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The Blazers went on a 9-0 run to start the game and appeared poised to blow out the Gladiators in the Lake Michigan Conference showdown. But, the Gladiators refused to surrender meekly and rallied after Kalkaska lost freshman guard Chelsea Matley to a leg injury in the first four minutes. The extent of the injury was not known.

Rattled by the departure of the young playmaker, Kalkaska sputtered for a time and let the Gladiators back in the game.

St. Francis pounced with the Blazers feeling for their hurt teammate and scrambled back into the fray.

Kalkaska managed to weather the storm, and then found its bearings again in the second half en route to a 52-39 victory.

It was a big win in several ways for the Blazers, not the least of which was surviving the injury to Matley, who has been a key cog in the team's attack this season.

Megan Dunn and Kara Ponstein were settling influences out front at the guards, while Katie Krause and Marissa Taylor powered inside for big baskets.

The win also lifted the Blazers back above the .500 mark in the conference following back-to-back losses prior to the Christmas break. Krause, who had crashed the 1,000-point barrier as the Blazers won their fifth straight game, became the school's all-time leading rebounder with 6 boards against St. Francis. She now has 566 rebounds in her prep career, with 12 games remaining in the regular season.

"St. Francis is very pressable, but once we lose Chelsea, our press is not nearly as effective,"Kalkaska head coach David Dalton said. "In just a couple of minutes, she had a couple of rebounds and a couple of steals. But, when she got hurt, it kind of changed our team. "We're a lot better team with Chelsea in there. But I'm very proud of the way the kids put it together in the second half."

Ponstein scored 4 points during the Blazers early surge, while Taylor buried a 3-pointer and Khrysten Chandler converted on an offensive rebound.

Kalkaska didn't slow down immediately after Matley's injury, as Dunn knocked down a triple and Krause closed the quarter with a 6-point spurt to give the Blazers a 20-11 lead.

Matley remained on the sidelines to start the second quarter, and the Blazers' lead slowly eroded.

St. Francis managed to cut Kalkaska's lead down to six points, 30-24, at halftime and the issue was definitely in doubt.

The Blazers seized control of the game back in the third period, however.

Krause hit for 4 points, and Ponstein drilled another 3-pointer to push the Blazers out to a 12-point lead, 38-26, with 3:48 left in the third quarter.

Ponstein knocked down another trey, and Krause had 4 points in a 7-0 Kalkaska run to close the third quarter as the Blazers took a 45-27 lead into the fourth period.

German foreign exchange student Paula Werner got her first points of the season for the Blazers late in the game when she put down a 3-pointer.

"The girls were real excited for her,"Dalton said. "She wanted to come out for the team this year, and she's been a spirited person to have on the bench. It was nice to see her score."

Knocking off St. Francis is always especially sweet for the Blazers.

"We have a big rivalry with them,"Dalton said. "It's always great when we can beat them. Things looked bad for awhile when Chelsea went out, but I was real proud of the girls because they brought it back together, adjusted, kept their composure and finished the game real strong."

The Blazers, who improved their record to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the LMC, were led by Krause with 27 points.

Ponstein finished with 13, Taylor had 6 and Werner and Dunn 3 each. Taylor dished out 6 assists and Ponstein 3.

Kalkaska was at Gaylord on Tuesday, and hosts Grayling on Friday. The Blazers get the two teams they lost to before Christmas, Boyne City and Charlevoix, at home in the rematches.