Last Wednesday on Day 1 of the girls state tournament, the Bridgeport High School girls basketball team took part in arguably the most exciting game of the day.

 

The Indians were seeded No. 8 and facing top-seeded North Marion, a team favored to win the Class AA state title and a team that had defeated Bridgeport in the regular season, 92-45. BHS was 13-12 entering the game, North Marion 24-1.

 

The postseason rematch would play out much differently. The Huskies ended up winning 58-49 in overtime but the Indians nearly won the game in regulation. BHS freshman Gabby Reep hit a 3-pointer that tied it at 43 with 1:01 left in the game.

 

The Huskies tried running off some clock to play for a final shot but a rebound from Madie Wilson off a missed shot got the ball back for the Indians. Reep went in for a layup in traffic, got the shot off, but the ball wouldn’t go in, falling to the floor to force overtime.

 

The Huskies would go on to outscore the Tribe in overtime, 15-6, and avoid becoming the first No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 8 seed in the Class AA girls state tournament.

 

At the time it felt like the latest and best example of how far the BHS girls had come this season and how the Indians were a much better team than their 13-13 record might indicate.

 

Little did anybody at the time know how much would change in the following 48 hours.

 

The state tournament would be halted after Thursday’s morning session. Spring sports were suspended and are now in threat to be cancelled.

 

There is a chance there may not be another BHS sporting event this school year.

 

But if that ends up being the case, the girls basketball team made sure the final one was a good one.

 

“I don’t think it gets a whole lot better than that,” Bridgeport coach Herman Pierson said following the state tournament game. “You hate to be on the losing end of one like that and if one more shot goes in, we win, it’s as simple as that.

 

“I could not be more proud of this group. We’ve bounced up and down all year and I would call that an up bounce even though we were on the losing end.”

 

A pair of 3-pointers from Kiley Brown helped the Huskies jump out to a quick 8-2 lead. But the Indians came storming right back with seven straight points.

 

Paige Humble got things going with a jumper in the paint. Annamarie Pinti followed with a trey of her own and Reep gave BHS its first lead at 9-8.

 

The Indians would go on to enjoy a lead the rest of the first quarter and the majority of the second. North Marion didn’t regain the advantage until Taylor Buonamici hit a pull-up jumper and a 3 on back-to-back possessions to make it 20-16.

 

The see-saw affair continued as the lead went back to the Indians following a make from Wilson and another clutch 3 from Pinti that made it 21-20.

 

“I think earlier in the year my shots just weren’t falling,” Pinti said. “The past couple of weeks I hit some big 3s and hit some big ones today to help keep our momentum going.”

 

A pair of Buonamici free throws gave North Marion a 22-21 lead it would take into halftime. Although BHS trailed, it had already proved the second meeting with the Huskies was going to be a lot different than one in the regular season.

 

“We played a lot smarter today,” Pierson said. “They pressed us be we handled it a lot better and we didn’t throw the ball away. We still had some turnovers but we didn’t have as many unforced ones. Defensively, we didn’t even pressure in the half court and I think we made them work harder to get open shots.”

 

Humble twice gave BHS early third-quarter leads with tough shots in the paint. But following a layup by Buonamici at the 4:26 mark, the Huskies would go on to build a seven-point lead heading into the fourth.

 

Buonamici hit a 3 with 3:30 left in the game that put the Huskies up 43-38 but that would be the only points they would score in the final quarter of regulation.

 

“It’s probably been 10 years since we have been held to three points in a quarter,” North Marion coach Mike Parrish said. “Now some of that is because we were trying to take some time off the clock, but they were doing a great job on us.”

 

The Indians got another 3 from Pinti and two more inside shots from Humble to pull within three and set up Reep’s clutch 3-pointer.

 

“I knew I just had to get a shot to go in,” Reep said. “I got a good look and it went. Then the layup at the end, I got free and it was a tough shot that just wouldn’t fall.”

 

Buonamici who led North Marion with 23 points, combined with freshman guard Olivia Toland to score 11 of North Marion’s 15 points in overtime.

 

Pinti led the Indians with 12 points, while Reep and Humble joined her in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively. Reep also had five assists and four steals.

 

Wilson and Hannah Bartlett each added eight points.

 

Wilson gave one of the gutsiest performances in state tournament history. In addition to eight points, she had seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot — on a torn ACL she suffered before the start of soccer season. She played with the tear and even injured the same knee early in the regular season. She ended up missing just three basketball games and emerged as a leader for a BHS team that kind of adopted her toughness as the season played out.

 

“She led us all year and what she did today, that’s about as inspiring as it gets,” Pierson said.

 

Wilson said she just wanted to end her basketball career on her terms and not on the ground crying in pain. That was the motivation she rode all the way to the state tournament.

 

“I wanted to be a leader,” Wilson said. “Hopefully I showed these girls that you if work hard and keep fighting, you can battle through anything.”

 

Wilson along with Macey Phillips were the only two seniors on Bridgeport’s roster this season so Pierson will have plenty of returning talent to take into next year when more change comes for high school basketball in West Virginia.

 

The quarterfinal game with North Marion brought an end to Bridgeport’s run in Class AA. The Indians won the Class AA state title in 2013 and made the state tournament a total of six times. This year’s appearance marked the fourth consecutive trip to Charleston for the Indians.

 

Next year, the BHS girls will be in Class AAAA as basketball moves to a two-year trial period with a quad A setup.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Madie Wilson, while the second features Annamarie Pinti, the third one is of Paige Humble and the fourth one is of Gabby Reep. Photos by Joey Signorelli and Ben Queen for www.benqueenphotography.com