NEW PARIS —The National Trail girls struggled to find an offensive rhythm in their opening game against Bradford, as the team fell to the Railroaders 45-27.
The Blazers shot 9 for 56 from the field as a team, for just 16 percent shooting while Bradford shot 15 for 40 for 38 percent.
“That was the biggest difference in the game,” head coach Troy Ferguson said. “We had several good looks we just weren’t able to get shots to fall.”
Peyton Laird led the Blazers, scoring 10 points, pulling down eight rebounds and tallying two steals.
JaLynn Byrd scored nine points and added three rebounds. Katie Stan pitched in three points, adding seven rebounds.
Bri Dillow had a strong defensive outing for the Blazers, picking up six steals and rebounds.
The Blazers trailed early and saw the Railroaders enter halftime with a 14-point lead.
The lead was cut to 11 after three quarters, but the Blazers were unable to get a run going to get back into the contest.
“Defensively we didn’t play bad, “Ferguson said. “But we saw just how important the things we’ve been talking about at that end of the floor are.”
Ferguson was happy with his team’s effort for the game. “Our shots weren’t falling so we had to keep ourselves in the game with our defense,” he said. “I thought that effort was really good tonight.”
The Blazers are now 0-1 for the season and in the Cross County Conference.
They play at Dixie on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
