, another ninth-grader, added her own long-range make from the same left corner before the end the quarter, pushing the Bears' advantage through 24 minutes to 37-23.
“Getting our heads back into the game really helped,” Wendt said.
When the Dragons again cut into Blair's lead during the final period, Wulf responded with another 3 at the 2-minute mark, earning back a double-digit advantage down the final stretch. Altogether, she finished with 10 points with three makes from beyond the arc.
Addie Sullivan scored 10 points for the Bears, too, but Wendt led the way with 12 total. She made two 3-pointers, but also scored up close.
“We played together as a team and that really helped,” the freshman said. “Whenever I missed a shot, my teammates just kept on telling me to keep shooting.”
The trust Wendt felt motivated her.
“I feel like that really got to me,” she said. “I just wanted to play for all of them.”
BHS snapped out of a two-game losing streak with the Eastern Midlands Conference win. It next plays 6 p.m. today at another conference school, Norris.
BHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORE
Tuesday
No. 9 Blair 45, Gretna 33
GHS (5-7) 9 7 7 10 — 33
BHS (6-5) 17 11 9 8 — 45
Scoring: BHS — Beau Wendt 12, Kate Wulf 10, Addie Sullivan 10, Cadence Field 6, Claire Anderson 5, Madeline Chikos 1, Taytum Macholan 1.
GHS — Ava McArtor 17, Aspen Votruba 6, Koco Janssen 3, Anna Weberg 3, Megan Marshall 2, Maggie Miller 2.
