By Travis Measley | Published Thursday, February 26, 2009
In its first game of the 2009 basketball playoffs, the Bridgeport High School girls' basketball team needed the first two quarters to shake the cobwebs off and get back into the flow of the game against Llano Friday. After a first-round bye, the Sissies came out slow, missing shots and getting into foul trouble, but turned up the intensity in the second half to throttle the Yellowjackets, 48-38, to advance to the regional quarterfinals.
"It was obvious that they had played a playoff game already and we hadn't," said Bridgeport head coach Eddie Fortenberry. "We came out sluggish and played a pretty sloppy game. It was good to get the win."
Senior point guard Kaitlyn Waynen, usually the floor general for the Sissies, found herself in early foul trouble and was forced to the bench for the majority of the second quarter, possibly leaving Bridgeport vulnerable. Senior guard Shannon Demmitt stepped up in a major way while Wayned rested, taking over the final three minutes of the first half. Leading by only two with three minutes left in the second, Demmitt hit two free throws and a 15-foot jumper along the baseline to push the Sissies' lead to six. She also tallied a crucial steal and defensive rebound to help finish out the half.
"With Kaitlyn on the bench, Shannon really stepped up and did the job we know she can do," Fortenberry said. "We knew that as long as we could keep scoring and extend out lead, Kaitlyn could get some extra rest, and Shannon did just that for us."
The physicallity on both sides picked up in the third quarter as bodies slammed to the floor on contested rebounds and players slid all over the court diving for loose balls. Demmitt and Waynen scored six of the Sissies' eight points in the third, and the Bridgeport defense locked down, holding Llano to two baskets and a free throw, extending their lead to nine points heading into the fourth quarter.
"We didn't talk much during halftime," Fortenberry said. "I told them to just keep doing what they were doing. We have a good group of seniors who knows how to lead our team, we just needed to focus and execute."
The game reached a fever pitch in the fourth, and when Waynen converted on an three-point play with five minutes left to put Bridgeport up by 13, the game seemed to be over. The Yellowjackets quickly battled back with clutch three-pointers, and started sending the Sissies to the free-throw line with half of the quarter left. Bridgeport, a good free-throw shooting team, took advantage.
Senior Marissa Grooms hit all six of her free throws in the final minutes to halt and Llano momentum.
"I was surprised they started fouling us so early on in the fourth," Fortenberry said. "We have some pretty good free-throw shooters, and they did what they were supposed to do."
With the win, the sixth-ranked Sissies improved to 32-1 on the season and were to face off against rival Decatur for the third time this season in the quarterfinal game Tuesday night at Texas Woman's University in Denton.
