Strong fourth-quarter defense lifts Liberty past Hubbard

By Jon Moffett

LIBERTY — Depending on which coach was answering the question, Liberty’s 48-37 victory against Hubbard Thursday could have been considered an upset against the All-American Conference White Tier rivals.

Liberty’s John Hritz gave a resounding yes when asked if he considered the game an upset.

Ross Stoffer of Hubbard seemed almost offended by the notion.

“I think Liberty is really tough on their home court,” he said.

Stoffer added that the game was a “toss up” and credited Liberty for playing tough.

Perhaps most upsetting was the Eagles (9-11, 5-3 AAC White) managed only two points in the final period.

“In the second half, we missed a lot of shots that we normally would make,” Stoffer said. “We had some sloppy passes and just a kind of inconsistency, which was enough to prevent us from getting the lead back or tying it up.”

Both teams had difficulty scoring in the fourth quarter.

For a stretch of more than three minutes in the final period, Liberty led 41-35. Neither team could score until junior Haley Turner knocked down a jump shot, which were the final points for Hubbard.

“If we make some shots, it’s a new game; it’s even,” Stoffer said. “Neither team was making shots at that time and then all of a sudden you’re down 10.”

Liberty was more than happy to walk away with the win on the night it honored its three seniors.

“I’m very, very excited,” said Shanae Thomas. “I’m so happy we won, I wanted it so badly.”

Thomas, along with sister Monae and Jessica Weimer, were given gift bags prior to tip-off.

“We did really well as a team together tonight,” Weimer said.

While it was the seniors who were honored, it was a junior and a sophomore who stole the show for the Leopards (7-12, 3-4).

Junior Bianca Rozenbland scored a game-high 14 points. Behind her was junior Vakeyla Merriweather, who had 13.

Thomas had 10 points and Weimer finished with two.

Hritz said while the scoring was a contributing factor, it was Rozen bland’s defensive effort that sealed the victory.

“The key to the ball game was Bianca, because she held [Paige Seech] who is their leading scorer and had 17 points against us the first time, scoreless,” said Hritz. “So congrats to her, she did a whale of a job.”

Not to single out one player, Hritz said the win was a team effort.

“We’ve got some quick guards out front in Merriweather and [Kandace Coward], and they just cover a lot of ground,” he said. “And they’ve got long arms. They do a nice job.”

The Leopards sent an early message, opening the game with four consecutive 3-point goals.

“If they sag on us, we’ve got some 3-point shooters, so we tell them if they’re giving you the 3 to go ahead and take it,” he said.

Stoffer credited Liberty for sticking to its game plan early.

“They did a nice job of making four 3’s in the first, taking us out of any zone principles and making us play them man-to-man,” he said.

But Stoffer said it was a night of cold shooting that ultimately did in the Eagles.

“We were just battling uphill,” he said. “We’d go up a couple of steps and it was muddy, so we’d slide back down and get back up again.”

Leading the Eagles was junior Allie DeLuco, who had 11 points.

Behind her were senior Kelly Bullock and Turner, who each finished with seven.

jmoffett@vindy.com