Blodgett shines in All-Star game> UMaine guard named East MVP

The University of Maine’s Cindy Blodgett led the East’s top seniors past the West’s best Saturday in a 67-48 victory in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/Honda All-Star Challenge in Kansas City, Mo.

Blodgett scored 17 points in the senior All-Star game that was held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

The teams were made up of 20 of college basketball’s best women seniors with 17 Division I players and a Division II, a Division III, and a NAIA player.

Blodgett’s 17-point performance earned her Most Valuable Player honors for the East. Nikki Johnson from the NAIA’s Simon Fraser University was the West MVP.

“She had a great overall performance. It was interesting,” UMaine coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie said after arriving home Sunday night. “There was a lot of subbing, so it was more remarkable how she did considering how much she played.”

Blodgett, who Palombo said played an average of 32 minutes for UMaine, played only 19 minutes in the game. Palombo said Blodgett was far and away the most dominant player on the court.

“Not just offensively, but defensively, as well,” Palombo said of Blodgett, who added two rebounds and two steals. “Her overall game, given the amount of minutes, she played really well.”

Blodgett was 7-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

After leading 30-26 at the half, the East put the game away with a 16-4 run that was sparked by Blodgett. In the first six minutes of the second half, Blodgett scored four field goals, including a 3-pointer, to lead the rally.

“Cindy really spurred them on in the second half,” Palombo said. “She was the catalyst for the East. She was focused and ready. She looked like she enjoyed the atmosphere.”

The East outshot the West, hitting 51.9 percent from the floor compared to the West’s 35.8.

While Johnson was the only player from the West to finish in double figures, the East had a number of players in double figures with Florida’s Murriel Page scoring 13 points, Stephen F. Austin’s Katrina Price 11, and Stanford’s Olympia Scott 10.