Bishop Guertin's Holly Dufoe (23) and Thalia Drapeau (11) watch the ball sail out of bounds along with Concord Christian's Lilli Carl Lilli Carlile (33) and Kate Smith during Thursday night's Division I quarterfinal in Concord. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

CONCORD – In a moment of irony on Thursday night, Bishop Guertin’s Thalia Drapeau took a 3-pointer at the buzzer of the Cards’ Division I girls basketball quarterfinal at Concord Christian and, lo and behold, it went in.

Problem was, the outcome had already been decided. It was only the third trey of the night for the No. 5 Cards, who were abysmal from beyond or anywhere near the arc and as a result fell to No. 4 Concord Christian Academy 48-33.

Thus an otherwise successful season ends at 15-5 as it was Guertin’s first in-state loss since Jan. 14.

“It was definitely a tough night to have a bad game,” Guertin coach Olivia Orlando said. “And not even just that we missed shots. We scouted, we prepped, we did that part. The execution, we weren’t able to carry through the way that we needed to to defeat a very talented and well-coached team.”

Thus it’s the 16-4 Kingsmen who will get a crack at The Beast, No.1 Bedford, in Monday’s semifinals at Exter. The No.1 Bulldogs obliterated No. 9 Exeter 85-39 in their quarterfinal.

Perhaps the silver lining is the Cards avoided a possible similar fate. But they would have liked to have had the chance, yet nothing after Drapeau gave BG a 2-0 lead early went their way as they trailed 12-4, 21-11 and 30-21 at the quarter breaks.

The Kingsmen were led by Emma Smith’s 18 points and 17 by Lilli Carlile, both who are from Hudson. Drapeau had nine points and seven rebounds, and Jas Rosario eight points for the Cards. Their other two 3-pointers were by Holly Dufoe, all in the second half. Guertin had zero treys in the first half, three nights after they hit 10 in a prelim win over Portsmouth.

The closest BG got in the second half was 26-21 when Rosario drove the lane for two with 3:08 left in the third. But the quarter ended with BG down nine.

“I feel like we just kept doing what we were supposed to do the whole time,” Concord Christian coach Rebecca Carlile, an Alvirne alum, said. “Our third quarter, historically we struggle. … Their work ethic is tremendously hard and I’m proud of them for not becoming flustered in the excitement of the game and not losing their composure.”

Guertin got to within seven four times in the fourth quarter, but that was it. The Kingsmen hit nine of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter, all of them coming down the stretch. That kept the Cards, who won here 38-36 in the season opener, at bay. Going 2 for 11 from the line didn’t help, either.

The Kingsmen, who won titles in Divisions IV, III, and II before moving up to Division I this year, have played in more games like this than this group of Cardinals, and it showed.

“We’re not quite over the hump of the maturity level of recognizing when things don’t go our way or we might not shoot it the way we want to, we’ve got to adjust and find other ways to score,” Orlando said. “That’s what we talked about every time out. … Now it’s the maturity and development of executing it on the court.”

The Bishop Guertin bench has a subdued look as the Cards watch the final minute of Thursday night’s Division I quarterfinal loss at Conord Christian. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The Bishop Guertin bench has a subdued look as the Cards watch the final minute of Thursday night’s Division I quarterfinal loss at Conord Christian. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Guertin began last season with a new coach and whole new varsity team, struggled in the regular season yet did enough to make the post season. This year, they had an incredible six week stretch to approach elite status, and won a tournament game. Progress for certain, despite not making the Final Four.

“Does it sting that it was a season-ending loss? Absolutely,” Orlando said. “But it definitely doesn’t negate the growth these girls made. The work they put in, the comradery, the teamwork they built in have progressed from last year.

“So much to be proud of, but it stings tonight, for sure.”