Liberty rallies past Lakeview in overtime

The Leopards overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to post a 68-62 win.
By Chuck Housteau
Vindicator Correspondent
LIBERTY -- Liberty girls basketball coach John Hritz couldn't have asked for a better effort from his Leopards in the second half and an overtime period in their game against Lakeview.
The Leopards rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat Lakeview 68-62 in overtime and grab a share of first place in the Trumbull Athletic Conference standings.
"I've never been more proud of a group of girls in my four years of coaching here at Liberty," said Hritz. "They played a great ballgame.
"The team effort was extraordinary. It was just incredible the way they pulled together and pulled out this game."
Dykes paces Leopards
Liberty (10-3, 6-1) got a yeoman's effort from Michelle Dykes, who scored 18 of her game-high 23 points in the second half and overtime.
The junior guard hit several clutch shots in the fourth period and scored 7 points in the extra session to lead the Leopards in the win.
Despite the heroics by Dykes, she credited the team's defense with grabbing the win.
"Our defense in the end made the difference," Dykes said. "We worked as team. I'm really proud that we stuck together and we did a good job on defense.
"There was a lot of pressure tonight but we got the win."
Lakeview jumped on the Leopards early by controlling the basketball and taking good shots.
Lakeview led early
The Bulldogs (9-3, 6-1) opened up a 22-12 first quarter lead and seemed to be cruising heading into the second half while leading 39-29 at halftime.
After Lakeview turned over the basketball just four times in the first two periods, Liberty turned up the intensity in the second half and the Bulldogs suddenly had trouble holding on to the basketball.
"We really picked up the intensity in the second half," Hritz said. "We told the girls that we needed to play hard to get back in the game and that's what they did."
Turnovers costly
Liberty forced Lakeview into 11 third quarter turnovers and eight more the rest of the game to overcome the 10-point deficit.
"We made some bad decisions with the basketball," said Lakeview coach Courtney Collins. "Those are decisions that we usually don't make.
"When you turn the basketball over that many times against a good team, this is why you end up on the losing end."
Liberty grabbed its first lead of the contest at 52-51 when Brianna Pettway hit two free throws midway through the fourth quarter.
The Leopards opened up a five-point lead, 58-53 at the 2:07 mark but Lakeview came roaring back down the stretch and tied the game when Chelsea Butler hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left.
Dominated overtime
Liberty dominated in the overtime session by outscoring Lakeview 9-3.
Besides Dykes' 23 points, Katrina Neskovich scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Ashley White tallied 11 points.
Butler finished with 22 points for Lakeview while Lindsay Whetzel added 13 points and five rebounds.