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# Bishop Guertin girls basketball holds off Bedford to reach D1 championship game
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bishop-guertin-girls-basketball-holds-off-bedford-to-reach-d1-championship-game/
- Published: 2018-03-09T14:14:55.000Z
- Updated: 2018-03-09T14:14:55.000Z
- Description: MANCHESTER - Brad Kreick had a short answer as to why the Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team was able to come out on top in Thursday's Division I semifinal against Bedford. Caroline Hoffer. The Cardinals lone senior scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to help kee
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, girls basketball, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

MANCHESTER - Brad Kreick had a short answer as to why the Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team was able to come out on top in Thursday's Division I semifinal against Bedford.

Caroline Hoffer.

The Cardinals lone senior scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to help keep No. 5 Bishop Guertin's hopes of a third-straight title alive with a 52-50 win over No. 1 Bedford at Southern New Hampshire University. The Cardinals move on to the title game at 4 p.m. Saturday, where they will face No. 2 Pinkerton.

Hoffer, who had just two points in the first half, hit a pair of 3-pointers as Bedford was trying to come back in the fourth quarter, keeping Bishop Guertin's lead at nine points, and she was 6 for 6 at the line down the stretch. That included two free throws with 27.8 seconds left to make it a four-point game, after the Cardinals had missed the front end of a one-and-one on their previous two possessions.

"She’s got the heart of a champion," Kreick said. "She’s got two championships under her belt. We missed her desperately in the first three or four weeks of the season when she was out with an injury. She just is everything to us. She stepped up when we needed her most. Knocked down a couple of 3s, hit a couple of free throws, she was the difference."

Ava Owens added 10 points for the Cardinals (16-5), who started the third quarter with a 9-0 run to break open what had been a one-point game at halftime.

But Bedford (19-1) came back, as Alyson Fillion had 10 of her 18 points in the second half and Elizabeth Stevenson was also in double figure with 11 points.

"They’re a great team, and we saw, they got right back in it," Hoffer said. "Getting the lead up was great, but we knew they could easily bring it right back."

That's how the game started, with the Cardinals jumping out to a 5-0 lead early and Bedford countered with a 9-0 run. The game was tied at 11 going into the second quarter, but a basket by Owens gave Bishop Guertin a 23-18 lead late in the half.

Bedford responded again, closing the half with a jumper from Clare Driscoll and two free throws from Fillion to cut the lead to 23-22 at the break.

Hoffer and Bri Wilcox had back-to-back layups for Bishop Guertin to open the third quarter, as the Cardinals' 9-0 run to start the half gave them their largest lead, 32-22\. A three-point play by Owens in the final minute of the third made it a 38-28 lead, but Fillion scored to end the quarter and Mia Roy hit a pair of free throws to open the fourth to cut the lead to six.

"I don’t think our kids every thought we’d run away and hide, even when we were up nine or 10," Kreick said. "I think that was exactly what we expected. This thing is coming down to the finish line, that’s a great group of kids and they have an unbelievable heart about them."

After the Cardinals took a timeout, Hoffer hit a 3 from the top of the key to put the Cardinals back up nine and Stevenson answered with a 3 of her own. On Bishop Guertin's next possession, Hoffer found herself alone at the top of the Bedford zone and drained another 3.

"Coach always says take the open shot," Hoffer said. "I did. When we were going back and forth, I knew it was important, but I knew we had more to do. They just kept shooting just as well as we were."

Fillion answered with a 3 at the other end, and after a Cardinals' foul, Kendra Barnard scored to make it a four-point game, 44-40, with 5:35 to play. The Bulldogs came up with a steal on Bishop Guertin's next two possessions, getting a chance to make it a one-possession game, but both times, Bedford lost the ball out of bounds.

Four free throws from Hoffer and a basket by Erin Carney got Bishop Guertin's lead back to eight, 50-42, with 1:24 remaining, but Roy hit a 3 and the Bulldogs fouled quickly. Hannah Muchmore missed on a one-and-one, Bedford got the rebound and hurried down the court, this time finding Stevenson for a 3 that cut the lead to two with 43.9 seconds left.

Another quick foul sent Carney to the line and she, too, missed on a one-and-one. But this time, after Bedford got the rebound, Bishop Guertin denied Roy the ball and Driscoll had the ball go out of bounds off her foot with 29 seconds to go. Hoffer hit two free throws after that to make it a four-point game, and after Fillion's jumper with three seconds to go - and Bedford out of timeouts - Bishop Guertin didn't inbound the ball and time ran out.

"Our kids played with tremendous poise," Kreick said. "Even the younger kids played like veterans. And then we have the veteran of all veterans in Hoffer, who really picked us up and put us on her shoulders in the second half and willed us to the finish line."