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District 6 semifinal win, check.
Berth in the District 6 championship game, check.
Spot in the PIAA state tournament, check.
The top-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle high school girls basketball team checked all the boxes Saturday night, riding strong starts in both the first and third quarters en route to a 57-40 victory over No. 5 Bishop Carroll in the District 6 Class A semifinals at the Pleasant Valley Gym.
The Lady Marauders, now 23-3, started the first quarter with an 11-0 run and then kicked off the third quarter with a 6-0 run to help set the tone at the beginning of each half.
"We've been talking about our starts, and then the start of our third quarter, being really big for us and I think that's something we've come a long way with and we're doing a nice job with right now," BG coach Kristi Kaack said.
Next up: A rematch from earlier this season with Williamsburg in the district finals on Wednesday at Mount Aloysius College at 6 p.m. Third-seeded Williamsburg topped No. 2 St. Joseph's in the other district semifinal, 56-42.
"We'll play Williamsburg on Wednesday night," said Kaack, whose team knocked off Williamsburg, 41-37, in mid-December, but the Lady Blue Pirates were playing without standout guard Ayla Hileman. "That will be a rematch (from earlier this eason) and they will have Ayla Hileman back so we know it's going to be a battle for 32 minutes."
Carroll dropped to 11-12 overall and will play in the third-place consolation game against Saint Joseph's on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Bald Eagle Area High School. The winner of that game will qualify for the state tournament.
"Our effort and our energy level were fantastic," Bishop Carroll head coach Erika Strittmatter said. "I couldn't be prouder of this team. The district semifinals is a huge goal and something we're very grateful to achieve but we're not satisfied yet. We are looking forward to coming out and hopefully getting Bishop Carroll back into the state playoffs. At this time of year, it's survive and advance."
BG opened the game by scoring 11 unanswered points and held Bishop Carroll scoreless for nearly six minutes. Morgan Ruggery hit a pair of short jumpers, Alana Lightner converted a pair of layups, and Maurie Querry drilled a 3-pointer for an 11-0 edge at the 2:41 mark.
Bishop Carroll got on the board with back-to-back jumpers from Alicia Heinrich and Caroline Golden to cut the lead to 11-4 at 2:18. Querry hit a jump shot late in the quarter to give the Lady Marauders a 16-8 lead after the first quarter.
BG used a 6-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 26-13 lead and soon after extended the margin to 15 points (31-16) with 45 seconds left in the second quarter on a steal and layup by Querry. Anberlyn Petrecca closed the first-half scoring with a layup with 15 seconds left to give the Lady Marauders a 33-19 cushion at halftime.
Both teams got off to slow starts in the third quarter but it was a pair of 3-pointers by BG, one by Querry and another by sophomore Gia Adams, that helped it build a 39-19 edge at 4:45. Bishop Carroll finally got in the scoring column in the quarter on an Adelyn Myers jumper in the lane at the 3:20 mark.
The Lady Marauders stretched the lead to as many as 26 points (47-21) late in the third quarter.
"I just think we played really well as a team tonight," Kaack said. "Offensively, we made the extra pass and I thought we got good quality looks at the rim."
Querry, a freshman guard, led the way for BG with 21 points. She had four 3-pointers, one in each quarter.
"I think it was a great team effort, we played really well offensively and defensively," said Querry, who is one of three freshman starters for the Lady Marauders. "I just had the mentality that we had to score, and I have to give credit to my teammates for finding me. I think we all collectively shared the ball really well tonight."
Ruggery, another BG freshman starter, posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds -- a number of them on the offensive end.
"I think Morgan Ruggery might be one of the best offensive rebounders that I've ever coached," Kaack said.
Tatum Laughard drilled three 3-pointers and fronted Bishop Carroll with 15 points while Adelyn Myers added 11 points. Ava Pablic contributed eight points and a team-high six rebounds.
"I thought Ava Pablic did a great job getting (Laughard) the ball and controlling the offense tonight," Strittmatter said. "Addie Myers and Tatum did a great job finishing with baskets when we needed them to. BG is well coached and they're a great basketball team, but I've seen a lot of growth from our girls from when we last played here (in early January)."
Game notes: BG topped Carroll 57-36 at the Pleasant Valley Gym in an early January Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game where the Lady Marauders jumped out to a 22-8 lead after one quarter. … Sophomore Stella Yeskey added six points and seven rebounds for BG, while Lightner, a sophomore forward, added seven points and five rebounds. … BG outrebounded Bishop Carroll, 42-24.
BISHOP CARROLL (40): Heinrich 1 0-0 2, Laughard 6 0-0 15, Ad. Myers 5 1-1 11, Golden 1 0-0 2, Pablic 3 2-4 8, L. Myers 0 0-0 0, Leib 1 0-0 2, Av. Myers 0 0-0 0. Totals - 17 3-5 40.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (57): Adams 1 0-0 3, Querry 7 3-3 21, Ruggery 4 2-4 10, Yeskey 3 0-0 6, Lightner 3 1-4 7, Petrecca 3 0-0 6, Gofus 1 0-0 2, Homan 0 0-0 0, Lechner 1 0-0 2. Totals - 23 6-11 57.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Carroll 8 11 7 14 - 40
Bishop Guilfoyle 16 17 16 8 - 57
3-point goals - Bishop Carroll 3 (Laughard 3); Bishop Guilfoyle 5 (Querry 4, Adams).
Records: Bishop Carroll (11-12), Bishop Guilfoyle (23-3).
Officials: Derrick Soellner, Courtney Cecere, Dan Solimo.