Reporting by Noah Ferguson, Jack Ortegren, and Edited by Don Harrold
The Blair Bears girls’ basketball team demonstrated their defensive prowess Tuesday night, overwhelming the Hastings Tigers with a relentless full-court press en route to a commanding 48-17 victory in Eastern Midlands Conference action.

From the opening quarter, the Bears established control, taking a 13-5 lead behind freshman standout Cadence Field and junior Claire Anderson’s contributions.

Field continued her impressive performance into the second quarter as Blair’s defensive pressure mounted.

The Bears’ suffocating press proved too much for the Tigers to handle, resulting in a 25-5 halftime advantage for the home team. Blair’s defensive strategy was evident throughout the game, with players like Beau Wendt (#15) pressuring Hastings’ ball handlers and Addie Sullivan fighting for crucial rebounds to maintain possession.

The defensive onslaught continued after the break, with Blair extending their lead to 43-12 by the end of the third quarter.

The Bears’ balanced attack featured post presence from Hayden Frink-Mathis (#45) in the paint, while Taytom Macholan (#33) helped coordinate the team’s defensive sets that kept the Tigers off balance.

Field finished as the game’s leading scorer with 11 points, helping the Bears improve their season record to 5-3. The victory showed Blair’s resilience following recent setbacks in their conference tournament.
“We had them pressed all year… we also had two tough losses in the conference tournament, I think they kind of wanted to show that we’re a good team,” Head Varsity Coach Matt Aschoff said. “We’ve been playing zone, just trying to win some of those close games. Hopefully, we stay healthy and we can just keep moving forward with our energy and hard work.”
While the Tigers (3-6) showed early promise, they struggled to maintain their initial momentum against Blair’s defensive strategy. “We started out with great energy… I felt really good about how things were going then we stopped being aggressive,” Hastings Coach Lance Creech reflected after the game.
The fourth quarter saw both teams clear their benches as Blair eased off their press, leading to a relatively quiet final period that concluded with the 31-point victory for the Bears. Throughout the game, the Bears’ home court advantage was evident, with the purple-clad crowd and cheerleaders providing enthusiastic support for their team’s dominant performance.
Blair looks to build on this momentum as they prepare to host Bennington on January 7, while Hastings will seek to rebound quickly as they face Gretna East on Friday night.