By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – The Guerin Catholic girls basketball team knew by scheduling a fast-paced team like Crispus Attucks that they would be tested.
Balanced scoring, a lot of rebounding and sharing the basketball were big factors in being able to outlast visiting Indianapolis Crispus Attucks in their regular season finale at home on Wednesday, 64-59.
The Golden Eagles got up 4-0 on a pair of quick Caroline Ford layups. But Attucks came back quick to take a 5-4 edge.
The lead changed hands another five times for six total in the first. The score was also tied on three different occasions in the first eight minutes.
After Ford tied it at 17-17 with 10.8 left, the Tigers turned the ball over, leaving time for something to happen. Brinna Wolf bounced a pass to Ella Horvath in the right corner and the freshman drilled a three at the buzzer for a 20-17 lead heading to the second.
“I think the speed of the game was intense. There were points and times where I wanted to slow it down and bring it back out,” said Guerin Catholic head coach Danielle Cardinal. “But we were getting layups, so it’s really hard to look at your team and want them to slow down.”
Horvath started the second with an offensive rebound putback. Emersyn French sank a triple from the right wing and then Horvath scored on a fast break for a 10-point lead at 27-17.
Attucks got it under double digits at 29-23, but two baskets in a row by Cecilia Titus pushed it back to 10 for a 33-23 score.
“I told the girls that this was going to be an up and down game, because they can shoot and they can shoot deep,” Cardinal added.
The Tigers showed that and made three-pointers on three straight possessions to cut it to a 33-32 score at halftime.
“The game went up-and-down and I knew we would be fine, because this is the kind of game we are conditioned for,” Cardinal continued. “I assumed they would continue to score. If you look, they’ve played really good teams and scored a ton of points.”
There would be four more lead changes in the third. The Golden Eagles used an 11-3 run to end the third with a 48-44 lead.
“I think it was a game of adjustments and thankfully we finally started to put some of those layups in,” said Cardinal.
The fourth was tight with a slight edge to Guerin 16-15, which aided them to the five-point win.
Rebounding gave Guerin numerous opportunities on both ends of the floor. Four players grabbed six or more and they were also selfless with the ball.
“I think the Horvath’s talk about how they’ve watched Dennis Rodman,” Cardinal stated on Horvath’s knack for the ball. “There are that many people that want that. You can tell she wants that and that’s a skill you can’t teach. It’s a mentality thing.”
Dana Dues led with five assists and she also had six boards. Caroline Ford and Ella Horvath both grabbed eight rebounds, while Cecilia Titus had seven.
“We just want the ball. We understand that those extra possessions are what help us win games,” Cardinal said.
The Golden Eagles were led by Ella Horvath’s team-high 18 points, along with four assists. Caroline Ford scored 17 and dished out three assists. Cecilia Titus had 14 and Emersyn French came off of the bench to score 12 for four in double figures.
Guerin Catholic (15-8) has won four of its last five and six of eight. They open Class 3A Sectional 25 at Lebanon on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. against Brebeuf Jesuit (11-10).
The Golden Eagles are looking to avenge their Friday, Jan. 23, 37-34 overtime loss at Brebeuf.
