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Defensive battle: Liberty outlasts Heritage in postseason showdown
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, Liberty senior guard Beatrice Attura went on a 4-0 run to give her team an 11-6 lead with 5:20 remaining. The four points were the final time Attura, Liberty's leading scorer, would find the bottom of the net, 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. That remained the score at halftime.
"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. Neither team scored until the 1:20 mark when Jackson drilled a 3-pointer to put Heritage back within one possession.
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 was the only Heritage player to reach double figures.
Although Jackson’s 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.
"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 to go.
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. 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.
Heritage senior post Bridjai Chaney had a chance to answer Mundy with a pair of free throws but made just 1-of-2 for a 30-29 deficit with 33.4 seconds remaining. However, the Lady Coyotes would get two more chances at the lead after an offensive foul on Mundy and a missed 1-and-1 free-throw.
"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 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 as 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.
Heritage’s season ends with a 23-11 mark after entering the postseason as the No. 3 seed.
"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."
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