Guerin Catholic’s Caroline Ford scored 10 points for the Golden Eagles during their Wednesday win over Shortridge at the Eagles Nest. (Mike Navarro)
By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – Coming into Tuesday night’s non-conference battle with Shortridge, Guerin Catholic knew it would have its hands full with a physical opponent.
The Golden Eagles seemed to relish in what the Blue Devils threw at them. After a tight first quarter, Guerin was able to gradually stretch out its lead on the way to a 62-37 win.
The first quarter saw five lead changes before the Blue Devils had a slight 12-10 lead through the first eight minutes, thanks to a buzzer-beating three from Jocelyn Eskew.
“At the end of the first quarter, the first thing I said was ‘they just punched us in the face,’ we have to weather this storm,” said fourth-year Guerin Catholic head coach Danielle Cardinal.
Freshman Lauren Keller took a pass on the opening possession of the second and took advantage of the defensive interior, tying it 12-12. Cecilia Titus’ layup broke the tie and jump-started Guerin’s offense, sending them on a 11-2 run, which eventually stemmed into a 15-6 run for a 27-18 lead.
“Shortridge is a really good team,” added Cardinal. “They’re mature and strong and they can play basketball; something we hadn’t faced before. We talked about how it was going to ebb and flow and having to weather their storms. They’re the type of team that can score a whole lot at once and then they might not score as much in little segments.”
Guerin got its largest lead of the first half at 31-19 just before halftime. The third helped the Golden Eagles to slowly, but surely, pull away from Shortridge.
“We chose to stop playing their game,” said Cardinal. “They’re super athletic and super fast. Even though we were getting some steals out of the press, it was an up-and-down, up-and-down game in the first, which benefited them more than us and we decided to change that up and it ended up being to our benefit.”
On two straight offensive possessions in the third, it was junior Caroline Ford that sparked the Golden Eagles. She helped put Guerin up 40-25 with a steal and a fast break basket. Then, she scored again for a 42-27 margin.
“Caroline Ford can be just maddening sometimes,” Cardinal said. “Some of the things she chooses to do. Defensively, she just has an instinct for the ball and she’s so long that it makes it tough for other teams and that helped us immensely.”
Defense and selfless play helped Guerin keep Shortridge under control in the fourth and the Golden Eagles cruised to a 25-point home win.
“When Coach Keller came in, she had this vision for this offense that I had always wanted, but never knew how to put a name to it or teach it,” Cardinal said. “She really ran with it. So many of these kids have played for her before and they’re super comfortable with it and know how it works.”
The Golden Eagles landed five players in double-figures. Cecilia Titus led the way with 12, Ella Horvath had 11, along with the trio of Lauren Keller, Ford and Lorigrace Rockwood all scored 10.
Guerin Catholic (5-2) hosts Roncalli on Friday in Circle City Conference play.
