Bishop Guertin's Holly Dufoe goes up for a layup ahead of Dover's Violet Burt during Friday night's Division I game at the Colligadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It seemed like old times at the Colligadome on Friday night.

The Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball team resembled some of those successful teams of the past: tenacious, swarming, pressing defense, transition baskets, and a barrage of 3-pointers.

It all added up to a 65-19 rout of Dover, certainly one of the more dominant performances in the last two seasons under head coach Olivia Orlando.

What did it mean? Probably that a team with just one senior and five sophomores is really starting to buy in.

“Honestly, what our mission has been and what we’ve been focusing on is developing a defensive identity,” Orlando said. “I feel like that really came to light tonight. Forcing a lot of turnovers. And Dover is a really talented team, so to do that against a talented team is exciting, because that means their hard work is paying off.”

If you were at the game, check your purse or wallets, because the Cards were stealing the floor. Dover committed 22 first-half turnovers as Guertin led 18-2 after one quarter, 29-7 at the half and 50-17 after three.

The Cards (4-3) hit on nine 3-pointers, and were led by Holly Dufoe and Maggie Gallagher, both sophomores, with 16 apiece.

“When you get the reward like they got tonight, it makes you more willing to continue to play like that,” Orlando said. “Willing to exert so much energy. Everyone loves to score points, I get it but the real reward is when you get those easy bunnies, you create leads and you build off of that. … It’s defnintely helpful to keep them focused on defense.”

There was often no room to breathe for the GreenWave, now 4-4. Again, as Orlando alluded, Dover’s not a bad team. But the Cards made it look ragged last night. Lilly Nossiff led the visitors with 13.

“They executed really good basketball,” Dover coach James Flynn said of the Cards.. “It’s like anything, it’s a snowball effect. If it’s positive for you, good things happen. If it’s bad …

“They’re a great team for sure. People might be ‘Oh, BG’s down’. There’s no way BG’s down. They’ll be a team that’s going to be top five, top four. They’re going to compete against everybody. Very talented roster.”

Bishop Guertin’s Maggie Gallagher goes in for a layup against Dover’s Lilly Nossiff during Friday night’s Division I game at the Colliagadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Bishop Guertin’s Maggie Gallagher goes in for a layup against Dover’s Lilly Nossiff during Friday night’s Division I game at the Colliagadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The Cards’ three losses have come against arguably the top three teams – heavy favorite Bedford, plus Londonderry and Pinkerton. But they competed in a road loss in Derry earlier this week.

“I think the biggest challenge has been our inconsistency,” Orlando said. “We’ll have a game like tonight, and then we’ll have a game where we get beat up pretty good. … It’s challenging when we’re trying to establish an identity.”

Thalia Drapeau and point guard Jazz Rosario had nine apiece. Orlando has also been grateful to her lone senior, Ayla Regan, for the leadership she’s provided to the young group. “She’s been great in terms of her leadership role,” the BG coach said. “She’s played within herself but she’s such a positive presence which you need with a young team.”

Orlando felt the fact the Cards competed with the Astros the other night despite a loss was a springboard to what everyone saw last night.

“Forming an identity and sticking to it is our biggest goal,” Orlando said. “I feel like as the season has gone on, we’ve been able to achieve that more and more and we’re looking to just keep it going.”