Lady Raiders halt losing streak

Blue Ridge’s Savanaah Glover attempts a free throw in the Lady Raiders’ 33-30 win over Lackawanna Trail. The victory ended Blue Ridge’s losing streak and was the program’s first win since January 2017. PHOTO COURTESY MARILYN TORRES

Halting a 34-game losing streak, the Blue Ridge girls’ basketball team defeated Lackawanna Trail 33-30 to claim the program’s first victory since January 2017.

The Lady Raiders jumped out early on the visiting Lady Lions racing to a 12-5 first quarter lead.

Trail answered with a strong second, outscoring Blue Ridge 11-6 cutting the Lady Raiders to an 18-18 halftime advantage.

Neither team reached double scoring figures after the half.  Both defenses clamped down and the foul shooting remained suspect with the teams combined shooting 49% from the charity stripe.

With under 10 seconds left in the game and Blue Ridge up 32-30 the Lady Raiders forced a turnover. Rainey Glover hit the front end of a one and one for the team to prevail, 33-30, and set off the celebration.

“It felt really good,” said guard Ashley Torres. “When the (final) buzzer went off we all came together and you could feel the togetherness.”

She said the team’s defense was a key to ending the losing streak. “Our defense was a lot better,” observed Torres. “We were able to frustrate them and keep them off balance.”

Torres and Danielle Goff led the way for Blue Ridge with 10 points each.

The Blue Ridge victory eclipsed the night’s other big match-up as Susquehanna traveled to Mountain View in a game between the division leaders. Both teams were 3-0 in league play heading into the game.

The energized Lady Eagles jumped out early with a balanced scoring attack and a defense that made every possession tough for Susquehanna.

But in the second quarter, Susquehanna demonstrated why they are the defending champions turning up the pressure and outscoring Mountain View 23-4 to take control of the game. Taylor Huyck scored 11 of her game-high 13 points during the run. Bethany Maby added 5.

Up  by 13 after the half, Susquehanna extended the lead as Maby led with 5 more points.

Huyck’s 13 led the way for the Lady Sabers. Mackenzie Steele chipped in with 11 points and Maby added 10. Sydney Newhart led Mountain View with 9 points.

At Elk Lake, the Lady Warriors built a large halftime lead and then withstood a furious second-half rally to defeat Forest City 47-41.

Mercedes Zajaczkowski scored 7 points as Elk Lake jumped out to an early lead. The Lady Warriors maintained that momentum with Zajaczkoski and Krista Jones each adding points to the board in the second quarter.

After the half, Forest City’s offense gained traction and cut the Elk Lake lead as Bella Pleska scored 6 of her 16 second-half points.

Jones added another 8 in the quarter for Elk Lake.

Pleska hit the mark for 10 points in the fourth quarter but Zajaczkowski countered with 6 more; and Elk Lake made just enough free throws to stave off the Forest City charge to prevail 47-41.

Zajaczkoski and Jones each finished with 18 points for Elk Lake and Tamara Voda added 7.

Pleska finished with 23 points to pace Forest City while Maggie Kowalewski chipped in with 8.

Montrose traveled to Old Forge in a Division III/IV crossover. Lady Meteors scored only 4 points in the first half to trail 33-4.

The team showed some life in the third quarter, scoring 11 points while yielding 14. Old Forge outscored Montrose in the fourth to finalize the score 57-20.

Tangi Smith led Montrose with 7 points and Harper Andre added 6.

On Thursday, Susquehanna extended their division lead with a 62-22 thumping of Lackawanna Trail.

The Lady Sabers jumped out early outscoring the Lady Lions 17-5 in the opening stanza. Steele and Huyck each scored 6 points.

Susquehanna put the game out of reach with a 26-7 second quarter. Maby scored 9 points to lead the offensive attack.

On the night, Maby led the way for Susquehanna with 14 points. Huyck added 13. Steele and Mackenzie Heath each chipped in with 12.

Mountain View bounced back from their loss to Susquehanna with a narrow 30-29 win at home over Forest City.

Regan Cameron knocked down 3 three-pointers and finished with 11 points to lead the Lady Eagles.

Both teams got off to a slow start as the first quarter finished in a 6-6 draw. Mountain View gained a three-pont advantage at halftime, but the Lady Foresters answered in the third to knot the game in a tie heading into the fourth.

Mountain View seized control with 4 unanswered points and hung on to claim the win.

Abby Neri chipped in with 9 for Mountain View. Maggie Kowalewski paced Forest City with 17 points.

Montrose scored a 44-37 win over Elk Lake.

The Lady Warriors used a big second quarter to take a 19-15 lead into halftime. But Montrose bounced back to outscore Elk Lake 14-10 and tie the score at 29 entering the fourth quarter.

The Lady Meteors jumped out quickly in the final stanza. Smith was money from the free throw line to secure the win.

Smith led the way with 14 points, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. Andre chipped in with 10 and Rachel Sorenson added 7.

Zajaczkowski led Elk Lake with 21 points. Jones and Voda chipped in with 8 and 6 points respectively.

Blue Ridge was unable add another to the win column, as they fell to Carbondale 46-27.

The Lady Raiders got off to a slow start, and trailed by 7 after the first quarter.

Carbondale outscored the Lady Raiders 26-16 over the middle quarters to seize decisive control on their way to the win.

Goff led the way for Blue Ridge with 20 points.  

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