By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – The Friday, Dec. 9 Circle City Conference girls basketball opener for Guerin Catholic and Roncalli was quite the intense, physical battle, as expected.
The visiting Royals took advantage of opportunities on the offensive end, nailing 11 three-pointers on the way to a 61-49 win.
Guerin got off to a 5-0 start on a triple from Lauren Keller and steal plus the fast break bucket from Dana Dues. Roncalli got a three from Brennah Cerny to make it 5-3.
Cecilia Titus made a three from the right for an 8-3 lead, but the Royals tied it 8-8 on a 5-0 run from Elliot Leffler and layup from Reagan Turk. Roncalli grabbed its first lead as part of a 7-0 run on a Catie Rosko field goal to go up 10-8.
Ella Horvath and Titus scored for Guerin’s final lead at 14-13. Two threes from Cerny put the Royals up 16-14.
“I think these kids came out not afraid,” said Guerin Catholic head coach Danielle Cardinal. “I think, outside of Center Grove, Roncalli hasn’t had anyone who has played like that, who’s okay getting punched in the mouth and coming back again. And, they’re not used to seeing that from us.”
Roncalli started the second with three straight three-pointers for a 25-14 advantage. Before the Golden Eagles knew it, their only points by mid second quarter were four free throws by Lorigrace Rockwood and Titus, down 11 at 29-18. The Royals scored five more to Rockwood’s two on an offensive rebound for a 34-20 lead at halftime.
“They’re really good shooters and we knew that. That, frankly, was the difference in the game,” added Cardinal. “We couldn’t overcome their three-point shooting, because they were just daggers every time.”
Guerin’s deficit was 17 at the largest, trailing 39-22, early in the third. From that point, the Golden Eagles put together a 9-0 stint, getting four from Horvath and five from Dues, cutting the deficit in half at 39-31.
Cerny made a three from the right corner to push it back to 11 at 42-31. Horvath drove to the basket for two and Keller knocked down another three to get it back to eight again (44-36), but that would be the closest Guerin would get.
Roncalli got back-to-back treys to start the fourth to make it a 16-point margin (54-38).
The Golden Eagles sped up to try to ride momentum later in the fourth. Down 17, they outscored the Royals 9-4 the rest of the way, but came up short.
“We knew it was going to be mathematically hard to come back, but why not let them try, why not let them see what happens,” Cardinal said.
The Golden Eagles got three into double digits. Ella Horvath had a team-high 12, followed by Lauren Keller and Cecilia Titus each with 10, while Dana Dues had seven and Lorigrace Rockwood six.
Guerin Catholic (5-3, 0-1 CCC) gets a few days off before visiting Cathedral (5-4) on Dec. 11.
