Bishop Guertin girls basketball keeps playoff hopes alive with win against Windham (video)

NASHUA - Olivia Orlando believes in her Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team.

The first-year coach believed her players would find a way to win, maybe even more than they did, and she believed early on this year that making the postseason was a possibility for the Cardinals.

After Friday night's 43-39 win over Windham in the Division I regular-season finale, it seems Bishop Guertin accomplished both of those things.

Down 20-9 early in the second quarter, the Cardinals went on a 13-0 run to get back into the game and held off Windham late. With the win over the Jaguars, along with Wednesday's victory at Exeter, Bishop Guertin (8-9) closed the year going 6-4 after losing five of its first seven games to clinch a playoff berth.

"I believe in the girls so much, sometimes I think more than they believe in themselves," Orlando said. "

Consistency has really been the word of the year for us. We want to stay consistent in who we are and what we do, and I thought we came out (Friday) a little flatfooted and it showed.

"Windham is a talented team and they came out ready to go. They wanted this game just as much as we did, and I think what got us back into it was stops and scores. One possession at a time, that was our focus, and it worked out for us."

The win secures a playoff spot for the Cardinals regardless of what the NHIAA decides to do about a game against Wachusett (Mass.) that was scheduled for Feb. 10 and wasn't played. In the past, out-of-state games that haven't been completed have just been removed from the schedule, but the NHIAA could decide to call it a forfeit.

Either way, Bishop Guertin is in the postseason, thanks to its strong showing after the opening quarter.

Thalia Drapeau led the Cardinals with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Jas Rosario had 10 points and Holly Dufoe added nine points.

That included a 3-pointer from Dufoe with less than a minute remaining and Bishop Guertin clinging to a four-point lead, after having gone scoreless for more than five minutes.

"She brings such an incredible spark," Orlando said. "Even the nights where she might not shoot it as well as she would like, she impacts the game in so many areas."

Orlando had called a timeout before that possession, and while the 3 wasn't exactly wasn't what the coaches had drawn up, the Cardinals got a look they wanted.

"They executed the play we drew up beautifully," the coach said. "We were looking to get a bucket around the basket, hoping to get an easy bunny or draw a foul. But we had a wide open 3 and Holly knows she can knock that down. She did it."

Windham (11-7) got 12 points from Meghan Husson, including a floater right after Dufoe's 3 that kept the Jaguars within striking distance. Lilah Boucher added 10 points, including two 3-pointers, while Avery Steffanides hit two 3s for her six points.

"Bishop Guertin did a great job with their pressure," Windham coach Cassie Turcotte said of what turned the game. "We started forcing shots and forcing passes. A lot of our own mistakes led to the momentum they were gaining.

"What didn’t help is we were getting outrebounded on our offensive end. We were getting one shot and then sprinting down in the other direction. You’ve got to play offense for a little while."

Despite Bishop Guertin's run in the second quarter, Windham was able to take a 28-25 lead into halftime following a 3 by Steffanides in the final seconds.

But the Cardinals opened the third quarter with a 3 and a layup by Drapeau to take the lead for good. Dufoe added a basket to make it 32-28 and Bishop Guertin held Windham to just two free throws in the quarter to take a 37-30 lead into the fourth.

Ayla Regan hit a 3 to give the Cardinals a 40-30 lead with six minutes left, but didn't score until Dufoe's 3, and the Jaguars went on a 6-0 run to make it 40-36 with 3:10 remaining. Windham wasn't able to get any closer, though, and Bishop Guertin held on for the win.