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Liberty gives chase late, but can’t catch Tigers
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HOWLAND - LIBERTY - (2) Abby Nicholas of Howland gets tangled up with (34) Bianca Rozenblad of Liberty during their game Wednesday night.
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HOWLAND - LIBERTY - (10) Erika Nites of Howland gets tangled up with (11) Melissa Dykes during their game Wednesday night.
By Tom Williams
Howland took a 20-point lead in the first half but the Leopards made it interesting in the second.
HOWLAND — Early in the fourth quarter of what appeared to be a romp, Liberty senior Ashley Venable hit a 3-pointer that reduced Howland’s seemingly safe lead to 10 points.
Howland coach John Diehl described the moment as “a coach’s nightmare.”
Diehl’s Tigers dominated most of the first half of Wednesday’s game, jumping out to a 46-20 lead before going into the locker room with a 49-29 edge.
“When we got that 20-point lead, I started subbing,” Diehl said. “Liberty just never quit.
“Maybe I should have kept the pressure on a little longer to get a bigger lead,” Diehl said. “When it got down to 10, my three guards all had four fouls and I became a little concerned.”
It didn’t last long. Diehl’s veteran-laden lineup responded to its first challenge of the young season.
Down the stretch, senior Kelly Barzak netted her final six points of a 28-point night as the Tigers outscored the Leopards 14-2 for an 81-59 win in Howland’s gymnasium.
Ahead 67-57, Barzak sank two free throws then converted a rebound into a basket.
“Barzak is like a machine,” Diehl sad. “We try to get her the ball when we need a basket. Tonight, she had [some] big shots.”
She also pulled down a dozen rebounds and blocked a shot.
“In the third quarter, we were a little frantic because they were giving us good ball pressure,” Barzak said. “They are real fast. We just calmed down in the fourth quarter.”
With three starters back from last year’s Division I regional finalist squad, the Tigers (2-0) are loaded with big-game experience.
“The three girls I started last year play very good defense,” said Diehl, referring to Barzak, Megan Long and point guard Abby Nicholas. “They’re helping the other girls along. I like where our man-to-man defense is at this point.”
Nicholas credited Diehl for calling a timeout “when it got rough.
“He told me to slow it down, to control the game, to settle down,” Nicholas said. That’s what we did. Once we got over that little streak, we had shooters like [freshman] Erika [Nites] and Barzak get us back into our game.”
Early on, the Tigers overpowered the Leopards, pouncing for a 25-4 lead.
“We like to run,” Liberty (1-1) coach John Hritz said. “For some reason in the first two ballgames, we’ve gotten off to an awful slow start. After the first quarter, we were playing with them.”
In her second varsity game, Nites scored 19 points. Nicholas scored 11, Taylor Williams had 10 and Long scored eight.
“Usually 20 is pretty safe, but boy they can shoot foul shots,” said Diehl after the Leopards made 20 of 28 attempts. “That might have been a record in this gym.
“It’s hard to come back from 24, 25 down and it wore them out,” Diehl said. “I was very impressed with how they hung in there and kept battling us.”
Venable led the Leopards with 17 points, including six free throws. Melissa Dykes scored 13 while Shanae Thomas had 11.
Hritz credited Howland’s height for being the difference.
“Their size killed us,” Hritz said. “Every time we were coming back, their big girls would get a basket. Howland is a good team. They didn’t get to the regionals for nothing.
“What hurts us is our inexperience,” Hritz said. “By the end of the year, I think we’re going to be a nice ballclub.”
williams@vindy.com