Lady Bucs at Top of Their Game

Blair Girls’ Hoops continued in their quest towards MAPL and NJ Prep domination with a win over the Peddie School on January 12. The coaches report as follow: Since the MAPL league’s inception in 1999, the Peddie girls’ squad had never lost a MAPL contest. The Lady Bucs are proud to have broken the streak with a decisive victory. Junior Annette Snow commented, “This is my first year here at Blair Academy, and this season was all I had been looking forward to from the day I knew I would be coming here. I knew we had the opportunity to break Peddie’s undefeated streak in the MAPL.”

The “W” hits even closer to home for Temi Fagbenle, Nicole Lem and Kelsey Stevens, seniors who have each been on the squad for several years. Temi gets attention in the headlines nearly every game, but the development of all three of these players has been critical to the growth of the program. Temi described the tone this year, “We have the talent, the fight and the togetherness. Everyone on the floor contributes, and it is such a great feeling.” Femi Hamilton added, “This win says something about our team and the greatness we will have this season.”

After two close games with Peddie last season, the Bucs knew that this was their year to break the streak. Several strong new guards, including Hamilton, Snow, Shaina Earle and Elizabeth Fox, were critical to the development of the squad. After huge wins over both Hun and Gill, Blair felt confident and ready for the Peddie match-up. Though Blair did not execute as well on offense as in recent games, strong defense and determination kept Blair on top for nearly all of the contest. Peddie cut the Blair lead down to nine at the end of the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer at the final buzzer. Final score: Blair 39, Peddie 30.

Temi lead the way again, scoring 14 points, while Nicole Lem added 10, Shaina Earle earned 9 (plus 6 steals), Annette Snow scored 4 and Femi Hamilton had 2. Femi Hamilton continues to stand out as one of the the strongest defenders in the league, and Shaina Earle is running the point with poise. Kelsey Stevens and Elizabeth Fox add quality minutes off the bench during each contest.

posted 1/14/11