Bishop Guertin's Ayla Regan goes up for a reverse layup against Exeter's Nicole Melick during Thursday night's game at the Colligadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It’s not rocket science.

No, the Hoopology of Bishop Guertin’s 76-64 win over the Exeter High School girls basketball team Thursday night at the Colligadome contained a simple formula:

In the first half, the Cardinals, who trailed 33-28 at the break, couldn’t hit their 3-pointers. In the second half, they did.

The Cards knocked down 12 3-pointers, but a whopping seven of them came in the third quarter.

“I thought we shot the ball better in the second half,” Cards coach Olivia Orlando said, her team now at 5-3 having won four of its last five, including the last two at home. “I thought we got those easy bunnies and easy percentage shots that made our outside shots look better.”

And open. The Cards battled to take a 39-37 lead and then it rained three straight 3’s, two in a row by Laura Marino, and Guertin had a 48-37 lead with 3:09 left in the third quarter.

They settled for a 53-47 lead heading into the fourth, and that’s as close as Blue Hawks (4-5) would get the rest of the way. When Kayden Rioux (21 points) hit a layup with 3:03 left, that made it 67-56 and pretty much sealed the deal.

Rioux and Holly Dufoe (18 points) each had five three pointers. Yikes.

“BG always brings it, so when we came in the first half we were ready, they were a little cold on shooting and we were hot,” Exeter coach Kaylene Rogers said. “Then it just switched in the second half. They were hot in that third quarter. Kudos to them, they played very well in that third quarter. … BG just has very good shooters. They are known for hitting the 3-point shots. They were a little cold in the first half. In the second half they came out and hit them. We adjusted a couple of things on defense, and then we kind of kept the game the same the rest of the way. … We were in it until the end. A 10-point game is nothing with 3-pointers.”

Neither was a five-point game. Guertin just made some adjustments but also found some energy in the second half, played without point guard Jas Rosario who felt ill.

“The sickness bug has been catching us a little bit so we looked pretty fatigued and exhausted in the first half,” Orlando said. “We didn’t play our best half of basketball and we were still right there with them.”

Jessica Melick had 17 to lead Exeter while Anna McGuinness and Emma Gillis each had 13. But the Blue Hawks didn’t have nearly as many open looks in the second half.

“What I was most proud of and where our offense stemmed from was the defensive effort,” Orlando said. “We made a little adjustment, switching to more of a man-to-man, and get them to turn it over a bit and get those easy looks.

“It (the run of 3’s) sets the tone,” Orlando said. “Even when (Exeter) punched back and our girls just took it and we were able to continue working hard.”

Guertin’s Thalia Drapeau played tough defensively inside in the second half, and that helped. She finished with 13 points.

“She’s one of those players who will do what ask of her, right?” Orlando said. “So I had asked them be consistent win what we do, work downhill and get some easy bunnies there, and she was able to do that and definitely working inside and being physical. … Those kind of big plays we need that sometimes don’t show up on the stat sheet.”

Bishop Guertin’s Laura Marino tries to deflect the ball away from Exeter’s Emma Gillis (22) during Thursday night’s game at the Colligadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

This was a confidence builder for the Cards, who have a short turnaround as they host Mercy of Middletown, Conn. on Saturday afternoon. The won a game between two legitimate tourney teams, and they had had a long break after a near perfect performance vs. Dover last Friday. But while it may have taken a half to shake the rust off, the result was the same.

“The biggest thing is that is such a testament to our growth,” Orlando said, citing how young the Cards were a year ago. “This year we’re a year older, more experienced. These games that are closer, that might have even been a loss for us last year, we’re learning how to win.”