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After taking an early lead, the Blazers fell behind the Red Devils by three at the end of the half and trailed the rest of the way in losing a 50-46 decision.

The Blazers probably saw their last hope of remaining in contention for even a share of the LMC title disappear with the loss.

Kalkaska slipped to 7-3 in the conference and is now 12-3 overall. East Jordan improved to 11-3 and 8-2, respectively, with its ninth straight win.

"Our kids played their hearts out ... they played as hard as they could,"Kalkaska coach David Dalton said.

"We just did not shoot very well. We had a couple of things we were supposed to focus on defensively, to stop a couple of their players. But, we didn't quite execute that as well as we needed to.Ó

Katie Krause finished as the Blazers'leading scorer with 14 points, while Kara Ponstein contributed 13 and Marissa Taylor added 8. It looked like the game might turn into a shootout after the first quarter, which the Blazers led, 20-18.

East Jordan grabbed a 31-28 lead at the half and took a 42-38 advantage into the fourth quarter.

"They have a huge size advantage,"Dalton said of the Red Devils. "They have 6-3, 6-2, 5-11 and we're 5-9, 5-9, 5-8, 5-4. "And they're pretty athletic, too, so it's not like they're just tall.Ó

Ponstein's performance was key in the Blazers keeping the game close all the way. She had 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

"She just played a tremendous game at both ends of the court for us,"Dalton said.

Krause added 9 rebounds, while Taylor contributed 4 assists and Megan Dunn scored 7 points.

On the positive side, Kalkaska defeated Elk Rapids, 59-39, in a makeup game from the week before.

The Blazers got off to a fast start, building an 18-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Elk Rapids never threatened to make a serious dent in that lead the rest of the game.

By halftime, the Blazers'lead had ballooned to 33-9. Kalkaska took a 51-19 lead into the fourth quarter.

Krause had a big game for the Blazers, scoring a career-high 33 points. She made 13-of-15 from the floor and hit on 7-of-8 free throws.

"She's usually our number one option on offense,"Dalton said. "We are lucky we have a lot of people who are very good passers. "They get her the ball in good spots for shots, and Krause makes them.Ó

Marissa Taylor drilled three 3-point baskets and finished with 9 points.

She also picked off 6 steals on defense.

Ponstein led the team with 6 assists and had 4 points. Chelsea Matley had 3 assists and 4 steals.

"Elk Rapids stayed in a 1-2-2 zone, which left Katie open and the girls got her the ball,"Dalton said. "A lot of players got to play a lot, and it was a good win.Ó

Kalkaska hosted Boyne City on Tuesday and will be at home against Charlevoix Thursday in LMC action.

The Blazers lost to both teams earlier this season.