INDIANAPOLIS — Guerin Catholic used its defense to jump start a sputtering offense and ran away in a rout of Indianapolis Marshall Saturday morning, 52-31 ,at Brebeuf Jesuit.

With the win, the Lady Golden Eagles (13-10) advanced to its first Sectional final and will meet Bishop Chatard (18-5, No. 14 in Class 3A) tonight for the Sectional 26 title.

Both offenses started slow, possibly affected by the 10 a.m. start time (postponed from Friday night due to another snow storm). Guerin broke away midway through the second quarter, going on a 12-0 run thanks to two steals (and three Marshall turnovers in a two-minute stretch). Guerin turned the turnovers into points, using the fast break.

“We had talked before the game that our defense was going to have to be our offense,” Guerin coach Scott Miller said. “We changed up our defense a little bit and it did lead to good things for us.”

Guerin had played a tight game with Marshall Feb. 1 before pulling away to win, 50-38.  This time around, the Lady Patriots (13-9) were unable to overcome the 24-5 run by Guerin in the second quarter.

Senior Kristen Schneider led Guerin with 15 points on 5-of-9 from the field with five rebounds. Senior Carly Osinski and junior Kristy Thiem each added 11 points, with two 3-pointers.

“(Kristy)’s 3-pointers really helped widen the lead,” Miler said.

Sophomore Sarah Yount returned after missing one game due to a wrist injury she suffered in the last Marshall game. Yount finished with two points and two rebounds off the bench

“I thought she contributed well for the minutes she was out there,” Miller said.

Sophomore Abbigail Wampler added four points and two rebounds.

“Abbigail did a good job valuing the basketball and attacking the basket,” Miller said.

Guerin finished the game with 17 turnovers, but that number was slightly inflated after the Lady Golden Eagles gained the big lead and emptied their bench.

“For the most part, we were pretty happy with how we valued the ball. We’re going to have to do that tonight,” Miller said, referring to Guerin’s task of beating Chatard. The Lady Trojans soundly beat Guerin, 76-43, on Jan. 10 thanks in part to 30 Guerin turnovers.

Chatard advanced to the sectional title game after an 86-32 rout of Indianapolis Herron Saturday afternoon.

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Miller had high praise for Marshall coach Justin Bennett, who has posted winning records in his first two seasons at the school. This followed three years of losing.

“Justin’s done a terrific job with those kids and really turned that program around,” Miller said.

One important task was slowing down Marshall sisters Dae’Shanique and Dae’sheon King and they finished with six and seven points respectively.