Bishop Guertin's Thalia Drapeau looks to go up against Concord Christian's Brynn Valliant during Thursday's Divison I quarterfinal in Concord. (Photo by Alexander Rapp/Concord Monitor)

CONCORD — Concord Christian Academy ran away in the second half with a big performance by senior guard Emma Smith to defeat the Cardinals of Bishop Guertin in the Division I quarterfinals for the second straight year.

The No. 1 Kingsmen’s girls team (19-1) booked a spot in the semifinals with a win at home against No. 8 BG (12-8) on Thursday night, 52-34

Smith led the Kingsmen with 27 points on the night and kept her team rolling in hopes of winning the school a fourth state championship in five years. They await the winner of tonight’s remaining quarterfinal between No. 5 Exeter and No. 4 Nashua South.

After the Kingsmen went ahead by 10 points in the first quarter, Bishop Guertin responded with 10 points in the second quarter and a pair of threes in the second quarter by seniors Thalia Drapeau and Olivia Baker to cut the score down to 21-17.

Another run by Smith saw BG down 29-19 at half.

CCA came out strong defensively in the second half and only allowed the Cardinals to score four points. On the other end, the Kingsmen poured in 11 more and sealed the game.

Drapeau and Baker finished the night as BG’s top scorers with 11 and 13 points.

Cards coach Olivia Orlando said she was proud of her team for sticking through until the end despite the adverse score and thought they showed a lot of fight to keep up.

Orlando commended the seniors for showing leadership and growing into their roles as they progressed in the program.

“I really hope our younger players take that same mentality and carry it with them,” Orlando said. “I think they’ve laid a great foundation.”

Despite having a shortened bench with only eight players available for the contest, Orlando said she was proud of the energy they brought night in and night out.