Down two key contributors in street clothes, the Blair High School girls basketball team lost its fourth-straight game Saturday.
The Bears are 6-6 overall after the 51-34 loss at 7-5 Wahoo, but coach Matt Aschoff hasn't seen any quit and still believes in his roster.
“I think our girls are playing hard yet,” he said. “I know it doesn't look perfect and it doesn't look great, and we're not being as successful as we want. But, if we had to coach effort, we wouldn't give ourselves any chance.”
After Blair freshman Taytum Macholan scored the game's first points on a Claire Anderson assist, Aschoff's team trailed just 14-12 through one period. It couldn't keep pace during the second and third quarters, however, falling behind 40-25.
The third period in particular was lopsided with the host Warriors outscoring the Bears 18-9.
“I've got to do better and figure out how to stop those runs,” Aschoff said. “It always seems to be in the second and third quarters.”
In defeat, freshman guard Kaitlyn O'Neil led BHS with nine points. Joslyn Policky scored six, and both Laynie Brown and Macholan finished with five points.
“We didn't shoot well,” Aschoff said. “We were 1-for-13, I believe, on 3s and gave up a couple of transition points.”
He said the Bears did cut down on their turnovers, however, when compared to recent losses to Harlan, Iowa, and Bennington.
Now, though, Aschoff said his coaching staff needs to continue to do its part to help Blair succeed — shorthanded or not.
“Whether it's a lineup or something we're doing in practice, we've got to be better at preparing the girls to help them stop those runs that the other team goes on,” he explained.
The Bears next host Lincoln Northwest tonight. The game starts at 5:30 p.m.
BHS GIRLS HOOPS LINE SCORE
Saturday
Wahoo 51, Blair 34
BHS (6-6) 12 4 9 9 — 34
WHS (7-5) 14 8 18 11 — 51
Scoring: BHS — Kaitlyn O'Neil 9, Joslyn Policky 6, Laynie Brown 5, Taytym Macholan 5, Claire Anderson 3, Kate Wulf 3, Gueryn Kay 3.
WHS — Sidney Smart 26, Ava Lausterer 12, Erin Golladay 8, Tegan Watts 3, Gretchen Seagren 2.
