By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – Tuesday night’s season opener couldn’t have gone any better for the Guerin Catholic girls basketball team. A mix of experience and youth helped carry the Golden Eagles throughout for a season-opening 58-46 win over Yorktown.
Yorktown got out to a 4-0 lead, but Guerin tied it up three different times and grabbed their first lead (10-9). The Tigers took an 11-10 edge and went up 15-12 after the first eight minutes.
The visitors’ lead grew to 17-12 with two straight buckets to begin the second. Then, Guerin went on a 10-0 run. Freshman Cecilia Titus knocked down a pair of confident three-pointers, along with classmate Lauren Keller and sophomore Rachel Behrle making field goals for a 22-19 lead.
“We knew this group coming in was special,” said fourth-year Guerin Catholic head coach Danielle Cardinal. “We started a youth program several years back. There are kids who have come through, but this is the first group that really committed, played and all got to play together. So, I think that’s huge when you have a bunch of kids who can play together, youthfully, and that was really helpful.”
Yorktown briefly went back in front, 23-22, but Caroline Ford helped jump-start a 13-0 Golden Eagle run to end the second quarter to secure a 35-23 halftime lead.
This group got pretty dialed in to end the first half and it was obvious that this team has chemistry and has fun while succeeding on the basketball court.
“A lot of them come from basketball families, which is also helpful. It’s not often in this day and age with NetFlix and YouTube and all of these things that they actually want to watch basketball,” Cardinal added jokingly. “They all watch basketball. They like basketball. They’re invested in basketball. So, we knew we had a special group coming in.”
The Golden Eagles’ lead never got smaller than six in the second half. Yorktown was as close as 38-32. From that point on, Guerin Catholic’s lead gradually grew.
Leading 41-32, Guerin kept building throughout the fourth quarter. They led by as many as 16 midway through the period and kept it steady for a 12-point victory to open the season.
“They have high IQs. They have high motors. And then they all like it, so they’ve worked at it,” Cardinal said. “This is the first time that we have 13 kids that know how to play the game as freshmen, that we’re not teaching rules to. They all know how to play and we’re getting to teach high-level stuff.”
Yorktown (0-1) was led by Lilly Sylvester’s 18 and also got a solid game from Olivia Conklin scoring 16.
Guerin Catholic (1-0) was balanced offensively. Freshman LG Rockwood led with a team-high 14, followed by freshman Cecilia Titus and junior Caroline Ford both scored 12. Two other freshmen in Lauren Keller and Ella Horvath both had seven, along with sophomore Rachel Behrle (4) and freshman Danielle Cardinal (2) contributing.
The Golden Eagles hit the road Saturday at Greenwood Christian (0-0) for the Cougars’ season opener. The junior varsity tipoff is at 2 p.m. with the varsity to follow.
