Bridgeport girls sweep Hirschi to win District 5-3A championship
By Robert Morgan | Published Sunday, February 8, 2009
A full house was on hand for the rematch between the Bridgeport and Hirschi high school girls basketball teams Tuesday night. It was a battle between state-ranked teams with one big prize on the line - the District 5-3A title.
The Sissies rallied to beat the Huskies 62-61 in the first meeting three weeks ago. The rematch in Wise County was just as close but had less drama in the end as Bridgeport battled from behind four times to beat Hirschi 52-45.
Defense was the biggest difference this time around. Bridgeport sophomore post Haley Meekins contained Hirschi standout Crystal Booth in the final three quarters of the game.
The rest of the team frustrated the Huskies' ball-handlers. In fact, Bridgeport forced 29 turnovers for the night which helped sniff out all Hirschi runs in the second half.
"Haley Meekins played an excellent defensive game against one of the best post players around," said BHS coach Eddie Fortenberry. "Overall, in the second half all my girls played great defense."
The victory allowed Bridgeport, ranked fifth in the state, to win its first title in five years while moving to 8-0 in district play and 28-1 overall. Fourteenth-ranked Hirschi, meanwhile, holds steady in second place at 6-2 and 25-7, respectively.
The Huskies torched Bridgeport's interior defense early in the action. They scored within three feet of the basket on their first three possessions to jump in front 6-0.
The Sissies closed the gap on free throws but missed their first five shots of the game. Shannon Demmitt made the first bucket of the game for the locals when she swished a deep shot with 3:13 left in the first quarter to cut the deficit to 9-6.
Demmitt followed with her first of three three-pointers to eventually make it a two-point game. The Huskies, however, continued to shoot well and managed to take a 16-11 lead at the end of the quarter.
Bridgeport returned the favor by scoring the first six points of the second quarter. Baskets by Marissa Grooms and Demmitt fueled the rally. Meekins, who was a huge force in the paint, dropped in a short jumper to give the team its first lead at 19-18 with 5:38 left in the first half.
The teams traded baskets three more times before time expired. Grooms and Demmitt buried treys to give the Sissies a one-point lead in the final minute. However, the Huskies scored with 55 seconds to play to take a 29-28 halftime lead.
The third quarter was all Bridgeport as it outscored the visitors 17-7. The defense, led by Kaitlyn Waynen, Bailey Jones, Kim Bible, Presley White and Meekins held Hirschi to just six shot attempts in the quarter. The Huskies frustrations with the press defense led to a barrage of turnovers.
The defensive presence led to easy baskets at the other end of the floor. Demmitt hit another three-pointer, Meekins scored twice and Emily Price, Grooms and Waynen all scored solo buckets to give Bridgeport its biggest lead of the night, 45-36.
Hirschi pulled within five points on a three-pointer with 52 seconds left to play. The Huskies had plenty of chances to make thing closer they missed seven shots in the final 80 seconds of the game.
Grooms closed the night with a pair of free throws and the Sissies ran off the rest of the time.
"This was a great overall performance on both offense and defense," Fortenberry said. "We played a great third quarter which led to us being about to seal the victory in the fourth."
Demmitt led all scorers with 16 points, three more than Meekins and Grooms with 13. Waynen was next in scoring with eight points and Price had two.
