Bridgeport Coach Dave Marshall preaches defense. This afternoon at the Charleston Civic Center, his team was the choir that applied defense in a fire and brimstone manner that not only spelled the end of times for defending state champion Westside, but gave the Indians their first girls’ state championship in school history.
The Tribe rolled past the Renegades by a 44-27 score in a game that was almost never in doubt after the first half. The win ended the BHS season at 25-2.
Just how good was the defense? The Indians held a team averaging 76 points per game to just 27 points; nearly 50 points below their average. Incredibly, the Renegades never hit for double digits in a single quarter of the contest.
Want more? Westside managed to shot 24 percent in the second half of the game and that number actually increased their overall shooting percentage.
For the game, WHS was 10-of-49 from the floor for a woeful 20.4 percent. Add to that the fact the Indians managed to force 16 turnovers and you have a big reason for the victory by BHS.
“You don’t have to run fast or jump high to play defense. It’s a matter of desire and want to and this team wanted to,” said Marshall during the postgame press conference.
Even Westside Coach Jamie Lusk was impressed.
“We wanted to be in the 60s or 70s like we usually area, but we just didn’t get there … You’ve got to give Bridgeport credit for playing great defense,” said Lusk. “They really help out.”
No one was better at helping out than Hannah Fetty. The sophomore had the unenviable task of guarding Westside’s dominating 6’0 post player Hope Lester who came into the contest averaging 18 points per game. Lester finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, but she was 5-of-16 from the floor.
“(Hannah is) listed at 5’8 and that’s a stretch, but her heart is 6’5. She’s had to guard 6’0 post players in this tournament out of necessity and she’s done an incredible job,” said Marshall.
Fetty said a big reason for her individual showing was the team’s entire defensive concept. Because of that, she wasn’t worried about getting passes over her head or getting beat off the dribble.
“I knew I wasn’t by myself,” Fetty said. “I knew there would be help.”
With Fetty doing the dirty work inside, it allowed for Bridgeport’s Miki Glenn to put the finishing touches on a state tournament masterpiece. Although she had an off shooting night by going 3-of-10 from the field, she was once again near flawless from the foul line with a 15-of-16 showing.
“She was tired out there today … The thing with Miki is that, no matter what, she gets the job done,” Marshall said.
Glenn finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, five steals and a blocked shot – team highs in every category. Afterward, however, she was happier with giving Marshall his first state title – and the school’s first girls basketball title – in Marshall’s 18 years.
“He deserves this title more than anyone,” said Glenn. “ … He took a lot of us as freshmen and worked with us to become young ladies.”
It’s likely safe to say that he also has turned his players into defensive warriors. Nowhere was that more evident than in the game’s first half when the tone – and the trap – was set.
For the first 16 minutes Bridgeport’s defense wasn’t just good, it was smothering. In fact, if not for the play of Westside’s Lester the Renegades would have been in a much larger hole than the 12-point deficit they faced at the intermission.
Bridgeport jumped out to a quick 7-0 advantage and then a 9-2 lead behind the play of Tori Coulter and Glenn. Glenn scored five points and Coulter knocked down a pair of outside shots to help BHS jump in front early.
The high-scoring Renegades could only manage five points in the opening period of play, all of which came from Lester who faced a relentless form of defense from Fetty. Lester’s offense helped leave the score 12-5 heading into the second period.
Despite the sluggish first period, WHS came out strong and scored two quick baskets to cut Bridgeport’s advantage to 12-9 with 6:28 before the half on a Lester basket. It was at this point that the Indians somehow found a way to ratchet their defense to an even higher level. In the final 6:28 of the half, Westside got just two points on another Lester inside basket.
Bridgeport, meanwhile, responded with 11 points to go up 23-11 after the half concluded. While Glenn led the charge with six points in the quarter-ending run, she didn’t go it alone. Hope Chalfant took a feed from Glenn and nailed a 3-pointer to get things going and Magen Ware also drained a shot from the baseline to help the surge.
Although Glenn once again found herself in double figures with 11 at the half on 2-of-4 shooting and 6-of-6 from the foul line, she had help from Ware with five, Coulter with four and Chalfant with three. Glenn did manage to collected team highs of six rebounds, three steals and three assists.
Lester had nine of her team’s 11 points. She also helped her team hold a 20-12 advantage off the glass with five rebounds.
Those numbers were simply dwarfed by Bridgeport’s defense. The Renegades, who came into the game 53-1 in the last two seasons and looking to defend their Class AA crown, were just 4-for-24 from the floor for 16.7 percent.
Whatever hopes the Renegades had for a second half comeback faded quickly after managing just five points in the third. Bridgeport, on the other hand, added 10 points as Glenn scored six points to stake the Tribe to a 33-16 advantage after three quarters.
Down by 17, the final period proved anticlimactic. The Indians hit on 9-of-13 from the charity stripe to consistently add to their lead.
“Glenn’s shooting like 90 percent from the line. That’s not a good thing for us when she got there,” said Lusk, whose team ends the year 25-2.
While no other players finished in double figures, Ware added seven points. Seven other players, besides Glenn, got into the scoring column for Bridgeport.
The championship is the second this season for the Bridgeport program. Earlier this year, the Indians captured the Class AA girls’ soccer title.
Glenn, Fetty and Chalfant were all named to the all-tournament team. The team is picked by members of the media covering the title game.
Congrats Coach! I'm happy for you and your team. You truly deserve it!
Posted by Lynn Vance
Mar. 11, 2013 at 8:28 AM EST
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