GLENVILLE, W.Va. — With Bridgeport’s girls basketball team in desperate need of an offensive spark, freshman Gabby Reep provided one and then some Monday.
Reep scored 15 of her 18 second-half points in the fourth quarter, allowing the Indians to overcome a five-point deficit at the start of the period for a 53-45 win against Gilmer County. The contest was held at Glenville State’s Waco Center as part of the IOGA Classic.
“Our girls settled down a lot in the second half,” Bridgeport head coach Herman Pierson said. “They were more patient even though we were down 10 or 12 points for a good bit of it. It was a very gutsy effort.”
With Bridgeport (2-0) trailing the Titans (4-1) by 12 late in the third, Reep’s 3-pointer ignited a 7-0 run that cut Gilmer County’s lead to five ahead of the fourth. Macey Phillips also connected on a trey during the surge to help the Indians draw closer.
With the Titans still on top by five in the fourth, the Indians got a triple from Annamarie Pinti to close to within 37-35 — the closest they’d been since trailing 10-9.
A conventional three-point play by Paige Humble with 2:23 remaining gave the Tribe a 40-39 lead, but Gilmer’s Trinity Bancroft answered with a corner 3 to put the Titans back on top.
That proved to be Gilmer’s last lead. Reep answered with a bucket from beyond the arc to give the Indians the advantage for good with 1:44 to play.
Reep’s two free throws with 1:01 remaining stretched the lead to three, and she made six more foul shots in the final 46 seconds to help preserve the win.
Reep scored her team’s final 13 points starting with the 3 at the 1:44 mark.
“We had the lead and forced bad shots instead of working time off and maybe getting them to foul us and put us on the line,” Gilmer County head coach Amy Chapman said. “That’s our youth. We have a lot of sophomores that get a lot of playing time. This game is going help us down the road with end of game situations and being able to keep our composure.”
The Titans put together their best stretch of the game in the second quarter. Bancroft scored eight of their 14 points in the quarter, including a jump shot that gave Gilmer a 26-14 lead in the final minute of the half.
But much like Bridgeport in the opening half, GCHS struggled to generate offense over the final two quarters. The Titans made only 4-of-23 field goal attempts after halftime, while the Indians were 10-for-23.
“In the second half, things completely reversed,” Chapman said. “We weren’t the aggressor and we didn’t rebound it well. We started turning it over when they put pressure on us.”
Reep was the only BHS player in double figures and finished with a game-high 27 points.
Pinti added eight points, while Humble finished with six points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Bancroft was the lone Titan in double figures with 19 points. She also led the team with seven rebounds.
The Titans attempted 10 fewer field goals and 10 fewer foul shots than the Tribe in large part due to their 21 turnovers, 12 of which came after halftime.
“They didn’t quit, which is what you always worry about when you’re down double digits and not shooting the ball very well,” Pierson said. “You tend to stick your chin down to your ankles sometimes and they didn’t do that. This will probably serve us well the rest of the year.”