Blue Dons pull away from the Bulldogs for first win
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WEIRTON -- After dropping its first two games and falling in an early hole in its third outing Wednesday night, the youthful Madonna girls basketball team started to put some things together.
After falling behind by eight early and trailing again late in the second quarter, the Blue Dons went on a run that spanned parts of three quarters and took control to collect their first win of the young season, 58-42 over visiting Bridgeport.
"The first half was a challenge … we came out a little flat. For us to win we have to be physical and do the little things on the defensive end … until that third quarter, I'm not sure we knew how to get that extra gear, but we found it in the second half," Madonna head coach Cory Wingett said. "We started off with two tough games against good teams, we have to learn (how to win), we started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior. Our senior captain is still recovering (from an injury). We're extremely young, so it's a process for them to learn how to win.
"After starting with a couple losses, especially for a young team, it was really big to get a win. To get get a win, to have them smiling and making memories, enjoying the moment, that will give them a lot of confidence going forward."
Madonna (1-2) scored the final four points of the first half to turn a 22-20 deficit into a 24-22 halftime lead, then scored the first six points of the second half, a run that ultimately swelled to 16-2.
After Bridgeport briefly cut the margin back to single digits with a Allanah Summer triple, Madonna's Christany Bartley answered with her second 3 of the game and sparked what turned into a 15-0 Blue Don run that went into the fourth quarter and allowed the hosts to pull away for good.
"Ending the first half with the last couple buckets was big, because then we could go into halftime with some momentum and talk about coming out in the third quarter and establishing the way we want to play," Wingett said. "We needed to come out in that third quarter and establish ourselves as the aggressor, as the team with the will to pull it out, and that's what we did."
Madonna led by as many as 26 before subbing out the starters. After Bridgeport led 22-20 late in the second quarter, Madonna scored 31 of the next 36 points.
Bartley led the attack with a game-high 21 points, and made several plays on the defensive end. The Dons finished with three players in double figures as Rylee Birkhimer tallied 12 and Madi Owens 10. Addi Welsch tallied nine points and hit Madonna's other 3.
"Christany led us, she was all over the floor," Wingett said. "But we also had a lot of support around us. That's why we were able to score the amount of points that we did. Christany took the ball to the hole extremely well … I can't say enough about the entire starting five and the girls that came off the bench, they all did a wonderful job."
For the Bulldogs (1-2), it was a matter of their youth showing after leading 10-2 early and being locked in a close game through two quarters.
"We're a young team, and our youth and inexperience kind of showed in that third quarter and in that second half of basketball," Bridgeport head coach Brittany Hicks said. "We're just not there yet, we haven't grown into the team that can close out a close game yet. We have a lot of work to do, hopefully we can get better as the season goes on."
Bridgeport was led by 12 points from Summers, coming on four triples. Brooke Stewart and Hanna Brewer each tallied 11.
UP NEXT
Bridgeport: Travels to Beallsville on Monday.
Madonna: Hosts Magnolia on Saturday.
Madonna 58, Bridgeport 42
Bridgeport 13-9-5-15 – 42
Madonna 13-11-23-11 – 58
BRIDGEPORT (1-2): Jackson 0 0-0 0; McElroy 1 2-4 4; Chambers 2 0-0 4; Stewart 5 0-2 11; Summers 4 0-0 12; Brewer 5 1-2 11; Baxter 0 0-2 0. TOTALS: 17, 3-10; 42.
MADONNA (1-2): Pietranton 1 0-0 2; Bartley 9 1-4 21; Birkhimer 6 0-2 12; Cody 1 0-0 2; Owens 5 0-1 10; Welsch 4 0-1 9; Ryan 1 0-0 2; Morris 0 0-0 0; Szczerbinski 0 0-0 0; Oher 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27, 1-8; 58.
3-POINT GOALS: Bridgeport 5 (Summers 4, Stewart); Madonna 3 (Bartley 2, Welsch)