Concord Christian Academy’s introduction to Division I basketball ended with a two-point loss to Bishop Guertin. But CCA’s D-I quarterfinal debut against Bishop Guertin ended in a victory.

Junior Emma Smith (18 points, 16 rebounds, three assists) and senior Lilli Carlile (17 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, block) both had double doubles to lead the No. 4 Concord Christian Kingsmen (15-4) to a 48-33 victory over No. 5 Bishop Guertin Cardinals (14-5) on Thursday night, avenging their 38-36 season-opening defeat on Dec. 13.

While BG has an impressive pedigree in the D-I postseason, winning seven titles and playing in eight championship games since 2016, and Concord Christian played its first D-I playoff game this week (a 55-42 win over No. 13 Keene in Monday night’s prelim), the Kingsmen played with poise.

Having won three straight titles in Division IV, III and II, respectively, CCA’s upperclassmen are used to playing in big games, while Bishop Guertin exited last year’s D-I tournament in the first round and only has one senior on its roster.

Senior Ireland Baines (three rebounds, two assists) scored the first basket of the game to give Concord Christian a quick lead. Bishop Guertin junior Thalia Drapeau (nine points, seven rebounds, four steals, block) tied the game, 2-2, but Carlile drove to the basket and finished the layup to give CCA a 4-2 lead and the Kingsmen led the rest of the way.

“I knew it was going to be a tough game for us,” CCA head coach Rebecca Carlile said. “But I also knew we were a completely different team than we were at the beginning of the season, but, so are they. You never really know how it’s going to turn out.”

It turned out very well for the Kingsmen in the first half, taking a 12-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and leading 21-11 at halftime.

In the preliminary round against No. 12 Portsmouth, the Cardinals made 10 3-pointers, but the shots from deep weren’t falling in the CCA gym. Bishop Guertin did not connect on a single 3-pointer and missed well over a dozen attempts.

The Kingsmen did an excellent job finishing around the rim and attacking the basket in the first half, but weren’t drawing the fouls inside that they were hoping to.

“We were getting to the hole, but not getting the calls, so we had to pull it back out and look for a better shot,” coach Carlile said. 

With the CCA offense forced to work the ball around more to find good shots, the Kingsmen’s offense slowed down and BG sophomores Holly DuFoe (seven points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals) and Jas Rosario (eight points) cut Concord Christian’s lead to 26-21.

But Emma Smith, who scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half, and Carlile had buckets to give CCA a 30-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter, and Bishop Guertin couldn’t within any closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Emma Smith and Carlile shot a combined 9-for-11 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and junior Kate Smith (seven points, six rebounds, three assists) played well on the boards to help close out the win.

“Our girls did a good job in the third quarter. Our third quarter is historically when we struggle,” coach Carlile said. “We tried to mix it up a little bit … the girls worked tremendously hard and I’m very proud of them for not becoming flustered in the excitement of the game and maintaining their composure. I think (the experience is) huge, they’re used to being in high pressure situations.”

Concord Christian’s next opponent is No. 1 Bedford (20-0), the defending champions who have played in the last four D-I title games. The Bulldogs made easy work of No. 9 Exeter in the quarterfinals, 85-39, and previously beat CCA, 55-41, in the regular season on Feb. 14.

The semifinal matchup tips off on Monday night at Exeter High School at 8 p.m.

“We have a lot of really talented skilled girls, our girls have been playing really well at the end of the season, which is what you want, so just continuing to execute our game plan,” coach Carlile said. “There’s no slouch teams anymore. Everybody has to bring their best.”

Dan Attorri can be reached at dattorri@cmonitor.com