Blair hoops teams drop tight games to Waverly

Girls fall in OT, boys by 1

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Both Blair basketball teams suffered close losses to Eastern Midlands Conference foe Waverly on Tuesday night.
The Class B No. 4 BHS girls fell 56-53 in overtime, while the unranked Blair boys lost a 51-50 game to the No. 3 Vikings. The Bears are 2-1 and 1-1, respectively.
The girls team led Waverly 42-37 going into the fourth period, but couldn't hold on. Blair's Avory French nearly won the game on a drive through the lane at the end of regulation, but her shot just missed off of the backboard and rim.
Mya Larson led the Bears with 17 points, while Makayla Baughman notched 13 and French had 10.
Waverly's Annie Harms scored just seven for the game, but all seven came during the overtime period. Six of the seven came on makes from beyond the 3-point line.
While the BHS girls struggled to hold their fourth quarter lead, the boys outscored Waverly 19-12 during the final period.
“The boys played hard after a slow first and third quarter,” Bears coach Chris Whitwer said. “I'm proud of our effort and grind to the end. These guys are working hard, and have a lot of room to improve and be really tough going forward.”
Jacob Czapla and Luke Ladwig led Blair with 13 points apiece, while Kip Tupa added 11. Preston Harms scored 17 for the victorious Vikings.

Blair basketball