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Defensive battle: Liberty outlasts Heritage in postseason matchup
BY CHRIS O'DELL, codell@starlocalnews.com
FRISCO -- Tuesday's regional quarterfinals matchup between Liberty and Heritage marked the fourth time the two teams have met this season, with the previous three contests ending in three Liberty victories by a combined 48 points.
It was a different story during Tuesday's playoff battle at Centennial, as the Lady Redhawks (34-5) survived a late scare from the Lady Coyotes (23-11) to earn a 30-29 win.
"It's an in-town rival and with it being the fourth time we've played [Heritage], it was intense," said Mari Mooneyham Harrison, Liberty head coach.
After the Lady Coyotes trimmed the deficit to 7-6 early in the second quarter, Liberty senior guard Beatrice Attura went on a 4-0 run to give her team an 11-6 lead with 5:20 remaining in the frame. The four points would be the final time Attura, Liberty's leading scorer, would find the bottom of the net in the game, as the senior was limited to just six points.
Heritage answered Attura's run by trimming the lead to 15-13 with 40 seconds left in the half after Jackson converted a layup in traffic. Neither team would score again in the quarter, giving Liberty a two-point advantage heading into the locker room.
"I was real proud of my girls," said Amy Justice, Heritage head coach. "It would have been easy to come in fearful."
A pair of buckets from Liberty juniors Kayla Mundy and Bria Frierson widened the team's lead to 19-13 with 5:45 remaining in the third. It would be the final points either team would score until the 1:20 mark when Jackson drilled a 3-pointer to put Heritage back within one possession.
Following a stop at the defensive end, Jackson made it back-to-back triples with a buzzer beater that hit nothing but net for a 19-19 tie entering the fourth quarter. Jackson finished with a game-high 14 points and became the only Heritage player to reach double figures.
"This was a team that had beaten us by 17 points two times and by 14 once," Justice said. "I was proud of the kids for hanging in there the way they did."
Although the Jackson three appeared to sway the momentum in Heritage's favor, Liberty began the final frame with a 5-0 run that featured a jumper from senior post Sara Vincent and a 3-pointer from Mundy to make it 24-19 with 5:51 remaining in regulation.
"That was huge," Harrison said. "That mental toughness is exactly what we've been preaching to the girls."
Staying true to the theme of the night, the Lady Coyotes stormed back with buckets from freshman guard Alicia Blackwell and Tripp to knot the game at 26-26 with 3:40 on the clock.
After the Lady Redhawks regained the lead on a Frierson layup, Jackson came through with a steal and a layup for Heritage to make it 28-28 at the 1:45 mark of the fourth quarter. Mundy gave Liberty a 30-28 advantage on the ensuing possession after converting a pair of free throws with 1:20 to play.
Mundy ended the night with seven points, while Frierson led Liberty with 11 of her own.
Heritage senior post Bridjai Chaney had a chance to answer Mundy with a pair of free-throw attempts but made just 1-of-2 at the line and kept it a 30-29 contest with 33.4 seconds remaining in the game. However, the Lady Coyotes would get two more chances at the lead after an offensive foul on Mundy and a missed one-and-one free-throw attempt by Frierson.
"We've been preaching being a tough team all year," Harrison said. "We came out a little flustered. I don't know if it was the atmosphere or what."
That toughness was on display in the final two possessions of the game, when Liberty came through with two key stops to prevent Heritage from pulling off the upset. The final stop came with Heritage trailing 30-29 and inbounding with just 3.1 seconds on the clock. The Lady Coyotes failed to get off an attempt after the buzzer sounded just before a difficult Jackson shot.
"We got two crucial stops when we needed it," Harrison said.
Liberty will now take on Red Oak after a 61-41 victory over Arlington Seguin the same night put the two team's into a regional semifinals contest that will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday from Garland's Curtis Culwell Center.
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