FREDERICK, Md.—The Hood College women's basketball team (4-6) defeated Waynesburg University (3-8) 71-64 at BB&T Arena Saturday afternoon. The victory halted a four-game losing streak for the squad and gave the team some momentum heading into the new year.

The Blazers were led by freshman Shakara Head, who had a career-high scoring 26 points in 31 minutes of action. Head shot 70 percent from the floor, going 7-10 for the game and was also very productive from the free throw line, shooting 12-13 on the afternoon. Senior guard Dyanna Prater also had a very good game, scoring 22 points on 7-16 shooting. The 22 points was a season-high for Prater and also her second 20-point game of the season. The 22 points also brought Prater to within 92 points for reaching 1,000 points for her career. Brittany Spencer paced Waynesburg, scoring 16 points in the game.

The two sides traded baskets to start the game with Hood using a 14-4 run in the middle of the half to gain some momentum. A Rachel Wiley layup gave Hood its biggest lead of the half at nine, but Waynesburg countered with an 11-2 run of their own to tie the game at 26. The Blazers really clamped down on defense the rest of the half and that was ever apparent when Prater had a great hustle play to prevent Waynesburg from hitting a fast break layup. A late layup and free throw by Head gave Hood a six point lead heading into intermission.

The second half started with a barrage of points from Head, as she scored ten points in the first three minutes of the second half to put the Blazers in control. Hood held a considerable advantage in free throws as the blue and grey made more free throws than the Yellow Jackets attempted in the game. The 20 made free throws was a season high for the team and much of this was due to Head and her powerful interior play.

Hood had its largest lead of the game at ten with a Prater layup and it appeared as though they were going to run away with it, however Waynesburg had other ideas. A Spencer bucket and Gina Rievel three pointer brought the score to 63-58 with just 3:52 remaining. Another Prater layup gave Hood a 67-60 lead with 2:06 remaining and free throws down the stretch capped the victory for the Blazers.

The Blazers are set to return to action on January 5 when they hit the road to take on Arcadia in Commonwealth Conference action. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m.