By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – It’s been a busy new year for the University girls basketball team.
The Trailblazers have played four games in the past eight days, including back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday. While University’s players may be tired, they are still winning; the ‘Blazers took care of Beech Grove 66-41 Thursday at the U Center.
University, ranked No. 3 in Class 1A, never trailed in the game, although it needed about a quarter and a half before it was able to get a comfortable margin against the Hornets. The Trailblazers made their first serious run late in the first period, scoring seven straight points to go up 14-6. Jenna Blakley hit a 3 as part of the run, and she was just getting warmed up.
The ‘Blazers started the second quarter with another 7-0 run (including another Blakley 3), which gave them a 21-8 lead. Beech Grove cut it to 21-13, but Haley Tomlinson came into the game and nailed back-to-back 3s, getting University back up 27-13.
“That’s what she does,” said Trailblazers coach Justin Blanding. “She just brings that spark any time she’s called on. She embraces that role, so when we put her in, we know she’s going to make a shot. She’s going to find a way to score. She just has a knack for scoring, so we knew she would do that.”
Blakley threw in two more 3s during the quarter, and University went into halftime with a 39-21 lead. That became a 56-31 lead after three periods; Lily Snyder added six points in the third quarter, while Jhordan McGuire made back-to-back layins. All this was happening while the ‘Blazers were contending with a tough pressure from the Hornets.
“I think we handled it well,” said Blanding. “That comes with experience. We got seven seniors, so they’ve experienced a lot. They were used to seeing that kind of pressure. They handled it pretty well.”
University sailed through the fourth quarter, at point leading 64-36. Blakley scored late on a layin, she finished the game with 23 points and five 3s. Tomlinson scored 10 points. Five other players scored between seven and nine points, and Maddi Sears scored two, a layin as part of the early second quarter run.
“They share the ball really, really well,” said Blanding. “That’s been their thing. They share the ball well. They like to play for each other, so that’s a good thing.”
The Trailblazers are 17-1 for the season. Their next game is Saturday at Greenwood Christian, in the Pioneer Conference championship game. Tipoff is 2:30 p.m.
“We’re looking forward to it,” said Blanding. “Greenwood Christian, they always play us tough. They’re well-coached. They were here tonight. We’ll be ready. The kids are a little tired from playing a back-to-back and then we’re in our January term. It’s just one of those things, but we’ll be ready.”
University 66, Beech Grove 41
University FG FT TP PF
Lindsey Syrek 4 1-2 9 1
Brooke Andrus 2 2-2 7 3
Lily Snyder 4 0-0 8 1
Jhordan McGuire 3 1-4 7 3
Lucy Snyder 0 0-0 0 1
Maddi Sears 1 0-0 2 2
Jenna Blakley 8 2-2 23 2
Haley Tomlinson 4 0-0 10 0
Hallie Harrison 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 26 6-10 66 13
Score by Quarters
Beech Grove 8 13 10 10 – 41
University 14 25 17 10 – 66
University 3-pointers (8) Blakley 5, Tomlinson 2, Andrus 1.
University’s Jenna Blakley (42) scored 23 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Trailblazers in their 66-41 win over Beech Grove on Thursday. Pictured at left is Hallie Harrison. (Kirk Green)