Juanita Girls Top Liberty with a Strong Second Half

Juanita Girls Top Liberty with a Strong Second Half
By Colin Caruso 

The crowd picked up in the 4:45 game at Bellevue College, a girls matchup between Juanita and Liberty – the winner to secure third place in KingCo. Juanita came out in full court defense and maintained it throughout the first quarter, but Liberty continued to beat the press to create good shots in the half court. Five players for Liberty scored in the first, and the Patriots closed the quarter in the lead 14-11. Both teams dropped into a 2-3 zone on defense in the second, slowing the pace of play and forcing more mid-range and three-point shots. Neither side executed particularly well on offense against the zone in the second quarter, with both teams turning the ball over four times. Liberty extended their lead to five at the half in a low scoring quarter, 24-19.

Juanita came out on fire in the second half; almost totaling their first half score with 17 points in the third quarter alone. Winnie Levitt led the way for the Rebels in the third, scoring seven in the quarter and taking the lead by three going into the fourth. Juanita kept up their offensive pressure in the fourth quarter, starting the period on an 8-0 run to go up 11 with 4:41 to play. Liberty fought back with team speed and great ball movement but the 11 point lead was too much to surmount. Juanita secured the win and third place in KingCo, 53-45.

Leading Scorers:
Liberty-Issaquah
Danielle Demps (12)
Alicia Abraham (7)

Juanita
Shannon Brink (11)
Winnie Levitt (10)