Bishop Guertin girls basketball beats Pinkerton to claim to top seed in D1

DERRY - The Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team controlled the first half of Friday's game against Pinkerton Academy.

Despite holding a 12-point lead over the team the Cardinals were battling for the No. 1 seed in Division I, coach Brad Kreick felt they could play better.

Somehow, the Cardinals did.

Bishop Guertin held Pinkerton scoreless in the third quarter, forcing 13 turnovers, and cruised to a 72-30 win over the Astros to wrapup the top seed in the division tournament for the second year in a row. The Cardinals finish the regular season with a mark of 16-1, ending the season on a 15-game winning streak.

"I thought the kids were solid from start to finish," Kreick said. "We made a commitment that we’re going to play 10 or 11 (players) every game and from time to time, it can be choppy early. We liked the pace in the first half. We played 10 or 11. We had a little too much foul trouble. We told the kids we wanted to keep the pace up and keep our hands to ourselves. We felt the depth and the pace would serve us well."

The Cardinals committed 13 teams fouls in the first half, but finished the third quarter with just three after outscoring Pinkerton 25-0 in the frame. The Astros went more than 12 minutes without a point, and almost 15 minutes without a field goal.

"You've got to learn from it," Pinkerton coach Lani Buskey said. "I told the girls at the end, the only way there's anything of value from this is to own it. Own what just happened. If you own it, you learn. I believe in the system, we just have to refine it."

Pinkerton (16-2) will likely be the No. 2 seed going into the tournament, although the Astros were dealt a series of blows earlier in the week. Pinkerton played without point guard Amanda Lemire, who sat the last two games with a right foot injury, and Cydney Lessard, who was hurt in Tuesday's game against Trinity.

The Astros also lost Taylor Frost to an ankle injury early in the third quarter and Brooke Kane battled with foul trouble in the first half. The depth issues for Pinkerton were compounded by Bishop Guertin's press, as the Astros couldn't find ways to break it.

"You can't dribble through it," Buskey said. "You've got to keep your chin on the rim and pass the ball up. Instead of keeping that in mind, they panicked. Rightfully so, BG's press is outstanding.

"They looked for Amanda and she's not there anymore. If we're going to go far in this tournament, we've got to figure out the press break, because (teams) are going to press us."

Eleven players scored for the Cardinals, led by freshman Erin Carney, who came off the bench to score 16 points. Meghan Cramb added 15 while Addison Smith chipped in with nine and Abbi Field had eight.

Pinkerton got 15 points from Kane, who was 9 of 12 from the free throw line, but no one else had more than five for the Astros.

Bishop Guertin led from the start, as Pinkerton's Courtney Velho was called for a foul three seconds into the game and Cramb made two free throws for a 2-0 lead. That advantage went to 7-0 quickly, and by the end of the quarter, the Cardinals had a double digit lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Up 36-24 to start the second half, Bishop Guertin opened the third with a 6-0 spurt, forcing Pinkerton to turn the ball over on six of its first seven possessions.

"As a team, we had really good chemistry," Cramb said. "We moved the ball really well, we ran the floor really well, and our pressed really worked. First half, we were making a few mental mistakes here and there. Fouls were a big thing, but I think in the second half we really stepped it up. We're going to put the hammer down now and play really good defense."

The Cardinals enter the postseason with the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row, but Kreick was quick to point out that last year, Bishop Guertin was the first top seed to win the title since 2012.

"You get to this time of year, crazy things happen," he said. "There are no guarantees. We're blessed that a core of our upperclass kids went through the process last year. We're going to rely on them. The freshmen have been good about taking their cue from the older kids. I like our team, but that doesn't guarantee us a darn thing."

Both teams have a bye in the first round of the playoffs and will host quarterfinal games on March 4.