By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The Guerin Catholic girls basketball team started its sectional quest with a remarkable defensive effort.
The Golden Eagles overwhelmed Class 3A Sectional 27 host Brebeuf Jesuit 39-10 in the second Wednesday game. It was the first time in three years that Guerin had won a sectional game, while those 10 points was GC’s best defensive effort since it held Indianapolis Marshall to eight points last season. Guerin Catholic will play Cardinal Ritter in the second semi-final on Friday.
The Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the game, all credited to Nicole Cunningham. The sophomore opened things up with a 3-pointer, then made one foul shot at the 4:31 mark, and another with 2:33 to go.
The Braves got on the board with a pair of free throws at the 2:17 mark, then a layin cut Guerin Catholic’s lead to 5-4. But Sydney Geis answered that with a 3-pointer, and that turned out to be the beginning of a 14-0 GC run that finished the first period and extended well into the second quarter.
“We were trying to get the ball inside, quite frankly,” said Guerin coach Dave Roth. “But we had to take what we could get, and we knew that the girl that we wanted to take that outside shot was either Sydney or Nicole. Nicole had already taken a couple and was feeling like it’s time to drive.
“Sydney’s 3 helped get the team from the bench standpoint into the game a little bit more, which I think helped get the defensive movement going, because we were a little bit slow on our feet defensively prior to that.”
Grace Hackett had back-to-back baskets in the second quarter as part of that run. Brebeuf made one basket in the period, but Guerin Catholic led 23-6 at halftime.
The Golden Eagles shut out the Braves in the third period, while scoring nine more points in that quarter to lead 32-6. Cunningham hit her second 3 of the game in the period’s final minute, then opened the fourth quarter with another 3. She would finish as the leading scorer with 13 points, totaling three 3-pointers.
Roth said that his team “played really well” defensively.
“I think we still have the habit sometimes of looking to the inside on the strong side and trying to dig down on that, and that’s not what we’re trying to do,” said Roth. “The bottom line for us is, we need to stay disciplined and cover the girl that we’re trying to cover, and if we do that, then we’re a really good defensive team.”
Geis finished with eight points, while Hackett had six. Olivia Labus led the boards with seven rebounds, in addition to scoring six points. Hackett made four steals.
The Golden Eagles are now 6-17 for the season. On Friday, they will play a Ritter team that’s 14-10 and advanced to the sectional semi-finals with a 70-35 victory over Broad Ripple. Guerin and Ritter did not play each other in the regular season.
“Ritter’s a very disciplined team and it’s going to take a lot for us to just stay with them and keep them under control,” said Roth.
Guerin Catholic 39, Brebeuf Jesuit 10
Guerin FG FT TP PF
Claire Sawyer 0-3 0-0 0 0
Olivia Labus 3-7 0-0 6 1
Sydney Geis 3-7 0-0 8 0
Carly Hammons 0-2 2-2 2 0
Nicole Cunningham 4-9 2-6 13 3
Danielle Mason 1-3 0-0 2 2
Sarah Holba 0-2 0-0 0 2
Hanna Bills 1-5 0-1 2 0
Grace Hackett 3-4 0-0 6 1
Lexi Foereder 0-1 0-0 0 0
Sophia Fernandez 0-1 0-0 0 0
Carly Wilson 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 15-44 4-9 39 9
Score by Quarters
Brebeuf 4 2 0 4 – 10
Guerin 10 13 9 7 – 39
Guerin Catholic 3-point shooting (5-18) Cunningham 3-6, Geis 2-4, Bills 0-3, Sawyer 0-2, Hammons 0-2, Foerder 0-1.
Guerin Catholic rebounds (20) Labus 7, Sawyer 3, Geis 3, Hammons 2, Hackett 2, Mason 1, Holba 1, Wilson 1.
Guerin Catholic’s Nicole Cunningham scored 13 points to lead the Golden Eagles in their sectional win over Brebeuf Jesuit on Wednesday. Guerin will play Cardinal Ritter in Friday’s semi-finals. (Richie Hall)