BRIDGEWATER, VA – The Catholic women's basketball team earns its first win of the season against Bridgewater. The Cardinals held their lead for the whole second half, resulting in a 68-48 win.

The Cardinals and Eagles battled early in the first quarter with the lead changing hands. Bridgewater's Riley Corcoran scored first, putting 2 points on the board. Raquel Guidetti answered first for the Cardinals with 7:32 left in the quarter. The Cardinals gained their first lead just over a minute later, credited to a fastbreak layup from Allie Falesto. This brought the score to 6-4. Bridgewater tried to answer back by tying the score, but Catholic kept on increasing the lead to 17-10 to end the first.

In the second quarter, Bridgewater fought back against their 9 point deficit. The Eagles went on a 14 point run bringing the score to 27-23 in their favor. A layup from Carly Catania broke the streak and gave the Cardinals momentum to end the quarter on top. A pair of three-pointers from Guidetti and Falesto brought the first half score to 31-27. 

The Cardinals never let up their lead through the third and fourth quarters. 

Lauren Kraft and Falesto helped build the lead late in the third quarter, with a three-pointer and a fastbreak layup, respectively. A pair of layups from Sam Blumenthal brought the Catholic lead to 14 points. With 1:18 left in the quarter, a fastbreak layup from Kraft brought the score to 50-36.

In the fourth quarter, the Eagles tried to fight back by making good at the free-throw line, but the Cardinals did not back down. Olivia Boccella sank a three-pointer with just over 5 minutes left in the game, mitigating free throw points from Jay Garcia. A layup from Alexa Kenah and another three from Boccella sealed the deal for the Cardinals, resulting in a 68-48 win. 

Catholic's bench came through today, scoring 37 of the total points. Lauren Kraft led the way for the Cardinals, and the bench, with 14 points in today's game. She also earned herself four steals.
Carly Catania pulled in 11 rebounds for the Cardinals. Teammate Allie Falesto earned nine rebounds and a significant 11 points. Amelia Kennedy also collected seven rebounds with all of them on defense.

Up next, the Cardinals will host Goucher in both their Landmark and home opener on Wednesday, November 19th at 5 p.m. on Franny Murray Court.