EDITOR'S NOTE: Bridgeport Principal Matt DeMotto has confirmed that the game with Buckhannon-Upshur set for today has been moved to Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. due to Upshur County closing school today.

 

Coach Dennis Hutson’s Bridgeport High School girls’ basketball team had been playing pretty good basketball heading into Saturday’s contest with Braxton County. The Indians had managed to win four straight games, and had done so without leading scorer Emily Riggs.

 

The task Saturday, though, was even bigger. Not only would the Indians be on the road to a Braxton County team, but they would do so once again without Riggs. This time, however, they would also be without second leading scorer Rory Marple.

 

Marple, who had stepped up her game in Riggs’ absence, was injured late in the Tribe’s previous game against Elkins. That meant that BHS would have to face an Eagles team that they had already faced twice this season without two of its starters and the bulk of the offense.

 

As it turned out, it wasn’t a problem. Thanks to the standout play of senior Kaitlin Smith, Bridgeport left Sutton with a 40-37 win on Saturday and a five-game winning streak.

 

Smith finished with a game-high 14 points. Paige Humble chipped in with eight.

 

“It was a huge win for us. Riggs is our leader in scoring and steals and Marple is our second leading scorer and our leader in blocked shots so you’re not just losing offense with them out,” said Hutson. “You lose a critical part of your defense.”

 

Against BCHS, Hutson’s lineup consisted of a trio of freshman. Bria Jacobs, Humble and Sarah Haynes all were in the lineup with seniors Smith and Bronlie Jacobs. Bria Jacobs has started all year, while Humble has started since Riggs has been out. It was the first start of the year for Haynes.

 

“We played most of the game in a 2-3 zone. That’s the most zone we’ve played in the last 30 years,” said Hutson. “It wasn’t pretty, but the bottom line was we got out of there with a win thanks to kids stepping up.”

 

Offensively, that was Smith who has the most experience of anyone on the team. And she was joined by Bronlie Jacobs to help out.

 

“Kaitlin didn’t shot real well, but she hit some big shots late that were crucial,” said Hutson. “Bronlie Jacbos’ defense was one of the turning points in the game. She just hustled the entire game and even hit the boards for us from her guard spot.”

 

Hutson also singled out players off the bench. He pointed to play by Emilee Henderson, Lauren Riffle, Hannah Spurlock and Maddie Wilson as critical to the final outcome.

 

“They all played a lot of minutes,” said Hutson. “Overall, I’m just really pleased with how we’ve played in light of the injuries and with how Rory stepped things up after Emily went down. The kids that come in just have been giving us positive minutes.”

 

The run that started with a 52-41 win Jan. 18 against Philip Barbour continued Jan. 20 when BHS went on the road and toppled Preston by a 55-38 score. The Tribe was up 35-18 at the intermission and never looked back.

 

Rory Marple and Paige Humble led the way with 18 and 16 points, respectively and both had eight rebounds. Kaitlin Smith was right behind with eight points.

 

Last Tuesday, the Tribe got another victory. The Indians rolled past homestanding East Fairmont by a 55-40 score as Marple exploded offensively. The junior finished with a game-high 27 points for Bridgeport in the win. No other player for BHS had more than six points.

 

The Tribe picked up what would be their fourth straight win last Thursday against Elkins. BHS again started off fast – this time leading 11-0 before the Tigers scored, on its way to a 46-31 win.

 

Bridgeport maintained the lead throughout much of the game, most of it being of the double digit variety. EHS did get to within nine in the final period, but no closer.

 

It was in this game that the Tribe lost Marple due to injury. She was fouled with just over two minutes remaining and was hurt bad enough she had to be removed from the floor on a stretcher. Before that, Marple had already accumulated 13 points, while Smith finished with 12.

 

Hutson said Marple and Riggs, both out for tonight’s game, could return next week. The Indians are off until next Tuesday when they play host to Lincoln. Riggs has been cleared for light practice and the earliest she will be back is to battle the Cougars, while Marple will still need to be cleared before that can happen.

 

Bridgeport is now 12-5 on the year. The winning streak will be tested in a big way Wednesday as the Tribe, weather permitting, will be on the road to face Class AAA power Buckhannon-Upshur. The game was orginially set for today (Tuesday, Jan. 30), but school was closed in Upshur County. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Rory Marple going strong to the basket, while the second photo shows the Jacobs sisters - Bria, left and Bronlie - during the Elkins game. Bottom photo shows Maddie Wilson battling for a rebound. Photos by Tyler Maxwell of www.benqueenphotography.com.