On Monday afternoon, the Swanson faithful witnessed one of the most dominant performances in our girls’ basketball history as the Bears overwhelmed Waldorf 69-3 to improve to 2-0 on the season and in PSAA play.

The Bears held the Wolverines scoreless until the 6:08 mark of the fourth quarter and allowed only a trio of free throws in the 66-point rout. It was the second time in the last three home games that the Bears held an opponent scoreless through the first three quarters. In the final home game of last year, The Brook topped Portledge 44-8 and did not allow a bucket until 5:35 remained in the game. Defense has long been a calling card of both the girls’ and boys’ programs and it was certainly on display Monday afternoon.

The Bears’ offense had no such struggles as they hung 27 points in the opening quarter. Abby Smith opened the scoring for the Bears with a steal and layup, then stole the ball again before feeding Meaghan Doherty on a fastbreak layup. Jocelyn McCrain then connected on a 3-pointer before a series of fastbreak layups, many fueled by the Bears’ nine steals in the period, expanded the lead to 20-0 in a blink. Doherty then splashed her first of five 3-pointers before Payton Martin drained a foul line jumper on the next possession. Smith closed the frame with a tough layup just before the buzzer to give The Brook a 27-0 advantage after eight minutes.

The Bears scored 11 points in the second quarter behind the balanced attack of Cassandra Rohan, McCrain, Doherty, and Soraya Carrano as they took a 38-0 margin into the break. In the third, Doherty scored 11 points behind three 3-pointers as the Bear lead mushroomed to 62-0. Scarlett Davey connected on a layup early in the fourth to up the run to 64 straight points before Waldorf dropped in a free throw with 6:08 left in the game. Waldorf added two more free throws in the frame but finished without a field goal as the Bears rolled to the victory.

Doherty finished with a game-high 27 points, one of six Bears who individually outscored the Wolverine team. McCrain (14), Smith (8), Rohan (8), Martin (5), Carrano (4), Scarlett Davey (2), and Quinn Davey (2) rounded out the attack. The Bears defense grabbed 23 steals on the game.

The Bears are back in action this afternoon in a non-league match-up at East Hampton.

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