The 21-degree feel temperature wasn’t the coldest thing in the Brook on Wednesday afternoon.

As our girls’ basketball team found nothing but iron on numerous layup attempts, an under-sized but scrappy Waldorf squad entertained thoughts of an upset. They opened the game with a 3-pointer and closed the quarter with a jump shot to grab a 7-6 lead after one. Though Wura Obasanjo scored on a pair of layups and Nadia Hall on one of her own, the Bears missed a number of open shots underneath, squandering a chance at an early lead.

In the second period, the Brook ratcheted up the defense to make up for their early offensive woes, holding the Wolverines without a point until just 1:32 remained in the quarter. Scanlon was the tip of the spear with two steals and three blocks to help keep Waldorf at bay. On the other side of the court, the Bears still struggled to find a rhythm, but did enough to retake an 11-7 lead, scoring five straight points to open the quarter thanks to an Obasanjo layup, a Scanlon free throw, and a tough layup from Sarah Wong. Despite being held scoreless for the first 6:28 of the frame, Waldorf knotted the score at 11-11 with consecutive scores, but a Bekah Detwiler layup with just five seconds left gave the Blue & White a two-point halftime edge. They could hardly have known it at the time, but those would prove to be the first points of an eventual 27-0 run that would span the second, third, and fourth quarters.

The lid finally came off the rim in the third frame as Scanlon opened with a layup in traffic. Moments later a dizzying flurry followed, spurred on by the Bear defense. Obasanjo scored a layup inside to make it 17-11. A steal followed which led to a cathartic Scanlon 3-pointer. Hall continued the spurt with a steal and layup before another Scanlon steal paved the way for a beautiful Hall-to-Obasanjo score. A Sarah Wong steal followed and led to a Scanlon jumper. When the dust settled the Bears were in control with a 28-11 advantage. Detwiler closed the 17-0 quarter with an offensive rebound and layup. The Bears grabbed eight steals in the frame in shutting out the Wolverines over the eight-minute span.

The run continued into the fourth quarter as the Brook ran off the first eight points thanks to a pair of Obasanjo layups that bookended a Hall floater and a Scanlon layup. Waldorf finally ended the 27-0 tear with a jumper at the 5:37 mark, shuttering their nearly 11-minute scoring drought. The Bears cruised from there to a 44-17 victory that improved their PSAA record to 2-1 and their all-time record vs. Waldorf to 3-0.

Scanlon and Obasanjo led the offense with 14 points apiece and were supported by Hall (6), Detwiler (6), and Wong (4). Scanlon also added 9 steals on the defensive side of the ball. The Bears once again illustrated the value of a robust defense as their 26 steals and 7 blocks kept them in the game when their shots refused to fall.

They are back in action Friday evening in a non-league home match-up with Smithtown Christian.

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