ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - For the second straight game Hood College had a lead in the second half but suffered a run that changed the game, this time dropping a Commonwealth Conference game to the Elizabethtown Blue Jays 74-55.

The Blazers hung tough in the first half and when it looked like the Blue Jays would start to take over the game, Hood fought back. 

Verkia Smith (Waldorf, Md. / North Point) led the Blue and Grey with 13 points, and Danni Medovich (Woodsboro, Md. / Walkersville) added 10. Smith also had a team-high four assists. 

Elizabethtown's Taylor Kreider led the way with a double-double, scoring 19 points and snagging a game-high 12 rebounds. She came three assists away from a triple-double, and had a game-high three steals. Rachel Forjan went 5-of-8 from 3-point range and finished with 19 points, as well. 

Trailing 15-12 with 9:18 left in the first half, Allie Appleby (Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright) was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three free throws to tie the score. After a 6-0 run by the hosts, Appleby hit another two free throws to cut the deficit to 21-17 with 7:27 on the clock.

Smith hit her lone long ball to get Hood within 23-20 with 5:26 remaining, then hit a layup with 4:08 on the clock to make it a 26-22 game. 

Four straight points from Kreider ballooned the Elizabethtown lead up to 30-22 with just over two minutes left in the half, but again the Blazers battled back. Two free throws from Jessy Burke (Monrovia, Md. / Linganore) and a layup by Smith cut the lead down to 30-26 with 94 seconds until half.

Kreider answered with her 12th point of the half with 1:14 on the clock, but with 51 seconds left Taylor McGaughey (New Market, Md. / Oakdale) hit her lone basket of the game, a 3-pointer, to get Hood within 31-29. Burke added another free throw to send the guests into the locker room down by one, at 31-30. 

Rachel Wiley (Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora) started the second half scoring with a layup to give the Blazers their first lead since the opening point at 32-31, with 18:41 on the clock. After a bucket by Kreider at 18:12, Rachel Kessler (Middletown, Md. / Middletown) hit a jumper seven seconds later to give Hood the lead back at 34-33.

Brittney George (Middletown, Md. / Middletown) added two free throws with 17:07 remaining to give the Blazers their biggest lead at 36-33. Kendra Beittel added three of her 12 points to tie the game, and Emily Young gave Elizabethtown the 38-36 lead with 16:08 left on a pair of free throws to continue the momentum shift. Young scored six of her 10 points in the second half. 

Including Beittel's long ball, the Blue Jays went on a 13-1 run over a six minute span to take a 46-37 lead. Smith ended the run with a layup to get back within seven at 46-39 with 10:34 left, but Forjan answered with a 3-pointer to get the lead up to double-digits at 49-39 with 10:08 on the clock. 

Wiley had team-highs in both rebounds (11) and blocks (3). Kessler tied her season-high with eight boards. 

Hood shot a season-best 84.2 percent (16-19) from the free throw line, the mark is also tied for fourth-best in a single game in program history. Appleby led the way going a perfect 7-of-7. 

The Blazers return to BB&T Arena for the final home game of the year on February 18. The tipoff against Alvernia is set for 6 p.m.