With standout Emily Riggs out due to injury, things have been problematic for the Bridgeport High School girls’ basketball team. Heading into Thursday’s game with Philip Barbour the Indians had lost three straight and the state-ranked Colts were in front of them.

 

What Coach Dennis Hutson needed was someone to step up. Bridgeport senior Kaitlin Smith did the honors.

 

Smith was key in a decisive third period as the Indians were able to get a 52-41 win against PBHS on the Indians’ home floor. The win upped the Tribe’s mark to 8-5 on the year, while Philip Barbour fell to 9-3.

 

How good was Smith when she was needed most? Pretty good.

 

With the Indians holding a 20-16 at the break, they got something they haven’t experienced for several games – some breathing room. And it came from the hot hand of Smith.

 

The senior collected 14 of her game-high 17 points in the decisive third quarter. By the time Smith was done with her offensive onslaught the hosts were up 40-24 and were able to coast to the win in the final eight minutes.

 

“It was huge,” said Hutson of Smith’s outburst. “She’s struggled a bit at times with her shooting this year, but she was spot on last night. She hit four 3s in the quarter and gave us the separation we needed against a good Philip Barbour team.”

 

No other players were in double figures, but Rory Marple finished with eight points. Hutson said she made as big an impact on defense as Smith did on the offense.

 

“She blocked some shots early on that had them looking for her when they were shooting and it made a difference in the game,” said Hutson of Marple, who finished with four blocked shots.

 

Hutson also praised the play of his bench. He said Hannah Spurlock and McKenzie Koon both provided big minutes.

 

“That’s what we’re going to need until we get Emily back and hopefully we’ll continue to get it when she comes back,” said Hutson.

 

Riggs is out for what should be another two weeks, Hutson said, with a severely sprained ACL.

 

“Thankfully there was no tear. We hope to have her back and ready to go in the near future,” said Hutson. “The big thing was that when we played Monday against Winfield the team looked like it was feeling sorry for itself and Winfield took it to us. I couldn’t handle the lack of fight in the team so we practiced after that game, which turned out to be a good thing considering school was canceled the next two days.”

 

The Indians lost their third straight game Monday at the third annual East Fairmont Classic. The Tribe got behind early and were never able to recover in a 50-39 setback to the Winfield team Hutson mentioned above in a game that tipped at 10:45 a.m.

 

The Tribe’s offense was sluggish throughout as they were down 12-4 after one period and 28-14 at halftime. By the time the third frame was complete, the Indians were down 44-23. Bridgeport made the score closer by ending the contest with a 16-2 surge.

 

“The energy level was just horrible. There’s no excuse for lack of energy and we turned the ball over more than we had all season with 27 turnovers. That’s just ridiculous,” said Hutson. “We’re averaging 11 going into the game and had several games in single digits, but in this game there was no fire and that was discouraging.”

 

Sarah Haynes led the Indians with 15 points. Marple added 10.

 

“That was her first extension varsity action and she only played about 10 minutes to get that many points,” Hutson said. “That was big for her and us because we need people who can score and rebound.

 

“The big thing was that unlike the Winfield game, we played with emotion. It was a gritty win,” said Hutson. “The defense was solid and after being held to four points the previous game against Winfield it was nice to see us hold a team to four points in the first quarter.”

 

Bridgeport is back in action Saturday. The Tribe will play a makeup game at Preston at 2:30 p.m. The team will then face Elkins on the road Thursday. Game time for that contest is 7:30 p.m.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Kaitlin Smith battling against Philip Barbour, while Rory Marple drives against the Colts in the second picture. Bottom photo shows Coach Dennis Hutson getting a point across to his team.