The Potomac Highlands Dispatch - the online newspaper

Huskies pummel Blazers in first-round playoff contest
* Senior Terra McKenzie hits five 3-pointers in first half to pass Jess Gibson for No. 2 on school's career record list
* Kaitlynn Fratz tallies 15 points to move to the top of another all-time career scoring list; senior closing in on 2,000 points

By Kevin Spradlin
The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
ACCIDENT, Feb. 26 -- All that was missing was a bobblehead.

Northern Garrett senior Terra McKenzie turned Saturday's Maryland Class 1A West Region sectional playoff game against Clear Spring into her own personal showcase. McKenzie led the Huskies with 26 points and hauled in six rebounds for the team's 12th win in its last 13 games.

The victory sets up a 1A West western sectional semifinal against Southern Garrett, which beat up Hancock on Friday, 60-20. Gametime is 7 p.m. at the Igloo in Accident. The winner earns a chance to play the winner between top-seeded Allegany and Mountain Ridge.

McKenzie's hit her first five shots from beyond the 3-point line and finished with seven on the night, giving her No. 100 for her three-year varsity career and moving her to second, behind teammate Kaitlynn Fratz, on the school's all-time 3-point list in front of former Husky Jess Gibson.

McKenzie got the ball rolling just 35 seconds into the game when she hit her first field goal. She hit her second 46 seconds after that for a 6-0 Northern Garrett lead and hit two free throws 22 seconds later for an 8-0 advantage for the home team.

Fratz, who finished with 15 points, seven assists and five steals, scored her first two points of the game just 1:58 into the game for a 10-0 lead. The route was on. Amber Forest scored for Clear Spring but the Huskies closed out the quarter on a 13-0 run to lead 23-2 after eight minutes.

Headed into Saturday's contest, Fratz needed just 14 points to move ahead of Allegany's Steve Vandenburg to become the career scoring leader - male or female - among high school basketball players in Allegany and Garrett counties. Earlier this month, Fratz became Garrett County's all-time leading scorer when she broke former Southern Garrett graduate Jenny Hillen's 26-year-old all-time career scoring record.

Jenny Hillen's 26-year-old all-time career scoring record for high school basketball players in Garrett County. She finished the night with 1,841 points.

Now, however, Fratz is just 21 points shy of 2,000 points. Currently, Fratz sits in fourth place among female all-time career scoring leaders in Maryland's three westernmost counties - and second all-time for public school high school girls.

In the mid-1990s, Kisha Gonzales of Broadfording Christian Academy in Hagerstown finished her high school career with 2,430 points. Clear Spring graduate Heather Aleshire had 2,418 points and Former Broadfording's Vanessa Ruffin finished with 2,370 points.

After a bad start, it was better for the Blazers in the second quarter - but not by much as Northern Garrett dominated both ends of the court with offensive and defensive rebounding.

Morgan Brosnihan scored twice to open up the second quarter and after Sam Staley's bucket helped the Blazers pull within 27-4, the Huskies outscored Clear Spring 15-3 over the next 4:30.

Sophomore Allison Yommer had 18 points, including 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line, to go along with seven rebounds for the Huskies.