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# Bishop Guertin girls basketball hangs on to beat Central Catholic (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bishop-guertin-girls-basketball-hangs-on-to-beat-central-catholic-video/
- Published: 2022-01-13T15:00:08.000Z
- Updated: 2022-01-13T15:00:08.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - The Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team has built its success over the last six-plus years on the defensive end. No surprise then that when the Cardinals needed a spark Wednesday night against Central Catholic (Lawrence, Mass.), it was the defense that led them. Down eight poin
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bishop Guertin, Central Catholic, girls basketball, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - The Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team has built its success over the last six-plus years on the defensive end.

No surprise then that when the Cardinals needed a spark Wednesday night against Central Catholic (Lawrence, Mass.), it was the defense that led them.

Down eight points early in the second half, Bishop Guertin held Central Catholic scoreless for a three-minute stretch while coming back to tie the game, then used a combination of steals and free throws to build a lead and hold off the Raiders for a 73-69 win at the Collignon Gymnasium.

Brooke Paquette finished with a game-high 31 points, including 14 of 16 at the free throw line, to go with 14 rebounds and six steals for Bishop Guertin. Two of those thefts came in the final 90 seconds, with the Cardinals (8-1) trying to close out the game.

"She is a gamer," Bishop Guertin coach Brad Kreick said. "She showed up when we needed her. We got huge contributions from a bunch of kids. To me, it was an entertaining, competitive high school basketball game, exactly what we were looking for."

Olivia Murray added 16 points, going 10 of 10 at the line, while Hannah Lynch and Catelyn Wheeler each had seven points. As a team, the Cardinals were 28 of 33 on free throws, while the Raiders (4-2) were 3 of 4, but hit 14 3-pointers.

Ashley Dinges hit three of those 3s, as she led Central Catholic with 30 points. Claire Finney added 16 points, including four 3s, and Samantha Guertin hit five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points.

"It was a really good high school basketball game," Central Catholic coach Casey Grange said. "We were missing our point guard and three others due to COVID protocols. I was proud of the fight that we showed. We got up by 10 and got down by nine. We fought back and never gave up. I was proud of the effort, but we’ve got to fix a few things. We made too many mental errors that probably came back to bite us a little bit."

The Raiders got off to a slow start, but a 3 at the first-quarter buzzer by Guertin tied the game at 13 and was part of an 11-0 run that gave Central Catholic a 21-13 lead. The advantage grew to 10 points on a 3 from Finney with 3:24 left in the first half, but the Cardinals responded with an 11-6 run, getting a last-second basket from Paquette to cut the Raiders' lead to 32-27 going into the break.

Finney hit another 3 to open the second half, but Bishop Guertin answered with an 8-0 run to tie the game, and then started to force the Raiders into mistakes. Bishop Guertin collected six steals in the third quarter and scored 13 points off the miscues.

"That kind of energy is contagious," Kreick said. "Kids feed off that with each other. The energy was great, the intensity was great, particularly in the third quarter. That was the difference."

Bishop Guertin got up by as many as six late in the third, but a 3 by Shea Montague and steal and score by Dinges put Central Catholic up 52-50 with 10.4 seconds left in the quarter. Murray was able to get to the basket and score with eight-tenths of a second left to tie the game going into the fourth.

"We did a good job helping each other on defense, stepping in," Grange said. "We got into a little bit of a rhythm there. Then in the third quarter, they kind of took it to us and we didn’t withstand it well."

The Cardinals opened the fourth with a 12-3 run to take a 64-55 lead but a pair of 3s by Guertin helped the Raiders stay in it. A steal by Paquette led to a transition basket with 1:21 left, giving Bishop Guertin what looked like a comfortable 69-61 lead.

But 3s by Finney and Dinges, sandwiched around a turnover by the Cardinals, made it a two-point game with 42 seconds left. The Raiders didn't foul right away, letting almost 30 seconds run off the clock before sending Murray to the line with 13.2 remaining.

The two free throws made it a 71-67 game and Paquette picked up another steal before getting fouled with 6.4 remaining. She made both free throws to put the game away.

"The kids came out really aggressive and did a great job," Kreick said. "We got ourselves a little bit of a cushion and then it was topsy-turvey. That team can shoot the basketball. Our kids, it was gut-check time. It was a challenge for our kids."