NASHUA, NH – Balance and depth helped Bishop Guertin snap a three-game losing streak in emphatic fashion, slamming Memorial, 62-27, Friday night.
Holly Dufoe led the offense for BG with 12 points but the Cardinals put five players in double figures. Madison Long and Jas Rosario added 11 each.
By contrast, Memorial got a game-high 13 points and 15 rebounds from center NyAsia McKelvey and nine points from Jocelyn Eosue but no one else had more than five.
The game was decided in the second and third quarters, with Bishop Guertin (2-4) outscoring Memorial, 36-10, to build a 47-22 lead.
“Our kids need to learn that there are two halves of a basketball game. It’s not just that you play one half,” said Memorial Head Coach Greg Cotreau. “We’ve got (some) kids that don’t put the work in. It’s hard to win basketball games if you can’t shoot. And we’ve got some kids that don’t work on their game, except during the season, and it’s starting to hurt us.”
.The @BishopGuertin defense generates a steal, leading to an easy layup for Madison Long, in its 62-27 win over @crusaderswbball .@andrewsylvia @ManchInkLink @NHIAA_LOA pic.twitter.com/XUNqZ2R1TT
— Bill Gilman (@bgilman66) January 13, 2024
Memorial (3-5) got off to a strong start, building a 12-8 lead late in the first quarter, with McKelvey dominating the paint and the Crusaders’ aggressive man-to-man defense forcing several early turnovers.
Long drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer, pulling Bishop Guertin to within a point and giving the Cardinals a trickle of momentum that would quickly grow into a raging flood.
BG Head Coach Olivia Orlando had her team begin to spread the floor on offense, moving the ball around the perimeter in a “weave” and drawing much of the Memorial defense out near the arc. This opened huge lanes for the Cardinals to attack the rim. If the Crusaders tried to collapse in the paint, the Cardinals would kick the ball out to a shooter for an open look at a 3.
McKelvey did what she could to keep her team close, with five points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the quarter. She scored in the paint, off a feed from Torle Adumene, pulling Memorial to within a point. But BG responded with a quick 7-1 run to open a 24-17 lead.
A McKelvey putback made it 24-19 before the host Cardinals closed the half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Rosario and Dufoe, to take an 11-point lead into the locker room.
https://twitter.com/bgilman66/status/1746012560829169915
The wheels came off completely for Memorial in the third quarter. McKelvey looked fatigued on both ends of the floor and the Crusaders didn’t have anyone able to pick up the slack. Multiple turnovers and missed free throws limited the Crusaders to just three points in the quarter. In the meantime, Bishop Guertin began using backside screens to free up cutters for several uncontested layups, and the rout was on.
For the game, Memorial was just 7-for-21 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over 19 times.
“There is no way you’re going to win a basketball game when you play like that,” said Cotreau. “I think we had more turnovers in the third quarter than we had points in the entire second half.”
Memorial will look to snap its current three-game losing streak, when it travels to Alvirne (2-4), Tuesday night to take on the Mustangs.
