GBB: Bridgeport defeats Ogallala 63-60 on January 2nd, 2024, in a tight battle

By: Evan Troxel

The Bridgeport Bulldogs Girls’ Varsity High School basketball team defeated the Ogallala Indians 63-60, on Tuesday night in Ogallala, January 2nd, 2024.

If you like close basketball games, this was the game for you, as it was entertaining basically all the way through from start to finish.

According to Maxpreps.com, from what I currently know as I am typing this, Bridgeport is still undefeated in the regular season and 9-0 overall and 1-0 in Class C-1 District 12 play.

The Bulldogs are ranked 7th in Class C-1 according to the Nebraska School Activities Association’s (NSAA) playoff point rankings as of Wednesday morning, January 3rd, 2024.

(Here is the link to the home webpage for the high school boys' and girls basketball content on the NSAA's website).

Offensively, it was the second-lowest scoring game for Bridgeport this season. Bridgeport hasn’t scored 70 points for two straight games now.

Defensively, Tuesday night was the most points Bridgeport has given up all season! Bridgeport previously gave up 57 points to the Chadron Cardinals on December 16th (two games before Ogallala) in a game the Bulldogs scored 82 points which is currently a season-high!

Bridgeport has won every single game during the regular season so far when they have scored at least 63 points!

Ogallala, on the other hand is 6-4 overall and 2-0 in Class C-1 District 11 play. The Indians have now lost three straight games after starting out 6-1.

Ogallala is ranked 21st (or is tied for 20th if you want to get real technical and would lose the head-to-head playoff seeding against Raymond Central right now) in Class C-1 according to the NSAA’s playoff point rankings as of Wednesday morning, January 3rd, 2024.

Offensively, it was the second-high scoring game for Ogallala this season. Ogallala scored 61 points in the regular season opener at the Lexington Minutemaids on December 1st, 2023, in a game which the Indians won!

Defensively, Tuesday night was the most points Ogallala has given up all season as well (and by a significant margin)! Ogallala lost 51-45 at home against the Sandhills/Thedford Knights in their previous game on December 21st, 2023.

Ogallala has now given up the most points to the opponent in two straight games! At this point of the regular season, Ogallala has won every single game when they have given up 43 or fewer points during the regular season.

The top scorer in Tuesday night’s game was Ogallala’s Aelyn Cain who scored 23 points. Cain made one three-point shot and made nine other two-point shots. She also made two free throws.

Bridgeport’s Olivia Loomis-Goltl and Grace Dean each scored 18 points and were the top scorers for Bridgeport.

Loomis-Goltl made one three-point shot and she made six two-point shorts and three free throws. Dean also made one three-point shot and six two-point shots and three free throws.

Olivia Loomis-Goltl weaved through traffic and forced her way through to score many points on Tuesday night.

It didn’t seem like Grace Dean missed very many shots (if any) and ultimately made Ogallala pay for not guarding her from long-range whether that was a two or a three-point shot.

Ogallala did not respect the shooting ability of Bridgeport’s Grace Dean and Megan Cline and that was one of the major reasons why Bridgeport won on Tuesday night.

The game was tied after one quarter 12 to 12.

Ogallala’s Laney Caskey committed three traveling violations which I believe all were in the first quarter (and definitely in the first half).

We’ll never really know for sure if those traveling violations by Laney Caskey costed Ogallala a win or not. The least that can be said is that it didn’t help Ogallala’s chances to win!

Bridgeport then led 22-18 with 3:13 left in the second quarter.

Ogallala then got rolling and led 27-26 at halftime.

Bridgeport then led 30-29 with 5:49 left in the third quarter.

At one point in the third, Bridgeport led 45-38. That was probably the biggest deficit for either team of the entire game!

After the third quarter Bridgeport led 45-40.

Ogallala struck quickly and made two and two-pointer and a three-pointer to tie the score at 45 very early in the fourth quarter.

