“Unfinished business” had been the consistent motto for the 2015-2016 Lady Jays basketball season. The 2015 season left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Liberty girl’s basketball fans and players. They were only one game away from winning a state championship. The second place finish in 2015 was impressive, but the remaining players and coaches were ready to get back to state this year and win it all.

The 2016 season was the first ever girl’s basketball season to be played in the new LHS fieldhouse.

“It’s super awesome, it makes the entire experience for each game a lot more fun,” senior Taylor Gerstner said. “We have fans and a student section that’s able to fill up the fieldhouse and cheer super loud. It’s just a lot of fun.”

The girl’s basketball regular season was very successful as they picked up where they left off, finishing with only three losses in the regular season.

“It’s been great so far. We’re 25-3, won a tournament, played great against top competition in Orlando, finished second in another tournament, were conference champs and districts champs,” assistant coach Zachary Werner said. “We’ve been able to check off a lot of goals we had at the beginning of the year.”

As the coaches and players prepared for the playoffs, they felt like this year’s playoff run came with more pressure to win than last year’s.

“I think there’s a little bit more pressure this year because a year ago we didn’t really know any better. It was kind of a shock to everyone that we were making the run we were making,” coach Noah Simpson said. “I think this year it’s expected now so it adds more pressure to complete it and finish our run with a championship.”

The playoffs started with districts being held at the new LHS fieldhouse. The Lady Jays easily advanced through the tournament all the way to the final game against North Kansas City. Liberty packed the new fieldhouse house with over 1,600 people in attendance and helped Liberty win districts back to back for the first time since 2011.

“Winning districts back to back at home with a great crowd each time is probably my favorite moment. We had such a great crowd against a good team and it was really cool to be able to do it at home,” senior Morgan Fleming said.

The Lady Jay’s next challenge would be a tough St. Joe Central team at Silverstein Eye Arena. The team was familiar with St. Joe already, as this would be the fourth time they met this season. The regular season record between the two was 2-1 as St. Joe was able to be one of few teams all year to defeat Liberty.

“For St. Joe, this is our fourth time playing them this year, so we kind of know what to expect,” Fleming said. “In practice, coaches have been preaching that every night, every game is a 1-0 situation.”

The student section was roaring but the team was lacking the first quarter and dug themselves in a tough situation as they found themselves down by 16 points with four minutes left in the first half. The team then went on an impressive 47-16 run through the last two and a half quarters. The team was able to come back from the deficit and win the game 59-44.

“Anytime you’re down by sixteen points in any game it’s almost too much of a deficit to overcome, but to be able to do it in a do or die situation where you know if you lose it’s over,” Simpson said. “It was a huge win and a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Less than a quarter into the game history was made. The entire stadium cheered as Morgan Fleming hit her free throws to break the all time career points for Liberty girls basketball. The record had been previously held by Andi McAlexander with 1,587 career points set in 2002.

The game continued and remained close as Belton stayed with their game plan of dramatically slowing the game down. The first half ended in a three point game as Liberty led 18-15. The Jays would come out firing the second half as they doubled their first half score with nearly five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Liberty ran away with the game and won 56-37 to advance to the final four in Columbia, Missouri against the Kickapoo Warriors.

With only one game remaining until the state championship, the excitement built. The school gathered around the entrance of LHS to send off the team. Along with the send off LHS also loaded five spirit busses with eager students to make the trip to Columbia. The students loaded in Mizzou Arena as they readied to watch their Jay’s take on Kickapoo. The Lady Jays were in control of the game, but Kickapoo never backed down. The first half ended with Liberty in the lead 24-21.

As the second half began Kickapoo came out firing going on an 8-0 run and taking the lead with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. With Liberty getting in foul trouble in the third quarter and Kickapoo making many of their shots Liberty found themselves in a tough situation as they were down by eight with six minutes remaining in the game.

Liberty was able to claw their way back and make it a two point game with two minutes remaining. In a stunning play with 30 seconds remaining, Kickapoo missed their free throw to take a three point lead but was able to get the rebound and quickly score, extending their lead to four with 27 seconds to play. Once again Liberty didn’t give up though as Fleming made it a two point game with 21 seconds remaining. Despite the fight put on by the Jays, they couldn’t pull off the win, losing 55-49. Liberty would play Francis Howell for third place.

The game started off slow for Liberty as they ended the first quarter trailing 7-4 and scoring only off free throws. Fouls also were an issue for both teams as they reached bonus in the first quarter. The second quarter looked no different for the Jays as they ended the half with only two points from the field, and 11 points from the free throw line. They trailed 21-13.

The Lady Jays weren’t done though as they came out determined to finish the season on a win. The Jays came out firing as they were able to score 19 points in the third quarter alone. The quarter ended with Liberty coming back from behind and leading 32-31. Liberty continued to leave everything they have on the court as they battled in a closely contested game, but were able to keep and extend their lead in the fourth quarter. Liberty ended their spectacular season winning the game 53-46.

Liberty received third place at the state competition. The overall season was a success. The Lady Jays basketball team has made three final four appearances in program history. Two of those appearances have been accomplished in the last two seasons with this group of very talented players. The past two years has reignited the program and given so many people great memories. Plus, there will still be memories to make for the years to come.

Sports 35