KINGWOOD — The Preston High School girls’ basketball team didn’t do much to help themselves on Monday night in a loss to visiting Bridgeport inside The Castle.
The Indians (5-12) used a 36-17 advantage on the glass and some timely turnovers to down the Knights (9-8) 53-49 in a tightly-contested match-up.
“Someone told me the rebounding deficit and I never would’ve imagined that happening before the game,” PHS coach Brian Miller said. “They got to the free throw line twice as much as we did, made eight more free throws than us, and got 20 more rebounds than we did which should never happen. We didn’t play how we are capable.”
The story of the entire game seemed to be that of Bridgeport extending the lead to multiple possessions before the Knights fought back with a few unanswered baskets to get themselves within one score of the lead.
After trailing 6-1 early in the first quarter, PHS used a 12-3 run to take a four-point lead. However, the visitors scored five quick points in a flurry to end the first and took a slim lead after one, 14-13. PHS junior Kendra Nazelrod picked up two quick fouls and was forced to sit for an extended period.
Bridgeport started the second the same way it ended the first and grew the lead to five points, 22-17, but the Knights responded once again and ended the half well. A layup for the Indians at the buzzer grew the lead to three, 27-24 at halftime.
PHS began the second half on a 6-0 run that saw it grab a 30-27 lead but the Indians came back fiercely with their own scoring run of 10-0. The visitors took their largest lead of the game at 37-30. All eight players that touched the floor in the game by the third quarter for BHS had scored a field goal.
“We adjusted to the 2-3 zone when they kept finding space in behind our defense and we discussed how to fix it in the huddle but it didn’t get fixed,” Miller said. “We just didn’t do most of the things we wanted or were supposed to do.”
Midway through the fourth, just six points had been scored between the sides as BHS held a slim lead of 48-43. Despite the foul trouble, Nazelrod returned to the game and made an immediate impact for her team scoring four straight points and breathing some life into the Knights. She lead PHS with 15 points on the night.
She would foul out, however, with 1:37 left on the clock and PHS trailing by five, 50-45.
The Knights got a huge triple from Alauna Wilson that cut the BHS lead to 50-48 with 50 seconds left on the clock and then forced a turnover on the ensuing possession. The Knights got the ball back with 30.5 seconds left in the game, trailing by two points. However, PHS couldn’t come up with an open shot and was then forced to foul. After the first free throw was made, the second was missed but Brigeport’s Jaylin Dodd grabbed the biggest of her 12 boards in the game and went to the free throw line to ice the game. She calmly sank both to extend the lead to two possessions with 10 seconds to go and put the game out of reach.
The Knights will have a quick turnaround as they host Liberty Harrison at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Box score
Bridgeport 53, Preston 49
Bridgeport – Pierce 2 0-0 5 Amick 1 0-0 2 Martinez 5 0-0 10 Dodd 2 8-10 12 Pryor 4 2-5 10 Anderson 3 2-4 8 McCall 1 1-1 3 Kerr 1 1-2 3
Preston – Nazelrod 6 3-3 15 White 4 1-2 12 Miller 4 0-0 9 Wilson 1 0-0 3 Sypolt 1 1-4 3 Simmons 1 1-1 3 Sheets 2 0-1 4
BHS 14 13 17 9—53
PHS 13 11 17 8—49
3pt goals – Bridgeport 1 (Pierce); Preston 5 (White 3 Miller 1 Wilson 1)
