Green, Bishop Guertin cruise past Keene to reach D1 semifinals

NASHUA - Meghan Green scored 18 points, including the 1,000th of her career, and the Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team cruised past Keene 68-39 Saturday to advance to the Division I semifinals.

Green needed nine points to reach the milestone, and got it on the first basket of the second quarter, a field goal that put the top-seeded Cardinals up 27-3. Nicole Hayner added 12 points, on four 3-pointers, while Jamie Sherburne and Jillian Barbaro each had 10 points.

Ali Wilson led Keene (10-10) with 15 points, including four 3s, while Allison Yeaw added 13 points.

The Cardinals (19-1) will now face No. 4 Manchester Memorial in the division semifinals Wednesday as Southern New Hampshire University. Memorial advanced by knocking off No. 5 Pinkerton 66-28.

Green scored eight points in the first quarter to help the Cardinals get out to a 25-3 lead after the opening eight minutes. Each team opened the second with a basket, but then hit an offensive lull midway through the quarter. Bishop Guertin went on an 8-2 run to increase the lead to 28 points and the Cardinals were up 37-11 at halftime.

The starters came out for good early in the third quarter and the second string played the rest of the way.

The Cardinals handed Memorial (16-4) its first loss of the season on Jan. 24, 47-44 on the road. The teams will play in the second semifinal of the night, as No. 2 Winnacunnet and No. 3 Londonderry will play in the early game.