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Blazers Roll Past Lancers

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By ANTHONY GAGLIANO

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 22, 2009

SARASOTA - For the Cambridge Lancers, it was the biggest game of their careers. For the Sarasota Christian Blazers, it's a yearly occurrence.

The host Blazers (22-7), playing in a girls basketball region final for a fourth straight year, blitzed the all-underclassmen Lancers 71-26 Saturday. Cambridge nearly got shutout in the first quarter, breaking through with 11.8 seconds left on a free throw by Melissa Olsson. But by then the Blazers already had a 17-0 lead en route to a fourth consecutive trip to the Class 1A state final four.

"First, I want them to cherish what they accomplished this year," Cambridge coach John Wilson said. "Secondly, I want them to be hungry for more. We talked about how we lost this game and we have a stomachache about it. It doesn't feel good. But we can't let that cloud all the accomplishments we've had this year."

The Lancers (14-11) won their first district title since 2006 and got their first playoff win in three years.

The Blazers, the 1A runners-up in 2008 and 2006, have won their three playoff games by an average margin of 47 points. With four seniors, the Blazers have plenty of big-game experience and depth. Sarasota Christian's Heather Miller led all scorers with 18.

Rachel Bode topped the Lancers with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

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