By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The University girls basketball team ran its win streak to seven Thursday night by beating Guerin Catholic 61-27 in an all-county game at the U Center.
The Trailblazers cruised through the first quarter, scoring the game’s first 16 points. Five different players had a hand in that run, with Payton Seay making a three-point play, then later two free throws for five points. Jordan Patterson drained the first of what would be a nice number of 3-point baskets.
A 3 from Sutton Worman got the Golden Eagles on the board, but Kelsey DuBois finished the quarter with a pair of free throws and gave University an 18-3 lead. DuBois then began the second period with a layin, and the ‘Blazers jumped ahead 26-3 before too long.
“I think we played really well,” said University coach Justin Blanding. “We’re healthy. Everybody’s on the same page now. We’re playing pretty well right now.”
Guerin Catholic began to get it together in the second quarter, but University stayed in control, steadily increasing its lead throughout the next three periods. The Trailblazers led 34-11 at halftime.
University expanded its lead to 49-21 by the end of the third quarter. Payton Seay had eight points in that period, while Patterson nailed her third 3 of the game. Patterson, in fact, hit one triple in each quarter, giving her four for the game.
In the fourth quarter, Reagan Haines made back-to-back baskets for the Golden Eagles, but the Trailblazers went off on a 12-0 run that took up the majority of the period. That included five points each from DuBois and Patterson.
Seay finished as the leading scorer with 19 points, and also had seven rebounds and four assists. DuBois earned another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, with Patterson adding 14 points. DuBois also dished out six assists, with Kamryn Washington handing out five assists. Taylor Seay collected four rebounds.
Offensive rebounds proved to be a difference in the game, as 13 of University’s 27 rebounds were on the offensive side. Payton Seay collected six, while DuBois pulled four.
“This has always been a strength of ours, but to be rebounders like that, we’ve just got to have it,” said Blanding. “And they have it. That’s not anything you can really coach up too much, but they’re doing a good job with that.”
Haines and Megan Cobb both scored six points for the Golden Eagles.
University improved to 13-4 and plays at Bethesda Christian on Saturday afternoon for the Pioneer Conference championship. Guerin Catholic is 6-11 and also plays on Saturday at Lebanon.
UNIVERSITY 61, GUERIN CATHOLIC 27
University FG FT TP PF
Ava Bills 1 1-1 3 2
Reagan Haines 3 0-0 6 3
Natalie Fernandez 0 0-0 0 2
Annie Murphy 0 0-0 0 0
Megan Cobb 3 0-2 6 1
Sutton Worman 2 0-0 5 3
Kori Dues 2 0-0 5 0
Avery Wall 1 0-0 2 0
Dana Dues 0 0-0 0 0
Lucy Collins 0 0-0 0 0
Madi Cain 0 0-0 0 0
Evie Worman 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 12 1-3 27 11
Guerin Catholic 3-pointers (2) Worman, K. Dues.
University FG FT TP PF
Kelsey DuBois 5 6-7 16 0
Kamryn Washington 0 1-2 1 2
Payton Seay 6 7-7 19 2
Taylor Seay 2 0-0 4 3
Jordan Patterson 5 0-0 14 1
Keira Bright 3 0-0 7 0
Alex Feeney 0 0-0 0 1
Hannah Grubbs 0 0-0 0 0
Mack Feeney 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 21 14-16 61 9
University 3-pointers (5) Patterson 4, Bright.
Score by Quarters
Guerin Catholic 2 8 10 6 – 27
University 18 16 15 12 – 61