“I think BG is bringing home another title,” Kaack said.

Her words should carry some weight in building BG into a state powerhouse, and this year’s version of the girls team took its first steps in defending its own state title from back in March on Wednesday evening.

The Lady Marauders put up 48 points in the first half in their season opener against Central, cruising to a 68-19 victory at the Pleasant Valley Gymnasium.

“I was really proud of the way we shared the basketball tonight,” Kaack said. “I thought we played extremely well together on the offensive end. Same thing on the defensive end. I thought we played collectively as a group.”

Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers Mary Haigh gets a shot as Marah Diehl (11) and Addie Imes (21) defend.

The Lady Dragons are hoping to improve on last season’s team that had four wins, but it was a tough luck of the draw to open the season against BG.

“If you could handpick a schedule, you’re never going to pick a team like BG to be your first game on the schedule,” Central coach Blake Over said. “The girls came out and worked hard, and it doesn’t get any tougher from here.”

The good news for BG, which returns the vast majority of its roster from last season, is the emergence of Mary Haigh. Haigh, a post presence for most of her career, stepped out a few times and knocked down a couple three-pointers early on.

Haigh led the Lady Marauders with 16 points for the night, with all of them coming in the first half.

“I practiced a lot over the summer,” Haigh said. “I was just working with the team, and my brothers helped me a lot to become a better player.”

“She spent a lot of hours working on guard skills, and it’s very evident,” Kaack said. “She’s a complete player because if you put a smaller kid on her, she can go to the block. If you put a taller kid on her, she’s going to take her opportunities on the outside end. She’s tough to defend.”

Haigh’s 10 points in the first quarter helped Bishop Guilfoyle get out to a 27-8 lead after the first quarter.

Central’s Addie Imes made a bucket to open the second quarter, but the Lady Marauders went on an 8-0 run to go up 25 points.

Bishop Guilfoyle led 48-12 at the break.

Defense came into play for BG in the second half as they held Central scoreless in the third quarter, and held them to just seven points in the fourth quarter.

Imes and Addison Long had five points apiece to lead the Lady Dragons.

Morgan Ruggery also scored in double figures for the Lady Marauders with Haigh, going for 12 points.

Central visits Central Mountain on Friday, while BG is off until Wednesday when they go on the road at Bellefonte.

CENTRAL (19): Benton 2 0-2 4, Imes 2 1-2 5, Rhykerd 1 0-0 2, Long 2 1-2 5, Diehl 1 0-0 3, Parrilla 0 0-0 0. Totals — 8 2-6 19.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (68): Haigh 7 0-1 16, Yeskey 3 2-2 8, Petrecca 3 0-0 6, Ruggery 5 1-2 12, Adams 4 1-2 9, Homan 1 0-0 2, Williams 4 0-0 9, Steward 0 0-0 0, Hite 1 0-0 2, Seidel 0 0-0 0, Seaman 0 0-0 0, B. Bianconi 0 0-0 0, Geishauser 2 0-0 4, Wilson 0 0-0 0, K. Bianconi 0 0-0 0, Ronan 0 0-0 0. Totals — 30 4-7 68.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central 8 4 0 7 — 19

Bishop Guilfoyle 27 21 12 8 — 68

3-point goals: Central 1 (Diehl); Bishop Guilfoyle 4 (Haigh 2, Ruggery, Williams).

Records: Central (0-1); Bishop Guilfoyle (1-0).

JV: Bishop Guilfoyle, 54-11. High scorers–Geishauser, Seidel, BG, 12; Diehl, C, 7.

Officials: Mike Andrews, Todd Parker, Damon Rickens.