Bridgeport then led 50-47 with 5:09 left in the 4th quarter.

Ogallala cut the deficit to two with Bridgeport leading 51-49 with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter.

The deficit was still at two when Bridgeport led 56-54 with 2:09 left in the 4th quarter.

The score was Ogallala 59 and Bridgeport 60 and Ogallala had a chance to take the lead. But it never happened.

I believe Ogallala did tie the score at 60.

Bridgeport made a free throw and had a 61-60 lead.

Ogallala had one final chance to get the win with about 12 seconds left. Ogallala’s Marlee Ervin got the inbounds pass (from half court I think) and was headed toward the hoop.

Ervin stopped (about 10 feet or so) from the right side of the basket and decided to pass to a teammate in the right corner and the basketball was eventually taken away by Bridgeport.

Bridgeport’s coach called a timeout when Bridgeport gained possession for about not much longer than about half a second and there was about five seconds left in the game.

Bridgeport then did an inbounds play from half court and Bridgeport’s Ella Schluterbusch got the ball and broke free right away and ran to the left three-point corner near Bridgeport’s basket and got fouled with about 1.5 seconds left.

Schluterbusch made two free throws and Bridgeport led 63-60.

Ogallala didn’t really have enough time to get a final shot off (Ogallala’s Marlee Ervin did shoot) and I’m pretty confident the shot would not have counted anyway even if Ogallala had made the three-quarters court shot.

The shot was nowhere close to the net at all.

So Bridgeport won in Ogallala’s Prairie View Gymnasium by a final score of 63 to 60.

Throughout the entire game, to keep the game tied or within striking distance, Ogallala made baskets when they needed them the most, especially in the second half!

Ogallala’s head coach Coy Gager was having fun whenever Ogallala tied the game or made a critical basket when they needed it, which seemed to happen a lot.

Ogallala had two players commit five fouls and foul out in the fourth quarter, Laney Caskey and Mallory Murphy. Hayden Shaw also had four fouls.

Ogallala had three fouls total from the entire rest of the team, two by Eideann Tuttle and one by Aelyn Cain.

Ogallala committed 15 fouls.

Ogallala’s Laney Caskey scored 12 points and made five two-point shots. She also made two free throws.

Marlee Ervin scored ten points and made four two-point shots and two free throws. Mallory Murphy made two three-pointers and three free throws and scored nine points total.

Eideann Tuttle made two two-point shots and finished with four points while Hayden Shaw made a two-point basket.

Bridgeport committed 14 fouls in the game. Bridgeport never really got into foul trouble. Olivia Loomis-Goltl, Olivia Brown and Megan Cline each committed three fouls.

Ella Schluterbusch committed two fouls while Grace Dean, Tacey From and Kelsie McVicker each committed one foul each.

Not including Bridgeport’s Olivia Loomis-Goltl and Grace Dean, Ella Schluterbusch was a problem all night for Ogallala, both offensively and defensively, and was basically pesky and a pest.

Bridgeport’s Ella Schluterbusch scored ten points and made one three-point basket and seven free throws!

Tacey From scored seven points and made a three-point basket and two two-pointers.

Olivia Brown and Megan Cline each scored five points. Brown made a three-pointer and a two-point shot and Cline made two two-point shots and a free throw.

Bridgeport plays at home versus the Alliance Bulldogs (4-6), a Class B high school, on Saturday, January 6th, and also has a home game versus the Burns Broncs (4-4), a Wyoming high school, on January 9th.

The Bulldogs travel to the Kimball Longhorns (1-6), a D-1 high school, on Friday, January 12th and host the Mitchell Tigers (3-5), a C-1 high school, on January 13th.

Ogallala plays at the Cozad Haymakers (3-8), a C-1 high school, on January 5th and are at home versus the Sidney Red Raiders (10-0), a C-1 high school, on Friday, January 12th.

The Indians travel to the Valentine Badgers (5-5), a C-2 high school, on January 13th.

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