Pinkerton, Bishop Guertin prepare for D1 girls basketball playoffs with prime matchup

It may be a year later, but the Pinkerton Academy girls basketball team hasn't forgotten how last regular season ended.

Down two starters, and playing on their home court, the Astros were blown out by Bishop Guertin, losing by 42 points. That included a third quarter in which the Cardinals outscored Pinkerton 25-0.

Not the way the Astros thought they were going to end the regular season after winning 16 of their first 17 games in Division I, and with one more game left this year, Pinkerton is hoping for a much different results. The Astros (15-2) head to Bishop Guertin (12-5) for a 7 p.m. start Friday night.

"We’re treating this like a playoff game," Pinkerton coach Lani Buskey said. "We have not forgotten what happened at the end of the season last year. That has lingered and that stings still."

While the teams were playing for the top seed a year ago, this time around, everything has been decided in terms of seeding for the playoffs. Regardless of the outcome, Pinkerton will be the No. 2 seed in the D1 tournament, while Bishop Guertin will be the No. 5 seed.

"We don’t have to win, but we want to win," Buskey said. "That would be good for our confidence going into the playoffs, and to beat BG would be a good statement for us. It will not be easy, but it would be very nice."

Both teams enter this year's game with a full and healthy roster, something that creates a bigger challenge for the Bishop Guertin defense.

"We have to be sound defensively," Bishop Guertin coach Brad Kreick said. "They have two kids who get a lot of pub, but they have six or seven who can all score the basketball. They’re talented offensively, and they’re good defensively, too. I don’t think you can just focus on Amanda (Lemire) and Brooke (Kane)."

Kane could be a bit of a matchup problem for the Cardinals, as the 6-foot junior is tough to defend in the post, but can also play on the perimeter.

"She’s a really tough matchup," Kreick said. "It’s not like you can take a perimeter kid and say guard her because she’ll take you down on the block. And you can’t take a post kid, because she’ll take you outside."

In Pinkerton's 47-43 loss to Bedford on Feb. 15, the Bulldogs were able to keep Kane from getting to the basket and scoring from the field, but she was 12 of 15 at the foul line and had a game-high 19 points.

The key number for the Cardinals might be 40. When Bishop Guertin is just 2-5 this season when allowing its opponent to score 40 or more points this year, while Pinkerton is 2-2 when scoring under 50.

For the Astros, they'll have to figure out quickly if they can play at the up-tempo pace the Cardinals like to be at, or if they can slow the game down and take Bishop Guertin out of its game.

"You have to either slow them down, or you have to play them at their own game," Buskey said. "You have to up the tempo to beat them at that. But I think if you are a composed team, you can slow the tempo down.

"I think you saw a little of that against Bedford. Bedford played an intense 1-3-1 (zone) that matched the tempo, but on offense, they were composed. It’s one or the other. You have to go right at them, or slow the game down."